Guess The Autograph #4

Before I announce the latest Guess The Autograph, let's reveal the last one I posted....

Chris Wormley. How many of you got it right.....

John Sharp
Grady M
Steve Wright
HudsonFan15
Dion's IP Autos Only

Almost all of you got that one right! If you can guess this weeks, I will put whoever guesses it right in next times post.

Now onto the next! Good luck! 

Guess the autograph is as easy as it goes. I will throw up an autograph "swatch" and you guys have to simply guess whose autograph it is. There are no prizes involved, it's just for fun to test your autograph knowledge and give you bragging rights.

The autographs will spread across multiple sports and non sports so it should be fun to see the challenge it presents and see how many of you can correctly guess it. If you really want to take it a step further, try guessing the brand of card as well.

I will reveal the "answer card" and the autograph in the next post of this series.

So here is the next autograph to this series,

 

Can you guess it? Good luck.

Let me know in comments!

Passing It Along

My buddy @JGfan24ever is very generous like I have said on here many, many times. He is always sending me surprise gifts and we also do on and off trades as well. He is very easy to trade with which is another plus.

Today's post is both a gift and a trade one.

Michael recently messaged me and told me that a lot of Panini Optic cards he had won would be heading my way. No complaints from me on that of course.

The cards arrived roughly a week later and here is what he passed along,

The first group has some good NFL players in base card form. Flacco I can't figure out, guy looks to be the next superstar after a big Super Bowl win and ever since he has been flopping. Murray has put up a couple decent seasons since going to the Titans. Luck is one of the better QBs in the league if he can just stay healthy and Winston is consistently putting up big numbers but doesn't get the recognition.

The next group has some shiny items. Howard had a big season for the Bears and of course this group also has the legendary Peyton Manning.

Up next a group of rookies. The biggest of the group is Corey Davis. He was pretty impressive in the playoffs vs the Patriots catching a pretty sweet ball for a TD. It may be a sign of things to come as he works up a repertoire with Mariota.

 

That was it for the Panini Optic lot he passed along as a gift. Now onto our trade.

I can't remember how long that he has been trying to sell this Marvel Now autograph, but it has been months and months. So I finally inquired again about the card and we pulled off a very fast trade for it. I like the oddballs for my non sport PC as well.

 

Valeria Richards is the daughter of Doctor Doom and the Invisible Woman in the Marvel Universe. Card is signed by the artist, Mark Bagley, who has a pretty unique signature.

Thanks goes out to Michael once again for his generosity and for being a great friend and trader.

Nuttin But The Hits:1996 Pinnacle Mint Football 16-Pack Break

The late 90's. Is there truly any better time in the hobby?

The variety, the brands, the innovations, the value.

It's all in there.

For me there is also a bonus, the memories. This was and always will be my best time in the hobby. Nothing will ever change that.

So when I pulled off my last trade with Project Pedro blog I got the opportunity to take a trip back down memory lane with some packs/box breaks from my past. I loved every aspect of our trade, but these breaks were truly what hit me the hardest and what I enjoyed the most. With every pack I busted a smile can be seen for miles across my face and the next chance to open the next pack brought me joy like no other.

There will be multiple breaks coming up on here and all that remains are football ones. Football season never ends.

Today's break takes me back. I remember when Pinnacle Mint first hit the shelves and how brilliant of an idea I thought it was and still think it was with the combination of two hobbies. However, when it came to other collectors, most were split on how they felt. Some were excited. Some didn't care. I think most weren't fans which is why the line only made it a couple of years. But, it was hobby innovation and something I always reflect upon when I think about what the late 90's brought to the hobby. There were some very intelligent individuals running the card companies and marketing back then. They knew how to target, innovate and keep kids interested in the hobby. I don't feel like this kind of innovation exists today. Feel like we are in a rut.

Anyways, enough with that. Let's get onto breaking this box.

Each pack of 1996 Pinnacle Mint football came with three cards, one with a hole in the middle-to insert a coin if you pleased-and two coins in a plastic holder. Both cards and coins had parallels as well. You could be even lucky enough to even find a redemption card for a 24kt gold coin. I was never that fortunate even after busting many packs of football and baseball of the product. But, I did pull a gold coin once from the baseball version of Manny Ramirez. Those weren't easy pulls but sadly I traded it off years ago. I regret doing so. Maybe I can hunt one down someday.

