$25 A Week Challenge Week 4:Trippin' Back To The 90's

This week's $25 A Week Challenge is a bit more recent pickups as opposed to previous episodes. Mainly because I had to upload the photos and was being lazy about putting together the older ones this time even though there is some great stuff to uncover.

So as everyone well knows from reading this blog, I love the 90's and shiny stuff. I recently found seller trying to unload a ton. There were no bids and free shipping and those two things were up my alley so I put in the base bidding on won them.

Here's what I was able to snag for cheap,

1997 Topps Chrome Refractor Waters for $1.05

Frerotte won't be ramming his head into Giants stadium with this snag for .99

Dwayne Bates rookie refractor from 1999 Topps Chrome .99

Cecil Collins Topps Chrome refractor for .99

Bowman's Best Best Cuts refractor for $1.63. This one believe it or not actually had a few bids on it.

2000 Bowman Chrome refractor By Selection with Steve McNair for .99

This was .49. Can't pass up an atomic refractor for that

Another atomic, this one was .99

Bowman's Best Kyle Brady Rookie Refractor .99

The secret is out! I am starting a super collection of Kerry Collins and this one was for .99. Not a bad start to the new PC.

Well, that was it from one seller. But, I had cash to spend, so here was the rest.

1996 Collectors Edge Game Ball that was actually game used. I thought they didn't do game used footballs til 97 or 98, so that was a nice surprise. Card is beautiful too.

Back of the card. Even snagged it with free shipping for $4

 

Darius Slayton auto. I said, hey why not for $2.25+$3.66 shipping.

 

And something non card, a full size Darkwing Duck Saint Vincent Souvenir stamp sheet. Darkwing is leaping at Quackerjack and I was able to make an offer of $1.50 with free shipping for it so I will take that.

Today's grand total is.......$21.51. I had some cash left over, but didn't want to overdo it so will settle for this.

You see all that I grabbed for the cheap price, so what would you have grabbed this past week for $25?

Breakin' Wax:2014 Topps Turkey Red Football

My buddy @NYCollects was at it again sending me another surprise mail day. He recently messaged me said he had a little something for my Christmas stocking to open. Well, it was hard not to open it ahead of time and I did so. Even though I feel now I should have waited a little longer just to secure some cards for Christmas I may not get.

He sent me a long of 2014 Topps Turkey Red pack that comes with a guaranteed autograph. This is a product I had always thought about opening but never have.

So let's rip

Every one of these packs comes with 11 rookie cards and one autograph.

I pulled a ton of Tre Mason in 2014. Too bad he never panned out.

Van Noy doing big things on the Patriots defense.I am not sure how they turn no name players into somethings. It's gotta be simply good coaching. Something my Giants are lacking.

Ryan Shazier was a great piece on the Steelers defense before his injury. I hope he comes back strong

Clowney is helping the Seahawks stay up as one of the better teams in the NFC this year.

Jace Amaro was another player I pulled a ton of in 2014. A TON. This is a mini card parallel.

And finally, my hit. A Charles Sims autograph which marks my third autograph of his. Once again, a player I had hoped would pan out.

Thanks goes out to my buddy @NYCollects for the fun rip. I really like the look of the cards and it's fun to know there is an autograph waiting to be found. There are some decent rookies from that class still. I know I was really hoping to find Odell despite not being a Giant anymore. The guy still is talented.

What's something you are hoping to find in your stocking to rip a pack of?

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Trio Of Future Talent

I have been coming across some great new trading partners recently on Twitter, the most recent was @719Broncos4Life.

He posted some NY Giants cards he had FS/FT and I jumped quick as I spotted a few I really wanted. It only took a few days before we came to a trade deal. It's great when trades are that easy.

 Some new Darius Slayton for my Absolute rainbow I am partially attempting. How far will I go with this? Who knows. Those darn 1/1's are always so tough.

Saquon has had a down year since his injury.

Daniel Jones!

Now introducing, a new Daniel Jones!

Finally! Been needing a Jones Prizm rookie

Score Gold parallel

Phoenix Red Parallel

Baker auto. This guy has been subpar so far. He should get a lot of experience though and should help him next year.

