Mail Day Saturday:Matches Made In Heaven Part 1

(I do understand today is not Saturday and I have not been drinking, I have actually never had a drink in my life, but these posts couldn't wait to be shown off with all of my excitement)

You ever just scroll through someones blog or your timeline on Twitter or Facebook and fall in love with a card or two someone is selling? I did. But, for me right now, buying anything isn't really an option and trading I usually only do within my circle.

However, something about these cards spoke to me. I couldn't just let them slip by, I had to inquire if a trade at all was possible even though I know the individual was trying to sell them.

So I began the conversation with @APetrelak on Twitter knowing he was a huge hockey fan and told informed him I had a good amount of hockey items I was looking to trade away. They were 6 pucks and a mini stick all signed by different players with some being top rookies and all being Upper Deck authenticated.

Why did I have all of that available? Well, I have begun trying to condense my collection down to just cards at this point as I feel memorabilia items take up a lot of space and for the most part have spent their time just sitting in totes. No point in having them if you're not enjoying them.

He seemed interested and kept inquiring more info on the items as he didn't usually trade much. The conversations continued and it actually wasn't long til we agreed to a trade. I was so ecstatic I almost dropped my phone when I read his yes response. I knew we had just accomplished a match made in heaven for both of us. He got hockey items he collected and I got a couple of drool worthy baseball cards along with quite a few others.

Before I show the main showcase tomorrow, I am going to show off the rest and build you up. All of the cards I traded for came from 2015 Panini USA Stars And Stripes baseball which I am a big fan of all USA products. The other cards featured in today's post are the freebies he nicely tossed in.

So here we go!

There was a good helping stack of base including these stars:

Some Longevity parallels

Inserts with some big names like Seager and Russell

More inserts and more Seager:

Diamond Kings. Love the design and can't go wrong adding another Swanson.

If you have read my blog, you know I love shiny and chromed things. The fact these are also the sickly designed Crusades, is a bonus. 12 new ones here. Maybe I should look to see how many I actually have in this set since I have busted a few boxes of the product myself. Some good names in here including Frank Thomas.

Believe me, there is more USA to show but you will have to wait til tomorrow to see my home run of an add.

But here are the freebies he nicely tossed in. Some Opening Day including a Servino rookie. Some NYG and some NYR.

Finishing this off is a Joc Pederson rookie from Bowman.

And a pretty cool looking promo card from Leaf. Not something I have ever seen but am happy to add to my 90's PC.

  Part 2 coming up tomorrow. Keep a napkin handy or put on a bib, cause you may drool.

I Am In Prizm!:Grady M Mail Day Part 9

We have finally got this down to the final two posts of this epic mail day. Today's post features the rest of the shiny-stuff.

Up first, Crusades. I have said this for awhile, this needs to be its own product for football.

 

Sick looking Troy! Sparkly and shiny!

 

Topps rainbow foils.

 

Oh no! I am headed to Prizm! Lot's of color and shine with these!

 

More Prizm with some great players like Von Miller and Marcus Mariota.

 

Numbered shiny including an Anthony Barr numbered to 32.

 

These Cooperstown cracked ice look amazing. Even got Gehrig and Robinson!

 

And I finish this up with some Platinum.

 

 

Only one more post to go. I would say that I saved the best for last, but there was way too much good stuff in here to make that statement. So, I saved the hits for last that also includes a 1/1!

REVIEW:2015-2016 Excalibur Basketball

Panini is reeling a 90's revival streak. Excalibur is one of those brands I used to collect back then. Of course with any revival like that, there comes many changes to the original.

Last year, this product was simply just a target exclusive, this year Panini changed things up a bit and made it an hobby exclusive and the gravity feed and blasters remaining just Target exclusives. Wondering if this change will help drive up sales on the product instead of limiting it to just Target.

Let's take a look at my thoughts on the product

In every box of 2015-2016 Excalibur basketball, there are 6 Packs Per Box with 10 Cards Per Pack. You will find Six Rookies and Three Crusade Cards along with Three Autographs or Memorabilia Cards. Each box will run you roughly $95 per box.

The base cards are much different than the football ones I used to collect. No more of the plastic feeling base and more of thinner cardboard approach.The design is a bit funky in the back, but it has the feeling of Excalibur times. There is bronze foil for the players name and brand at the bottom of the card. The team name is a bit out of place in the top left corner and is barely noticeable.

The rookies have the same design as the base except the added blue color at the bottom. The funky design in the back is also different.

Now onto the inserts.

There are simple to define parallels. This is a silver vs a base card. Only difference, name and word Excalibur written in silver and the card is numbered to 70.

Same goes for this Jamfest insert. Regular in bronze, parallel in silver. It appears to me that all of the inserts have numbered parallels. You should find two parallels overall per box.

The theme and simple designs stay true throughout most of the inserts....

except from one of my favorite inserts ever, Crusades which obviously fit the theme but also stand out above the other inserts. These SUPER chromed cards glisten gold in your eyes. You should find three per box with possible parallels. I pulled a red one in my box. There are other parallel chases to Crusade as well.

Now onto the hits.

My first one was a Memorable Memorabilia of Carmelo Anthony. I like the design and layout of the card.

My next pull was a Treasured Ink of Goran Dragic. This is numbered to 249 and still continues the feel of the rest of the product. This card will be in a future giveaway as well.

