Nuttin But The Hits:2015 Panini Americana Part 2

Last Black Friday my friend over at Project Pedro Blog helped pick me up a box of 2015 Panini Americana that was a bargain from Da Card World for $30. I fell in love with the product so much that I wanted more, more, more.Especially after starting my non sport PC.

A couple of months ago, my wife surprised me with a box!

Before the hits, let's break it down!

Each box of Americana has 4 Memorabilia or Autograph cards per box with at least of them being 2 autos per box. You can find names such as Bradley Cooper, Al Pacino, Paula Abdul, Sylvester Stallone, Brooke and Hulk Hogan, Mickey Rourke, Kevin Hart, Jordana Brewster, Martin Short, Alexa Vega, Nick Cannon, Laura Prepon, DJ Jazzy Jeff and Vanilla Ice among many more. So I know there was plenty to find.

Up first my insert parallel pulls. These look super cool. Got some big names as well. I like me some Shannon Elizabeth!

 

  

Inserts, double Biz Markie

I am gonna suck you blood! Really cool antique relic from Bela Lugosi who played the original Dracula.

 

Not overly familiar with these two, but that's okay. Still PC material.

Ice Ice baby! My big auto pull of the box. Pretty stinkin cool especially for this 90's collector.

And my last pull, a really cool Freeze Frame insert.

 

I was left a big fan once again and I plan on picking up more boxes if I can.   I would also be interested in any of the hits singles for trading down the road.

I am also building the base set and might be working on the insert ones too depending on how much I can gather of the product. 

Nuttin But The Hits:All Star Sports Touchdown Autograph Photo Break

My buddy and daily reader, Grady M, picked me up one of these cool 8x10 autograph packs from All Star Sports in Ohio. The pack was only $20 so it may seem like a steal and there was also only 25 of these packs made with one containing a Dak Prescott auto. 

Did I pull Prescott? Read on!

 

My first auto was Brown's DT Danny Shelton 

 

My second autograph was Brian Hartline. 

 

My third was Duke Johnson 

 

My fourth was the best up to this point in Terrell Pryor. 

 

Then some boom to end it. Eddie George. George played for the Titans in the 90's and was a great back to watch. He finished his career in Dallas where he didn't make as much of an impact.

 

Overall, I found this to be well worth the price. There were three mediocre autos but the final two definitely paid for the envelope.

What do you guys think?

CONTEST:Topps Moment Of The Year

Well, here comes my latest contest for the holidays and it should be a fun one.

What I want to know is, what was your Topps Moment Of The Year? Did you finish a tough set? Did you pull a big time card? Did you share your Topps cards with someone? Did you donate Topps cards? Did you get your face on a Topps card? Did you participate in National Baseball Card At A ball park? Did you get a kid into collecting Topps cards? Did you use Topps cards to make an announcement such a wedding or baby? Did you find that Topps White Whale?

Whatever that moment was, I want to see it and hear about it!

So here's the deal. Post a picture and a one or two line sentence of your moment on Twitter tagging @Topps and myself, @sportcardcollec, using the hashtag #MyToppsMomentOfTheYear or you can simply email it to me at sportcardcollectors@hotmail.com or go to Sport Card Collectors on Facebook and post it to the wall there with the hashtag. I prefer Twitter and Facebook but I understand not everyone has those. PLEASE BE SURE TO HAVE A TOPPS CARD OR PRODUCT IN YOUR PHOTO.

I will upload all entries into a post from all spots posted and one random winner will take home some pretty solid goodies. Right now I currently have a 7 hit lot+inserts set aside but that will grow by the contests end deadline.

Here are the other rules on the contest and deadline for entries.

1. MUST BE A U.S. RESIDENT TO ENTER OR HAVE A U.S. SHIPPING ADDRESS OR YOU WILL BE DISQUALIFIED. I APOLOGIZE BUT SHIPPING COSTS ARE CRAZY ENOUGH WITHIN THE U.S., IT COSTS MORE OUTSIDE OF IT. But, I do appreciate all readers!!
2. Your picture must be posted on Twitter, Facebook or emailed by December 16th 2017 and a winner will be announced shortly after. (UPDATE: WITH MY FAMILY COMING UP FOR CHRISTMAS THIS WEEKEND, I HAVE DECIDED TO RUN THIS CONTEST TIL CHRISTMAS DAY JUST IN CASE YOUR MOMENT HAPPENS ON CHRISTMAS AND IT WILL GIVE ME TIME TO GET THE RANDOM DONE AFTER FAMILY LEAVES)
3. ONE ENTRY PER PERSON but more than one family member can enter!
4. Sport Card Collectors or it's blog owner Matt will not be held responsible for lost, stolen or damaged packages. By entering you agree to this as well. Once I mail it, I will mail it as safely as I can but can't guarantee the USPS will take care of it the same way.
5. By also entering, you will abide by ALL rules above or be disqualified.
6. Please make sure to take a minute out to thank Topps for providing box for me to review and to host this/these nice giveaways with. Follow them on all social media sites and visit their site, HERE, as well.

Good luck to all that enter and I am looking forward to seeing these entries as I am certain Topps is as well.