The base cards were simple but looked cool. The Kosar is actually a gold parallel. I think those fell 1:4 packs. The bronze Stewart is the base.

Here is a Dave Brown I didn't have. Bet many collectors wouldn't hold onto this guy like me. But, if you look closely, Rodney Hampton exists in this photo as well....

The biggest problem I had with this break was the cards all stuck together. Many were damaged because of that. It was something I hadn't experienced in some time breaking older wax.

Here were all of the coins I found. Many of the big stars like Marino, Young, Rice, Sanders and even some multiples of those guys. The base coins were made of brass with a players imprinted face. There are 30 in the set to collect. After busting this, I am considering that to be a set chase.

I didn't find any gold redemption cards, silver, nickel, gold but I did pull a 1:48 gold plated coin of the GOAT Barry Sanders. I put it side by side with the brass. You can see the obvious difference.

 

Not a bad overall break other than the cards being damaged. I was pretty happy with everything but that. The Sanders was a nice surprise.

Will we ever see another product like this again? Probably not. But at least I was there to experience it when it first came out and had this opportunity to do it all over again.

GIVEAWAY!!! #SCC6YR PANINI CONTEST!

HOLY SMOKES! Can't believe how fast March went by and I really wanted to get this giveaway going sooner but my wisdom tooth pull lasted much more longer than I expected it to have in terms of pain so I couldn't get the pictures for this massive giveaway going yet.

I decided that I wanted to celebrate six years in the blogging business by hosting the biggest giveaway I have ever done on here. I also wanted to celebrate a new SPORT CARD COLLECTORS BLOG RECORD FOR VIEWS IN A DAY that landed me 11,871 views on March 25th 2018 when my previous record was 4,032. I was blown away.

So as a thank you, here is what ONE PERSON will be winning,

 

#d 2/5!!
 

 

To win this card, read the following rules. 

1. MUST BE A U.S. RESIDENT or Have a U.S. shipping address to enter.
2. Comment below what else you would like to see on Sport Card Collectors blog
3. Comment ALSO with how many views you think this contest post will get in one week. This is how I will pick the winner so please don't forget this step!!!!!!!
4. Sport Card Collectors or it's blog owner, WILL NOT be responsible for lost, stolen or damaged cards in the mail. If something happens to the card after I safely ship it, it is as it is. You agree to Sport Card Collectors and to it's blog owner if anything happens to the card once it has left my hands that I will not be held responsible for the damaged card when you enter below.
5. Enter by April 5th 2018 and you are entered to win. Winner will be announced on March 6th 2018 or a little after depending on how busy I am.
6. Please, please tell Panini America and Tracy Hackler thanks for the shot at ALL OF these cards. Without their support with these reviews giveaways wouldn't be possible. Check them out at Panini America website and all social media sites.

Thanks again for celebrating 6 years with me and good luck!!

REVIEW:2018 Topps Opening Day Baseball

It's almost time. The crack of a bat, the sound of a ball hitting a glove, the scent of hotdogs and mowed grass. It's almost Opening Day. Well, at least in baseball. I am still stuck with at least a good six to eight inches of snow but that's besides the point.

Speaking of Opening Day, just in time for it was Topps latest Opening Day release that's a fun for all product. Let's take a gander at the latest edition of it.

 

In every box of 2018 Topps Opening Day base are 36 packs of 7 cards each. Each pack has an insert or parallel. Sometimes two. Boxes run a very affordable $30-$35 each. 

The base set is the water slide one from Topps with the only difference being the Opening Day logo on the front of the card. The base set is 200 cards.

 

The other difference in Opening Day is that a few players including this man shown in their new uniforms.

 

The set also has all of the key rookies including Ohtani who was not in Series 1. He is actually card #200 in the base set.

 

Parallels are not abundant in Opening Day which helps out their value. The most common one to find is Blue foil that falls 1:9 packs. I found an Ohtani in my break.

 

There are also much tougher Opening Day 1/1 Edition and Printing Plates 1/1 to find as well.

 

We also wouldn't be discussing a Topps baseball product without talking base card variations. These fall 1:477 packs. The base card codes, the ones on the back bottom right of the card end in 77 while the variations end in 95.