And my final hit of the box was a Rookie Rampage jersey/auto of Celtics Terry Rozier. These come with a good size swatch. However, autograph placement for me doesn't work here. It needs to be set at the bottom of the card. Looks weird going up. I also couldn't find any numbering on the card either.

There are prime offerings also to be found of these.

Overall, a tough break. Excalibur does have a lot of positives to it, it's just too bad this box couldn't showcase them all. Like I always say, any product is a gamble. Some pay off, some don't. Simply put.

However, one thing that will definitely pay off in a break of this is pulling a Kaboom insert. Those bad boys are rare with only one falling per case and the value of those hold steady over time. Not to mention they are very eye catchy too.

You can see those Kaboom inserts for yourself on this link on the Panini's Knights Lance blog, HERE..

Breakin Wax:2014 Panini Rookies And Stars Football

When you find a deal, you gotta jump on it or you will regret it. So when I found a box of 2014 Rookies and Stars with a chance at Odell Beckham among other big time rookies in that class for under $33, I said yes. So here is how I did....

In every box of 2014 Panini Rookies and Stars is 25 packs with 8 cards per pack. You will find four hits per box with a mix of inserts as well. Boxes on average run you around $40.

I skipped the base and went for my best rookies this time. Photo variation of Watkins and an Odell rookie!

Tons of inserts. This group has ODELL!

Pulled a Drew Brees Base Longevity Holo Foil Numbered to 99

CRUSADES! Man I love these! Panini should just do a football set all with these.

Sorry for a sideways photo, but a nice Tom Brady Crusade purple parallel numbered to 49. Has a good book value too.

Rookie Crusades....ODELL!!!

Two jersey cards. Both aren't too shabby.

Wished Hyde hadn't gotten hurt, but at least we know who will be in SF's backfield for awhile.

And it seems every box of 2014 I opened, West was there. I can't believe it. I must have at least 8 of his autographed rookies. Maybe a player I should PC. I would be fine with it if he was talented. But being cut by the Browns is never a good sign.

Overall, the Odell inserts may have saved this break along with the big hit of the box the Tom Brady Crusade. I think I still got decent book value for what I paid so I am still pleased.

REVIEW: Crusade Basketball 2013-2014

This has a been a basketball product I have always wanted to get my hands on and finally was able to. From the outside of the box to in, this product had a theme and stuck to it. It also packed a punch in this particular box with the hits and designs. I for one know it has me wanting more!

Before I start my review, I would like to say thanks to the WONDERFUL people at Panini America for providing us with this box to review. Here are many places you can find Panini America: official site, blog, Twitter, and Facebook. If you don't follow them at all..you should! They interact with you on Twitter, have contests on their blog and Facebook and the site is also fun to visit!

Now onto the review:

BOX BREAK DOWN: 

• 6 Packs Per Box, 5 Cards Per Pack
• One Autograph Per Box!
• One Memorabilia Card Per Box!
• Eighteen Cruasde Cards Per Box!

PRICE: You can find most boxes under $70

 

 

BASE CARDS: .Crusade's base cards look quite impressive with the lion in stone design etched into the background, name in silver and when opening up a pack of Crusade it's great to see all of the vibrant color that the Crusade Prizms bring against the white-tinted base cards. It's an eye catcher for sure! In each pack you will get 2 of the base cards or 1 base card and 1 insert card and three of the Crusade Prizms.

The base set consists of 200 cards made up of 100 veterans, 50 rookies and 50 retired.

BOOM YA!

INSERTS: For me its all about the Crusade Prizms not that the regular inserts are ugly but in comparison with the Crusade Prizms unless you are color blind your eyes will drift that way. Also believe me when I say you have no idea how eye stunning these things are til you have them in person.

Crusade Prizms also feature three new color variations: Teal #'d/249, Orange Die-Cut #'d/99 and Purple #'d/99 all of which made an appearance out of the 18 Prizms found in a box. I was also fortunate to pull a Crusade orange die-cut: #'d to 99 of Larry Sanders.

It would take some effort to put together a set of Crusades as there are 300 in the set. But, it would be one amazing accomplishment!

I also pulled a 1/1 black base card parallel of Moses Malone. There are gold and black parallels of the rookies, veterans and retired.

AUTOGRAPHED CARDS: Just when you thought this particular break couldn't get any better after pulling some nice Crusade Prizms and a 1/1, I then came across a black parallel version of the Apprentice autographs. This one is numbered 5/10. There are 40 Apprentice rookie autos in the set.

New to this years Crusade product is autographed sets Hardwood Homage and Sultans of Springfield, featuring autos from legends of the game and members of the Basketball Hall of Fame.

As for autographs in this product, its well rounded. The designs stick with the theme of the product.

MEMORABILIA CARDS:  Panini stuck to a design in this set and passed it along to the inserts, autographs and also to the memorabilia. This is a pretty nice looking card of Shawn Kemp.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: I don't know if all boxes are packed like this with low numbered autos and 1/1's but I know after opening this up I want more! The design is spectacular, the Crusade inserts are mind blowing, and the price vs value is excellent. I will say the Crusades alone are worth the risk of this product and with so many other options it offers and being under $70 a box, why not give it a try.

Another thing to note about Crusade is a powder substance that you will immediately notice when handling the cards. I can try to explain what it is but it will serve you best to go straight to the source, Panini's blog The Knights Lance. I have provided the link with that info below:

http://paniniamerica.wordpress.com/2014/05/22/a-small-dust-up-panini-america-addresses-powder-mystery-in-prizm-and-crusade/