Burbank Pickups Of The Month Part 3: Eli!

We have finally reached the final part of my mail day from Burbank Sportcards.

Today, we end with a group of Eli's that helped lead me to my 800 level.

Topps Chrome mini and mini base

UD Game Jersey

Prestige Down and Distance relic

Z-Team. Not quite as sharp as the ones from the 90's, but the dufex still stands out.

Remember, you too can order from Burbank Sportcards Beckett Marketplace and Save 10% off your orders from Burbanks Sportscards on Beckett Marketplace. Use Code: 15BURBANK at checkout to do so! Also spend $50 and you will get free shipping. BOOM!

Shop their millions of items in inventory now by clicking THIS LINK HERE:
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Thoughts on my mail day and wondering what year Z-Team you appreciate are welcomed in comments!

The Future Of Blue

My new friend over at Valley Of Cards recently sent me a couple of cards he thought I would enjoy and boy he was right.

Daniel Jones has been red hot in the preseason. Once again, yes it is preseason, but have you seen the accuracy on his throws? Preseason or not, that still matters. He did fumble twice last night as his first two turnovers and will need to learn how to fix that, but other than that. he has been everything I had hoped.

This marks my first base card with Daniel in blue.

This guy doesn't plan to appear in the preseason as the Giants know how valuable he is to their team. And I am fine with that. So far I would say they have done a good job managing their starters and pulling them without causing injuries.

Big thanks goes out to  Valley Of Cards for the help. If you haven't yet, click on the link I included to check out their website with a vast of unique memorabilia items and check out their eBay stores here for you collecting needs,
Click link to visit Valley Of Cards website or check out their eBay stores here
https://www.ebay.com/usr/valleyofcards-2
https://www.ebay.com/usr/valleyofcards

REVIEW:2016 Topps Triple Threads Baseball+BIG PULL AND BIG #d 1/3 GIVEAWAY!

Triple Threads baseball has been an iconic Topps brand now for over 10 years now and one that has a lot to offer from MLB players of the past and present with a deep checklist of autograph and memorabilia items. The cards have always looked really sharp as I have picked up many singles over the years from baseball and football.

So why don't we take a look at what the 2016 edition looks like,

In every hobby box of 2016 Topps Triple Threads baseball, there are two mini boxes. Inside of those mini boxes are one silver pack in each. Each hobby box will run you $170. So it's high end that not everyone can afford, but mini boxes wouldn't be a bad way to go here if you wanted to gamble.

 

Each Mini Box may contain VERSION 1 or VERSION 2:
VERSION 1 contains three base cards, two base Parallel cards,one Triple Relic Card AND one Triple Threads Unity Single Auto Jumbo Relic OR one Autographed Rookie Card.

VERSION 2 contains three base cards, two base Parallel cards,one AND 1 Autographed Triple Relic card + one Triple Threads Unity Jumbo Relic.
 

In every hobby box you should find the following,

• One Autographed Triple Relic Card #'d to 99 or less
• One Triple Relic Card #'d to 36 or less
• One Autographed Rookie Card or Triple Threads Unity Autograph Jumbo Relic Card #'d to 99 or less
• One Triple Threads Unity Jumbo Relic Card #'d to 36 or less

The base cards are what you would expect from a high end brand. Well designed, printed on high end cardboard (none of that flimsy stuff) and top notch checklist of players from present to past.

There are 100 cards in the base set.

 

As with any product today, there are parallels. Mine was Astro heavy. The upside down triangle behind the players head helps you differentiate what color you pulled. Besides the numbering.

 Here are the many options for base card parallels.

• Amethyst Parallel - #'d to 250
• Emerald Parallel - #'d to 200
• Amber Parallel - #'d to 150
• Gold Parallel - #'d to 99
• Onyx Parallel - #'d to 50
• Sapphire Parallel - #'d to 25
• Ruby Parallel - #'d to 1
• Printing Plates - All 1 of 1's!

Now time for the hits in my box!

This is a Triple Threads Unity Single Jumbo Relics. If I am going to get a one color swatch, I want it on a nice looking card as this. The base versions of these are #'d to 36. I pulled a silver that is #d to 27.