Nuttin' But The Hits:2014 Panini Country Music Part 3

Okay, I have said this before and I will say it again, I am not a fan of country music in any kind of way. However, Country Music cards, oh yes!

Especially for a product you can get 4 hits with at least 2 autographs per box, 5 inserts and 2 parallels for the price of a blaster and you can find big names in these to. Oh, did I mention autograph silhouettes as well. EPIC. I could bust this stuff all day.

This is my third break of this product. My breaks have gone down hill since the first. But, that just wants me to bust more for some reason. I think affordability is the main reason.

Parallels:

Inserts:

  

Relic hits. One is multi-color.

And my autograph hits

 

Like I said earlier, not a great break but still worth the price. I hope to snag another box soon.

REVIEW:2017 Topps High Tek (BONUS AUTO!)

Not along ago, a prospect focused Bowman High Tek was released and now it's time to get the veterans and rookies from 2017 their due in Topps High Tek.

Topps High Tek brings all of the foil patterned fun and packs it into a 40 card box. So let's take a dive in for this Topps latest product.

 

In every box of 2017 Topps High Tek baseball, you will find 40 cards. Two of those 40 will be signed on-card and there will be 4 others that are blackout parallels. Boxes run over $120 currently. 

Here is the complicated part of the product. The base set has many levels of rarity and patterns for its 112 cards. In this one box alone, I found 12 different patterns.

Your best luck to spot the differences like I did is to use this guide on Cardboard Connection to help you check out the differences. You can find that HERE.

As for the look, I really dig the design on these with rainbow acetate and foil patterns. But, the best part is the added photo sideways pic. It just adds to the overall appeal.

 

The man! I have two of many but it's a great start. Some of the coolest looking juniors I have added this year.

 

Here are the backs of the cards. I don't normally point out card backs, though I do appreciate them, but had to show you how great these look as well.

 

The base set also has 5 Sp photo variations that are called Clubhouse Image Variations. These are numbered to 50. There are autographs of those as well.

 

Now time to talk parallels. If you liked the base, the parallels are an amped up version of the base.

Tidal Diffractor /250:

 

Green Rainbow /99

 

Blackout parallels which are 4 per box and look even sweeter than the base. These stand way out when you pull them out of the box.

 

Here are the backs as you would expect they are blacked out.

 

Other finds for parallels include, Blue Rainbow /75, Orange Magma Diffractor /25, Red Orbit Diffractor /10, and Gold Galactic Diffractor 1/1.

Now time for the autographs that added a bit of a surprise.

My first autograph is of David Price. It's a Blackout parallel /50

 

My second Autograph is of rookie Christian Arroyo

 

Then a couple of base cards later and I found this sweet bonus! This was only my second ever redemption card find from Topps unlike Panini where I have had 20+.

 

 

Other parallels for the autographs include, Green Rainbow /75, Blue Rainbow /50, Orange Magma Diffractor /25, Red Orbit Diffractor /10, and Gold Galactic Diffractor 1/1.

 

Other hits not found include, Jubilation, Jubilation Autographs, Rookie Tek ,Rookie Tek Autographs, TwiliTEK , TwiliTEK Autographs and Tek Buyback Autographs.

 

OVERALL, even with the tough-to-tell-the-difference patterns, this was probably one of my more fun breaks this year. I enjoyed looking at every card spotting the fun patterns and the players. I really like the players chosen for the set as it's a great mix of old and new.

I do think a lot of collectors will be turned off by so many variations and then parallels in this product as that's always a concern with collectors I have seen on forums and Twitter.

Please make sure to take a minute out to thank Topps for providing this box for me to review as they help provide prizes for me to giveaway in a new promotion coming up soon for the holidays! Follow Topps on all social media sites and visit their SITE, as well 

REVIEW:2017 Topps Gallery Baseball Collectors Box

Topps Gallery makes its triumphant return since it's disappearance in 2005 and it brings back everything you liked about the product.

The only downside, you have gotta find them at Walmart before everyone else does.

You can find Topps Gallery in Collectors Boxes with 2 autographs, fat packs and in blaster boxes. Today's break is a Collectors Box with the two autographs.

Let's take a look.

Every box of 2017 Topps Gallery Baseball Collectors Box comes with 20 packs and boxes running around $70 with 2 autographs.

The base set is 200 cards with the last 50 being Sp's. The 150 card base set is made up of stars of today and tomorrow, while the Sp set has players of yesterday and fall 1:20 packs. I need to find myself the Griffey.

The cards themselves are beautifully done artistically with a nice border touch. They are the same Gallery you have always come to know to love.

Building a regular base set shouldn't be too hard, however with Sp's at 1:20, the master set won't be as easy.

On the back of the card, the artists names are featured.

Speaking of Artists, they even have their own cards in the product. There are two to find.

Like any product, there are parallels to find as well. I pulled Private Issue which fall 1:8 packs in the collectors boxes.

and an Orange /25 that falls 1:196 packs.

There is also, Artist Proof,Canvas, Green /99 falls 1:50, Blue /50 fall 1:98,Red 1/1 falls 1:4,867, and Printing Plates 1/1 that fall 1:1,217.

