Dazzled

*only 46 degrees this morning, the feeling of fall is turning more towards the worry of winter and this is only the last day of September. Just gotta hope the temperatures don't dip too much further*

I bet a lot of you when you saw my post yesterday were thinking, why didn't he mention that it was National Coffee Day? How can he be a #CardsOverCoffee blogger and not whisper a word about his National Holiday? Well, to be honest, I forgot it was yesterday until I found out later in the day.  By then, it was too late to save myself on here. However, I can say that I did celebrate it like I always do, by drinking coffee. I guess you can say it's probably National Coffee Day for me everyday.

*takes a sip*

I have poured my heart out on here about my passion of the Donruss Unleashed cards, now it's time to unleash my love for another insert that came out this year, Upper Deck's Dazzlers.

I hadn't seen these cards before, mostly because I don't buy or collect hockey normally, until blog reader Grady M sent me a few in my first mail day from him this year. They immediately made an impact on me and I was even more excited when I found a bunch more in my second mail day from him not too long ago.

The design is simple, a colored background with a firework design and player in the forefront that makes the player jump off the card. It's really sharp, especially when caught in the right lighting.

*takes another sip, trying to make up for lost time on here yesterday from not posting about National Coffee Day*

Upper Deck Dazzlers have four variations and different odds for each. Those offerings are Blue, Green, Orange and Pink.

The Blue falls 1:24 packs.

Orange falls 1:10 Fat Packs

 

And the Green falls 1:7 in Blaster boxes.

I have yet to see a pink version up close yet since they fall 1:144 packs, but I would say between these three, the blue stands out to me the most and not just because blue is my favorite color.

*takes a sip before finishing up today's post. thinking some breakfast also sounds good*

I put all of these in a binder and they look stunning together. I hope to add to this collection and if any of you have some available for trade, let me know.

Thanks again to Grady for passing these along.

In comments, let me know how you celebrated National Coffee Day and your thoughts on these inserts and your favorite color of them.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

REVIEW:2021 Topps Fire (NIIIICE PULL)

THIS BOX WAS ON FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRRREEE!

Sorry, I think I use that Alicia Keys song every time I open up some Topps Fire. It just simply fits.

In the past I have not had great success with the product, both football (when Topps had the license) and baseball. In 2021, that has changed and it took to the last pack to change it.

Let's check it out:

Each retail exclusive 2021 Topps Fire hobby box comes with 20 packs of 6 cards each. Each box comes with 2 autographs and boxes run around $70-$100. Pretty cheap looking at today's standard.

BASE:

The base set consists of 200 cards that includes veterans, legends and

rookies of the game.

The art designs done in Tyson Beck style. The designs the last few years have felt similar and kind of a drop off from when the product first dropped. That 2014 football design is still the best out there.

PARALLELS:

The following parallels can be found in this years Topps Fire:

Gold Minted, Flame, Orange /299, Green #/199 (1:30), Purple #/99 (1:60), Magenta #/25 (1:236), Onyx SSP (1:241), Inferno 1/1 (1:6,013).

Green falls 1:20

Orange falls 1:20

INSERTS:

For me, Topps Fire is what brings the heat in fire. If only the base can bring the intensity the inserts do.

There are 15 cards to collect in Flame Throwers and they fall 1:13 packs.

Fired Up (my favorite design) falls 1:13 packs and has 15 cards to collect as well.

Smoke and Mirrors has 20 cards and falls 1:8 packs

Rookie Ignition falls 1:8 packs and has 25 cards to collect.

Falling 1:10, the We Have Liftoff set has 20 cards to collect

HITS:

My first hit was my typical find, though not a pitcher, and I was ready for another disappointing break.

Then came the last pack mojo.......

What a beaut!

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Well, the box was heading in the wrong direction until I hit the Vlad. I have seen many big hits from this product already this year but this was my first time ever landing one. I also really dig the design on the card and the fact its an on-card auto.

The design for most of the product, especially the inserts is nice. It's a fun rip if you can find any.

Leave your thoughts below.

Upper Deck Made Me Happy

*fresh brewed cup of coffee uplifts the spirits on the cool 50 degree fall day. Finding a new box of retail product is also just as uplifting and being able to share my thoughts on this product on my favorite blog is a bonus. It's time for some, #CardsOverCoffee*

I am not a big hockey guy. I don't watch it, don't have any teams or players I follow and I rarely collect it. But, after seeing some previews for Upper Deck's latest hockey product in Metal Universe and knowing my love of the 90's, I was actually hoping to find some to open. 

And guess what.....I found a blaster!

It's just too bad it wasn't at normal blaster price of $20 anymore. I became hesitant after seeing the price of $30 knowing I don't collect hockey that much, but decided in the end the nostalgic me needed to try it. So I did.

Was it worth the gamble? Let's see.

*takes a sip and looks around wondering what should go with this cup. Donuts? Bagel? Toast? Hmm...takes another sip*

I ripped into the first pack and felt the kid in me come back out after seeing the first base card.

Upper Deck absolutely nailed the base card design. This is exactly what I would have expected from Metal Universe and this design is a mix of all three 90's Metal.

Even the back of the card is perfect.