There are other parallels to:

• Emerald Parallel - #'d to 18
• Gold Parallel - #'d to 9
• Sapphire Parallel - #'d to 3
• Ruby Parallel - #'d to 3 

My next pull was an Autographed Rookie Card and a dreaded redemption card. Not something I would expect in a high end brand, but I guess it happens. I just wished it had been of a legend or big current player. Doesn't feel right being a rookie. But, I guess some or most of these are on-card so that works.

 

It's called Triple Threads for a reason....Triple the threads. This is an Triple Threads autograph card but it's also a Sapphire parallel numbered to 3. Base versions are numbered to 18.

 

Other parallels are....

• Gold Parallel - #'d to 9
• Ruby Parallel - #'d to 1
• Wood Parallel - #'d to 1
• Printing Plates - All 1 of 1

My final pull was a biggie, a Triple Threads Jumbo Plus Relic booklet that has 1 player with 3 relics, which include 2 patch pieces and 1 jumbo patch piece and is #d to 3.

 

Inside.....

BOOM! And it's Game Used! Such a sick card.

There are tons and tons of other finds not found in my box but in the product including,

• Triple Threads Jumbo Patch Combos
• Triple Threads Letter Plus Relics
• Triple Threads Unity Autograph Jumbo Relics
• Triple Threads All-Star Patches
• Triple Threads All-Star Jumbo ASG Patches
• Triple Threads All-Star Jumbo Sleeve Team Patches
• Triple Threads All-Star Majestic Logo Patch
• Triple Threads All-Star Laundry Tag,  
• Deca Threads Auto Relics
• Deca THREADS Auto Relic Combos
• Deca Threads Relic Combos
• Future Phenoms Auto Relics
• Triple Threads Auto Relic Combos
• Triple Threads Jumbo Plus Autograph Relics
• Triple Threads Letter Plus Autograph Relics
• Triple Threads Cut Above Autograph
• Triple Threads Dual Cut Above Autographs
• Triple Threads Relics Legends
• Triple Threads Relics
• Triple Threads Bat Name Plates
• Triple Threads Jumbo Letter/Number/Logos
• Triple Threads Bat Knobs
• Triple Threads Jumbo Plus Relics
• Triple Threads Jumbo Patch Combos
• Triple Threads Letter Plus Relics

And of course all of these have parallels as well. I would have listed what each card description is, but I think for the most part they are self explanatory and with so much offered I would be here awhile. They are however all really beautiful cards and I suggest you look some up on eBay or Google to see some of these for yourself. It may help you decide to buy a box other than my review of course ;)

 

You should also check out this article on Topps about the All-Star jerseys they included in the product. Read that HERE.

I also have the 2016 Topps Triple Threads baseball checklist available for you to that I found on the GoGTS website. I couldn't find it on Topps. You can check that out, HERE. It's pretty loaded.
 

Overall, this is what I would come to expect from a high end brand. Low numbered cards, well designed and some HUGE hits that await. You can't guarantee that every break is going to turn out as well as mine did, but, that's the risk you take with any high end product. This one on the other hand I think has so much to offer that if I was to roll the dice on high end, this would be the one I would take a chance on. 

 

If you can't afford the gamble, definitely get yourself in on a box break or try a mini box. I don't think you will be disappointed.

 

Now time for the GIVEAWAY. This is how this is going to work:

 

20 Entries or less,

This is the contest:

 

35 Entries or less,

This will be tossed in to another winner. So two winners

 

50 Entries

This will be tossed in to another winner. So three winners. Yes, this is 1/3!!!!!

 

 

I strongly suggest you spread the word on this one! I know we can hit 50 entries and we have a week to do so! Not to mention, spreading the word and commenting with so earns you an extra entry!