Now onto my insert pulls. Unlike the base, they are very high gloss.

Heritage insert falls 1:10 packs. I pulled two pretty solid base ones especially in #AllRise. These have parallels as well including Orange that I found.

 

Parallels include, Green /250 falls 1:74, Blue /99 falls 1:185, Orange /25 falls 1:731, and Red 1/1 falls 1:17,195.

Masterpiece which is a really nice insert design falls 1:10 packs. These also have parallels to find.

 

Parallels for these include, Green /250 falls 1:98, Blue /99 falls 1:247, Orange /25 falls 1:977, and Red 1/1 falls 1:23,448. 

Hall Of Fame Gallery includes, well, Hall Of Famers. Solid design as well and high gloss. These fall 1:20 packs and also comes with parallels.

 

Parallels for these include, Green /250 falls 1:98, Blue /99 falls 1:247, Orange /25 falls 1:977, and Red 1/1 falls 1:23,448. 

Now onto my autograph pulls.

I pulled two base autographs of Cardinals rookies.

 

The autographs also have parallels that include, Green /99 falls 1:69, Blue /50 falls 1:116, Orange /25 falls 1:195, and Red 1/1 falls 1:4,372. There are tough Sp's to land as well.

Other pulls not in my box include,Cut Signatures, The Expressionists , The Expressionists Autographs,Hall of Fame Gallery Autographs ,Heritage Autographs, Masterpiece Autographs, and Artists Originals Sketch.

OVERALL, I am happy that Gallery is back. I didn't fair too well in terms of autographs in this box but I am happy with the overall break. Price isn't terrible for a 2 autograph product and it comes in many levels so you can take a dip in at fat packs, move up to blaster then go all out on one of these if you are impressed.  I have seen autographs be hit from the other forms of distribution including one by my father who landed a Mancini auto from a blaster.

I guess the only downside is the Walmart exclusive part. A lot of baseball products in 2017 were hard to find at retail outlets because of the hot rookie class as everyone bough multiple boxes, then re-sold them for twice as much online leaving some collectors empty handed. 

Please make sure to take a minute out to thank Topps for providing this box for me to review as they help provide prizes for me to giveaway in a new promotion coming up soon for the holidays! Follow Topps on all social media sites and visit their SITE, as well 

REVIEW:Babe's Long Ball Licorice

I have always been a big fan of licorice, so when I started seeing tweets from a new company called Long Ball Licorice, I clicked the follow button.

What they were posting was a new form of licorice that I hadn't ever seen before. No it wasn't long twisty straws like Twizzlers or a black jelly bean, it was simply a brick. A brick of licorice. Now that sounded up my alley.

Fortunately, they held a contest and I was a winner to give it a try. So I wanted to let you guys know my thoughts on this new product.

First up, they are officially licensed by the Ruth family to use Babe in their packaging and promoting. Here is their story on when they began their business, read it HERE.

Now onto the product.

Let's take a look at this packaging, it's so cool and old school.I really dig it and liked it so much that I kept it after I ate the candy. This is Red Licorice and it's name is Round Tripper Red Licorice. Of course a baseball theme.

My favorite, Black Licorice and called Long Ball Black Licorice. Yes, I am the guy every kid or adult gives the black jelly beans to. It's the only jelly bean I like.

After ripping the easy tear tab at the top, you pull this out. It sort of looks like one of those Little Debbie party brownies you would take to school. At least I took them to school.

(sorry forgot to take a picture of the red but just picture this one as being red)

The texture was the same as well but that's because it's very pliable licorice and not like the tough hard-to-chew sometimes like Twizzlers. By also being pliable, you can take as little or as lot as you want.

 

From what I have been reading about this product, it's best to suck on the product or if your a baseball player, use it as a replacement for chew unless you just want to eat it. I did it both ways to see what the difference was.

Chewing: Because it's a food product, it goes in and down easy with a subtle good flavor. Not bad.

Sucking On It: Much better choice. You don't need a big piece as it lasts awhile and you unlock a ton more flavor as well. This is how I ate the rest.

By the way, another tip is to take a small amount at a time. Makes it last longer and too much is too
much at once.

OVERALL, I liked the product. Something I may use while playing Madden so I can feel like a real coach trying to yell at the players instead of a nerd doing it. I found myself liking the red more than the black, not saying anything against the black as it was excellent, but that red raspberry flavor was quite sharp and delicious. I even gave a few samples to family members as well which all enjoyed it but liked the red more.

You can score a bag or box of your own by visiting them on their site, HERE.

SCOREd Another Artist Proof!!

Yeah, yeah, I know. Another day, another Hampton.

I didn't realize how far behind I was on doing these posts. So many more left in drafts!! I do hope you guys are enjoying these or they are helping you bring back memories of collecting past.

Today's card is a parallel from 1996 Score. The typical Artists Proof. This version fell 1:36 packs or one per box. So not an easy find especially for a product with a deep checklist. Luckily my buddy Jammin JD Sports Cards was helpful in the search.

Nothing too spectacular about this card. The photography was even poor. But, a need is a need and here is to another Hampton being crossed off.