Julian Love auto

 Darius Slayton auto with a nice patch.

And a Slayton autograph I have wanted for some time. I really thought Panini made some unique and beautiful autographed card in Elements. This is signed acetate.

A thanks goes out to @719Broncos4Life for the trade. I know you still have a few other things I want to trade for and hopefully will when I get the chance.

Breakin' Wax:2019 Panini Prizm Blaster Box

For weeks I have had to watch people bust open Prizm 2019 football. It's the Topps Chrome now of the NFL and I wanted some bad. The only problem, hobby box prices are outrageous and no retail action was found in sight.

So I patiently waited...and waited...and waited til I got a text from my father that Walmart had Prizm in. The next day, I was there.

This years Prizm has four offerings. Hanger Packs, Hanger Boxes (my Walmart didn't get those in), Blaster Boxes and Mega Boxes. I had three options. I almost went with the Hanger Pack, but wanted a few more cards so went blaster. Why not go Mega you may ask, well, there seems to be an autograph dump off in those. Meaning, all of the autographs are the worst players in the product. I have yet to see a big hit from those.

So I went blaster hoping for some magic.

24 Prizm cards are per box for $20. So you are banking that something in here was good. There is also one relic and three gold laser parallels as well. Anything else you find would be a surprise.

Here were my three promised rookies. Yup, only three rookies per blaster so it's hard to find top players. I like that but then I don't. It drive up their value but also makes it hard for collectors like me to ever land them.

Michael Thomas silver parallel. These are tough finds this year.

I know this is a base card, but just had to applaud for putting Pat Tillman in the product. Great gesture.

Brilliance insert of Jared Goff. His Rams are having a down year.

My hit of the box, Damien Harris relic. I know a Patriots buddy who pulled the Daniel Jones version of this that I bet we can swap for.

Devin Bush Gold Laser

Stefon Diggs Gold Laser

 

PC PULL!!! Lawrence Taylor Gold Laser

Not a bad break I suppose especially if I can trade that Patriots hit for a Giants one and then the nice LT pull. I also don't mind my rookie pulls either.

Hopefully with Christmas coming up and a few dropped hints, I can bust another one of these.

*************************

Like to do box breaks....well...here's a good one for you...just click on the logo and use the code below

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Feeling Thankful (Yes again)

First off, I want to thank you today for coming to read today's post. I am thankful to have readers such as you to take time out to read my ramblings.

Secondly, I have a lot to be thankful for this year.

• I am thankful first of all for a loving and caring God.
• I am also thankful for my wife and family
• I am thankful for having food on the table and a roof over my head.
• I am thankful this year for my health which up to this point has stayed par.
• I am thankful for this blog that gives me an outlet to share my hobby since I don't have collectors nearby.
• I am thankful for my new blog sponsor this year in Valley Of Cards who has become more than just a sponsor. He is a great friend as well.
• I am thankful for the other sponsors I have on here/Twitter in Panini America, Topps, Cryptozoic, BCW Supplies, Midwest Box Breaks and Jammin JD Sport Cards. Without them, I wouldn't be able to provide giveaways and be able to do what I do.
• I am thankful for great hobby friends both in the blogging world and on Twitter. I am thankful for you all, don't take it the wrong way I am about to point some out, as I am thankful of you all. But, I am extra thankful for people like Wes, @Jake1725, @90sNicheFBCard, @JG24fanever, @ShaneSalmonson, Bubba's Sports Cards, Dennis from Too Many Verlanders being in my life in the hobby.
• I am just thankful for life and waking up each day is a blessing.

 

I am also thankful I entered a Twitter contest for Fantasy Football and landed myself a Daniel Jones jersey to wear every Sunday despite wanting to hide in it most of those Sunday.

I am thankful that I am able to find new trading partners like@Jayinprovidence who was running a sale, a REALLY GOOD CHEAP SALE, and agreed to do a trade with me since I couldn't grab stuff. Believe me, I would have been broke if I had the cash. He had a ton of great stuff. So I added a new Daniel Jones for my PC (which I will be showing off real soon) and the next two following cards,

Eli Manning, who I am very thankful for as well. I wouldn't have witnessed two Super Bowl wins without him. Thanks Eli! I hope you retire as a Giant!