 

Let's now take a look at the fun inserts in Opening Day that celebrate everything that has to do with Opening Day and teams.

Before Opening Day is new insert line to Opening Day and takes a trip to Spring Training. These fall 1:5 packs and there are 20 cards to collect.

 

Mascots. An always fun find and expected one in Opening Day. These fall 1:4 packs and there are 25 in the set to collect.

 

Team Traditions and Celebrations highlights the unique rituals of each fan base and the celebrations they each have as well. These fall 1:4 packs and there are 15 to collect.

Opening Day looks back at the kickoff of the 2017 season

 

MLB Sticker Collection Stars. Remember when I said you had to buy packs of Opening Day to find the remaining four, well, here you go. They are not easy to get however at 1:288 packs.

 

And finally, falling at 1:27 packs are Opening Day Stars. there are 44 to collect in this set!

 

 

Other hits not found in my box of Opening Day but could be in yours include,

• Opening Day Autographs
• Mascot Autographs
• Mascot Autograph Relics
• Opening Day Relics
• Diamond Relics (I want one!!!)
• Mascot Relics
• Dugout Peeks
• Mascots
• National Anthem
• Stadium Signatures
• Stadium Signatures Autographs

You can find the COMPLETE CHECKLIST for 2018 Topps Opening Day, HERE.

OVERALL: What's not to love about Opening Day? The cost is great for any collector, there isn't a lot of hoopla and Sp's complications as it's pretty straight forward product, it celebrates everything baseball, and there is still a shot at some tough valuable cards. Did I mention the price? .99 a pack, $10 for a blaster., $30 for a hobby. There is no risk involved it's straight up fun and that to me is what the hobby is all about.

Please take a minute out to thank Topps for providing the box to review. Some of the cards you see above will be included in the Fantasy Baseball contest! Follow Topps on all social media sites and check out their website HERE for cards and more!

Thinking Too Deep Into The Hobby

I am not sure if I am the only one whoever does this, but do you ever just think too much into the hobby?

And I am not saying which product to buy next or what card to pick up next. I am thinking about the hobby in general.

Do you ever realize that we are collecting pieces of cardboard with someones picture on it?

Do you know we get excited when we get a piece of someone's clothing embedded in this piece of cardboard?

Do you know we pay money for someones signed name?

I recently sat down and thought about all of this for some reason or another and realized how much time I spend talking, interacting, joining in the acts, and spending money on this hobby when it all is just pieces of cardboard, or cardboard with clothing or with someones signed name on it. In a way, for a moment I thought I was crazy for doing this. It's cardboard! I can make this stuff at home. Of course I don't even come close to making as much money as the people featured on the cardboard, but they are still no different than you and I. Well, except most are exceptional at the sports they play but you get the point.

Then I realized what these pieces of cardboard, cardboard with someones clothing embedded in it and cardboard with someones signed name really meant to me and it was amazing.

This hobby means having something to do in my spare time (which isn't as much as it was when I was a kid) and take me away from the real world problems. It's sort of a meditation and I know a lot of you will agree what sorting a pile of cards can do. I think it's probably the way any person with a hobby feels. Sorting those coins, putting those stamps in albums, modeling those cars or building that mountain scene for your trains to drive by. It's all a way for us to sort of "blow off some steam" without going crazy and having fun instead.

But, most importantly to me it means memories and nostalgia. Whether it was spending time collecting with my father and still doing so, that moment my grandmother bought her first packs of cards at 60 years of age hoping to get a big insert pull of the 90's, trading with my grandmother's neighbor who was a huge Michael Jordan collector, having my mother steal all of my Emmitt Smith cards from packs of football I opened, going to card shows and meeting people, trading with friends on recess, blogging about these moments, Tweeting and trading with you guys, watching the athletes and moments featured on the cardboard bringing me joy in winning moments and records, seeing those pieces of embedded clothing as a historic relic from some of those players and finding something signed from those players bringing me closer to them that once may have had a memory attached to them. And it's not just athletes either. I found my way into the world of non sport collecting and TTM for the same reason.