Here are the other base cards I pulled in the break,

And there are even a couple of subsets that still stick with the theme of the product. Both subsets fall 1:2 packs which makes the chase even more fun.

The subset offerings are,

All-Stars keeps the design but adds on Stars to the metal side and the word All-Stars behind the players.

\

And Rookies. I don't collect hockey as I said so I am not sure if any of these guys are good or not, but they still will work great in my rookie card PC.

The rookies don't appear to be any different than the base other than the word rookies behind the players.

*takes another sip and is still indecisive on breakfast*

I found a parallel in every pack, not sure how common that is. Blue Spectrum Parallel for base fall 1:2 packs while rookies and All-Stars fall 1:4 packs.

The cards have a shine and are similar to PMG's (Precious Metal Gems) which aren't in this product sadly.

There is some Skybox Premium add-ins however with these Prospects which fall 1:4 packs.

They also have a superfractor looking parallel in Star Sapphire parallel that falls 1:10 packs.

Upper Deck also had me very excited when I found out they did a throwback to the 97-98 Metal Universe set. These fall 1:4 packs.

Intimidation Nation is a throwback insert to the late 90's rare insert. These ones are not as rare, but just as stunning. They fall 1:8 packs.

And now my favorite card from the break,

Net Deposits which falls 1:6 packs. What an amazing card and definitely brought me back to the 90's.

*takes a sip before finishing up today's post*

Upper Deck made me happy with this break. Was there any big hits? Not really. Was there any "investing"? No. But, was it a trip back in time and the most fun I have had out of a retail rip this year? ABSOLUTELY. I was left wanting more but may not be able to find more.

So I will end with a thank you Upper Deck for making something this much fun. This was better than the time I found a box of Dunkin' Decaf Coffee Pods hidden behind the caffeinated boxes and believe me, I thought that was the greatest thing ever.

Leave your thoughts below on this product!

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

The Good And The Bad

The last of my September pickups from Burbank Sportcards are in today's post.

I know many are very critical of Daniel Jones and compare him to former Giants QB Dave Brown, but I think many forget about Tommy Maddox.

Maddox's stint with the Giants was not impressive. Every time he hit the field he was a turnover machine, luckily he didn't make many appearances. Not that the Giants weren't already a terrible team in the 90's.

But, once a Giant always a Giant and since he wore blue, I had to have an autograph of him. My research led that he only had one auto featured in a Giants uniform and it was in 1996 Pro Line Classic. A product line that was famous for the lesser known players.

Up next, a Giant who was actually a Giant.

 

I went from having zero Burress autographs to have four. Anytime I can find a Plax cheap or trade for one, I will acquire it. His playoff run catches and then the famous Super Bowl 42 game winning catch will always be celebrated in my household.

So I suggest you check out Burbank Sportcards Beckett Marketplace , you can save 10% by using code 15Burbank at checkout. Shipping is also free on orders of $50 or more. The more you buy, the more you save and the more you won't have to pay shipping on

Unleashed Again

  *sits down on this cloudy fall day to get ready for the latest post on Cards Over Coffee. Cup is full, cards are next to me and the time has come*

I don't usually re-visit cards on this blog. I try to aim for new content and new cards every time, but today is an exception.

I enjoy the 2021 Donruss Unleashed cards so much that I wanted to give an update on how far my collection has gone with them so far. 

Thanks to a recent mail day from blog reader Grady M, I have added quite a few more.

*takes a sip before showing off the cards*

Overall there are 26 base inserts to collect in the Unleashed set. 

So far, I have 7 of those.

There are also multiple parallel levels to them as well, Diamond, Pink Fireworks, Rapture, Vector, Silver /349, Blue /249, Red /149, Gold /99, Green /25, and Black 1/1.

 

I can't tell the difference with some of the unnumbered parallels, but I at least can sort them by the design.

So far, I haven't seen a better designed insert this year in baseball. I do challenge you in comments to prove me wrong.

*takes a sip before finishing up today's post*

Thanks to Grady M for adding to my collection and if any of you have any available for trade that I don't have above, feel free to reach out. We can have some online coffee and do some trading.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Keep On Tradin'

One thing I have learned about social media, it never hurts to ask.

If you have a hobby question, reach out.

If you need help selling cards and where to sell them, ask for it.

If you see a card for trade, inquire about it.

I did that recently with @DadStuff11,

Who had this Mark Bavaro autograph up for trade. As you can tell by this post and by the actual picture of the card, I traded for it.

I not only traded for that, but I also traded for some other Gmen while we were at it.

Two more Rueben Randle autographs, I really need to count how many I have now. It's got to be close to 30.

 

New Kadarius Toneys

And then a bonus surprise,

 

The World Famous San Diego Zoo Cardz. I may open this soon, the possibility of a hologram or techchrome card is too tempting to keep it sealed.

Thanks again to @DadsStuff11 for the trade.

I also wanted to point out, it also never hurts to ask someone who has a card for sale if they would be interested in trading. Some get offended by it, some just say "just looking to sell" and others will actually say, sure. 

So next time you question yourself asking any question whether it sounds ridiculous or not, just don't be afraid to ask. Someone will help.