 

And I am thankful for growing up in the 80's and especially the 90's when I started collecting. I got to collect the greatest cards, see the greatest players and live in a time well before the internet which many may not find exciting, but I do. Life was better without all of this technology.

I hope everyone is thankful for everyday they are alive. Even in the lesser than great days. Everyday is a blessing to be alive and it's best to be a blessing to someone else today. They will be thankful for it, I promise.

I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving, eat food til you can't move, watch football, and make moments happen. Enjoy your day and if you are thankful for something, let me know in the comments. I look forward to reading them.

REVIEW:2019-2020 Prizm Draft Picks Basketball

ZION MANIA is in full force in the hobby. Every collector wants him and every collector seeks him. Even those that don't even collect basketball.

I know I have fallen victim to it myself and I don't consider myself a basketball guy by any means. Only problem, I have yet to find a Zion.

One of the most popular lines in basketball cards is Prizm and when you combine Zion Mania with a popular line, well, you create chaos!

Let's see if I created any chaos in my break

Every box of 2019-2020 Panini Prizm basketball has 5 packs of 8 cards. Each pack also has an autograph as there are 5 per box.  Boxes currently are still high at $260.

BASE CARDS

There are 100 cards in the base set including two subsets. I haven't yet pulled a Zion base.

All-Americans are one of the subsets

and Crusades is the other. A lot of repeat players in the base and subsets.

PARALLELS
There are a ton of parallels in every box and many I have no idea what they are without looking them up card by card.

Here is an overall look at the parallels,
Silver, Blue, Green, Orange, Pink Pulsar, Purple, Red, R/B Snake Skin, Blue Wave /299, Green/Yellow /249, Purple/Green /199, Neon Orange /149, Neon Green /125, Red/White/Blue /99, Hyper /75, Mojo /49, Carolina Blue /30, Camo /25, Orange Pulsar /20, Green Ice FOTL /18, Gold /10, Gold Vinyl /5, Black 1/1, and Black Mosaic 1/1. 

Like I said, a lot.

Silver Prizms. These are the most popular. They are even more popular than the numbered ones. I see Panini has strategically made them that way both for hobby and retail. Try pulling a retail silver, I dare you.

?

Orange

Hyper

Green Yellow

Purple

Green

Purple Green

Start of a rainbow...I have the pink pulsar to.

Some fun color in this break, just really hard defining what is what since a few of them look like each other.

THE HITS!
My hope was to pull one of the few players I know from this years draft, well, that didn't work out so well. But, let's check out to see what I did pull.

First a look at the overall Prizm parallels for autographs
Blue, Green, Orange, Red, R/B Snake Skin, Purple/Green /199 or less, Neon Orange /149 or less, Neon Green /125 or less, Red/White/Blue /99 or less, Hyper /75 or less, Mojo /49 or less, Carolina Blue /30 or less, Camo /25 or less, Orange Pulsar /20 or less, Green Ice FOTL /18 or less, Gold /10, Gold Vinyl /5, Black 1/1, and Black Mosaic 1/1.

Vic Law silver prizm

Isiah Roby

Lindell Wiggington

TY Jerome

 

Zylan Cheatham

Sorry I couldn't define what each one of these parallels are. I wished someone like Beckett or even Panini themselves would just make a visual list of each of the parallels so I can just go there and look and say, hey, this is what I pulled.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:
Well, this box was a bit brutal all around when talking about value. No good autographs, no good Prizm parallels. Of course some of the players pulled could surprise us next year and make this review different, but as of now, ouch.

As for the product in general, looks beautiful. It's just frustrating trying to figure out the parallels.

Wanna use a breaker, I strongly recommend using Midwest Box Breaks for your breaking needs. They are always hitting the big pulls so if they are breaking this, you could put yourself in a good spot. They also SHIP ALL CARDS! Get what you pay for!

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Please thank Panini America and Tracy Hackler for providing this box for me to review to giveaway some of the hits in a BIG CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY coming up soon!!! Please follow them on all social media sites and visit their website for all your card needs, HERE.