Every single card in my collection has a reason to be there and I can tell you about it. Well, I do. Right here. Right on this piece of paper (that's the way I look at it). I document moments from my collecting past and moments as of the now.

So if you ever have one of those days where you are questioning the hobby and why you are collecting those pieces of cardboard, just think more about it. I am sure you also have a reason for doing it or you wouldn't have done it in the first place. I know that's all it will take to put your mind at ease like it did with me.

A Dawgs Day For My Mail Box

Football has always been in my blood as I have mentioned on here many times. I watch it, I used to play it, the only video game I play is Madden, I collect cards of it and have memorabilia from it. Not to mention, football has brought me many memories in my life I will never forget.

Some are recent like the NY Giants two Super Bowl wins over the Patriots, and some are from the past like when I played and when I chased these helmets.

These mini pain in the butt helmets as I once called them because of my chase to get them all.

Back in the 90's our local grocery store had those quarter machines where you would insert a quarter, turn the handle and out came a prize in a bubble. The only one I would ever play was the mini football helmet one because of my growing love of the game. I didn't want candy, I wanted something that was going to last.

The bubble would give you the helmet, stickers and facemask for you to assemble yourself. I always made sure to put them on right the first time as I am sure my OCD would have kicked it if I hadn't. The helmets I would then use to display and sometimes create my own kitchen floor board game with. I had a creative mind back then.

I would do extra chores for my grandmother to earn quarters to go back and buy more. I wanted the whole set and I wasn't going to give up til I had it. The problem was, you didn't get to choose which helmet came out. There were many times I would land the same one over and over again. Especially when I got down to just a couple I needed. My father even had begun to help me in the search and we would watch the balls drop to see which teams may be coming up next and insert as many quarters as we could to push the ones down we needed faster.

It had become such a craze that my uncles, aunts and friends even began to buy some to see if it's the final ones I needed. Finally, my uncle landed the last two I needed for my set and it was complete after a year long trial of finding them.

All was at peace til they released a second series the following year. These ones were more buffed up and had updated face masks along with a new .50 price tag. Would I torture myself all over again by trying to chase these down??? I thought about it after buying three but realized it was going to be more costly and that I was happy with what I had. So I just held onto these three.

 

Since then I have seen a few different versions of these come out over the years and even in baseball form which I will touch on another day. The most recent football ones I had seen come with everything already assembled and even though I am much older now, I still had the itch to pull the trigger on trying to at least land a NY Giants one from the machine but I stopped myself as I told myself I was strictly sticking to collecting cards. 

And speaking of just collecting cards and NY Giants, Angus who blogs Dawg Day Cards , sent me a pretty sweet mail day. He had contacted me about a week ago and mentioned he had some cards to send but needed an address to send them to and boom, they arrived. They actually arrived in time for my birthday, I am just a bit behind on posting them.

This was pretty cool. I am not sure what it is I assume a sticker, but a great throwback and a really cool piece to my Giants PC.

Speaking of stickers, this is the oldest one I have. Almost ranks as the oldest Giants item I own.

Cool Beckett covers dual card with Odell on the front

and the Shep on the back.

More Odell love right here. I didn't have this Topps Prime rookie insert.

Some base cards spread across years and products.

 

Some 2017 Contenders I needed. I didn't buy much for 2017 so anything from then is mostly new.

   

Even some shiny stuff found it's way into this mail day. I always dig some Prizm.

These are really awesome. 1995 Topps football Jacksonville Jaguars stamped. These were included in specific complete sets in 1995 and not something I own. They also made a Carolina Panthers version I will need to chase the team set down of at some point as well.

In the Jaguars parallel set is also this guy. Yup Rodney! I had the base version but was missing the 1,000 yard club one. Another one checked off!

Speaking of checking them off, here is another Rodney I no longer need.

And even another new Rodney,  A pretty cool Excalibur Die Cut. Every time I add a new Rodney, it makes me miss those sweet, sweet 90's products.

I do have these four but these will be added to my pile of "seconds" of Rodney that I use to display in the man cave.

 

A big thanks goes out to Angus for sending me this mail day and I truly appreciate your generosity. There were a ton of new great adds for my PC in here and even three new Rodney's! I am stoked.

As for those mini helmets above, I still have those and don't plan on moving them as they have a place in my past and are apart of my football history and memories. Now Angus as well has a place in that too.

REVIEW:2017 Panini Select Football

Select football has changed a lot since I collected it in the 90's. Back then it was simple cardboard, now it's been chromed up and prizmd and packed full of autographs, shiny parallels and wacky memorabilia cards.

I have enjoyed this product in the past and know it can come with some really nice hits. Out of all of the Panini breaks I have done recently, I saved the best for last.

Let's check it out.

In each box of 2017 Panini Select football, you will find 12 packs with 5 cards per pack. There will be three hits which include 2 autographs and 1 memorabilia card. You will also find 14 parallels with 5 of those being numbered. Boxes are currently running $149.

The base set is a tricky one being triple tiered. Concourse the Jay Ajai is 30 cards per box while the Premier Level of Hopkins fall 10 per box and the Field Level of Cam Newton fall 1:6 packs or four per box. This is a bit fun and challenging to collect it all.

The overall level base set includes players from the past, present and future.

Here is an example of the level design difference in rookies. I pulled both of these Hunt versions.

 

There are plenty of parallels to find in the product. Each level has their own. Crazy, crazy!!!

Concourse parallels you can find, Tri-Color /199, Blue /149, Maroon /99, Orange /49, Tie-Dye /25, Pink /10, Gold /10, Green /5, and Black 1/1.

Premier Level Parallels: Silver, Tri-Color /149, Light Blue Die-Cut /99, Purple Die-Cut /75, Neon Green Die-Cut /49, Tie-Dye Die-Cut /25, Gold Die-Cut /10, Green Die-Cut /5, Pink Die-Cut /4, and Black Die-Cut 1/1.

Field Level parallels: Silver, Tri-Color /99, Copper /75, Tie-Dye /25, Gold /10, Green /5, Pink 1/1, and Black 1/1.

Silver

Peppers in the tougher tier for silver

Mitch Trib and Derek Carr.

Tri Color:

Another Jones this time Maroon /99

Bryant Orange /49

Rodgers copper /75

Wilson Purple die cut /75

Now onto the hits!

Rookie Signature autograph swatch of Kenny G again. He seems to be a common find in 2017. These have parallels of Purple /49 (below), Tie-Dye /25, Gold /10, Green /5, and Black 1/1.

Jumbo swatch rookie signatures. Pretty nice pull of Mcaffrey here and is my first auto find of his. These have parallels as well, Copper /49, Tie-Dye /25, Gold /10, Green /5, and Black 1/1.

However, despite how nice this card is, look at the swatch that doesn't fill in the square. I asked Panini CSM about it and they said there is nothing they can do. Said they could try and restretch it to fit but I figure why bother. Especially since they said it's so small of an area they didn't see any devalue on the card.

And the final hit of the box, sick, sick patch numbered 2/5 of Carlos Hyde! These have parallels of Gold /10, Green /5, Black Laundry Nike Swoosh 1/1, Black NFL Player's Logo 1/1, and Black NFL Shield 1/1

 

Other hits in here but not in my box include,

• 2018 XRC Prizm Redemptions
• 2018 XRC Mystery Autograph Prizm Redemption 
• Signatures Prizm Set
• Rookie Signatures Prizm 
• Signature Memorabilia Prizm
• Rookie Signature Memorabilia Prizm
• Jumbo Rookie Swatch Prizm
• Prime Selections Prizm Prime Signatures
• Select Swatches
• Award Winning Autographs Continuation.

OVERALL: I loved this break. I enjoyed the designs, appeal and memorabilia in the product. I felt there was also a lot of value in this box break vs others I have done. Of course I have always felt that products that are chromed have the best value whether it's retail or hobby.

Once again, I always put this in my reviews, but remember not all boxes are created equal. Mine was a fairly decent break but it doesn't mean they all will be. There is always that risk factor when breaking hobby boxes. If you don't want to take such a risk, that's when box breakers come in handy. Go jump in on a break of it instead.

You can find the checklist for 2017 Select Football, HERE.

Most of the hits, if not all, from this break will be given away for #SCC6YR celebration. Please, please tell Panini America and Tracy Hackler thanks for the shot at these cards. Without their support with these reviews giveaways wouldn't be possible. Check them out at Panini America website and all social media sites.