RULES:

1. Please make sure to take a minute out to thank Topps for providing this 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.
2. ***VERY IMPORTANT***MUST BE A U.S. RESIDENT to enter or have a shipping address in the U.S. Shipping costs have gone haywire and I can't afford to ship everywhere.This is always hard to do as I appreciate all readers but I hope you all understand non-U.S. readers.
3. Random winner(s) will be chosen after 7 randoms
4. Card(s) may be shipped PWE. I like to forewarn on this.
5. LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW telling me ONE PRO AND ONE CON OF THE PRODUCT.
6. EARN AN EXTRA ENTRY FOR SHARING THIS CONTEST ON YOUR BLOG AND/OR ON TWITTER. Make sure to leave your link in comments too so I can count it. If not, I won't be able to give you the credit. Commenting with it is very important or you WILL LOSE OUT an extra entry!
7. Sport Card Collectors or it's owner (person who runs the blog), WILL NOT be held responsible for lost, stolen or damaged mail. Sorry had to add this in since someone tried to scam me once about this.
8. Contest starts today, ends on November 4th 2016. Winner(s) will be announced in a separate post on November 5th 2016
9. If you don't follow all of the rules above, you will be disqualified.
10. Don't forget to thank the above sponsor of this contest and I won't mind a thank you as well :)

Good luck to all that enter and thanks for reading!

2016 Yard Sale Find Part 4: Grand Finale!

A baby wipes container. Who would have thought of using that as a place to store baseball cards?? I will say that it's pretty durable and it can hold many cards, but corners however, don't survive that well. And I found that out the hard way.

Kicking this off, tons of 2007 Topps baseball. Most had some to significant corner damage. That's what storing them in this will do along with those black borders. I remember how excited I was when I pack pulled that Kei Igawa rookie, then it quickly went away. This time that excitement came back for a bit but left fast. Still a Yank's PC find however.

Tons of 1992 Stadium Club Draft Picks and Team USA cards. Nobody I knew besides Yanks awesome pick Brien Taylor (feel that sarcasm)

Sp rookie of Quilvio Veras. Always loved these rookie cards and surprisingly this one survived the corner massacre.

Nice gold parallel finds especially in Ichiro. Just wished it didn't have a couple of very small corner issues.

Even more baseball inserts from a variety of years. Some in good shape, others not. But players include, Bonds, A-Rod, David Ortiz (what a year he is having) and Ryne Sandberg.

Mickey Mantle Homerun inserts. These were luckily in great shape.

KGJR! I believe this is a new one as well. And it's shiny, bonus!

Derek Jeter SI For Kids card. Not bad at all.

And finally, to my biggest surprise, a jersey card. I think the jersey card itself was surprising to. It's player worn. Not something you hear of that's not a rookie card.

 

Overall, I would say $20 well spent. Pretty solid list of players, some sets, inserts and even a jersey card.

Now that you guys have seen it all, $20 well spent? Would you have rather spent it elsewhere? Best find of my cards?

Review:2015 Score Football

To me, this is always the first REAL football card release each year as it's one the NFL's firsts other than Bowman. But, not being a fan of Bowman, I always go straight for Score. I know I am always guaranteed well designed inserts, tons of base for a set, lots of rookies (my big aim) and just a good time. This years Score proved to be no different. I actually had so much fun, I ended up getting two hobby boxes and extra packs on the side. This one is for review purposes but stay tuned for the second one that I pulled a 1/1 in and possibly the breakdown of the extra packs too.

BOX BREAKDOWN:

In every box of 2015 Score football, there are 24 packs with 12 cards per pack. So you know you will be getting your money worth. Each pack comes with a couple inserts and 2-3 rookies. Boxes will run you roughly $45 so spending a little on possible big return.

BASE CARDS:
This years base cards like the last few years are done very well. The border on the cards, usually a problem for me, is done perfectly here acting more as a frame to the action shots than a bother. Some of the photos bring you back to certain moments on the field that you remember from last season. It also captures the raw emotion of the game.

More great photos here. I think we all remember watching this Antonio Brown foot kick to the face of the Browns punter.

The base also has most of the players with their new teams.

The rookie cards in the base set this year are massively improved. Gone are the head shots, in with the action shots. This change happened because of Panini's deal with a CLC license. This type of addition to the set massively improves this product and adds a bit of 90's flair to it as well. In all, there are 440 cards in the base set including 110 of these rookies.

SP'S AND VARIATIONS:
Also, just in years past, there are photo variations. Most of them are easy to find and I found out that in your pack if you find a base card facing backwards in the middle of the pack, that's you variation. These are falling roughly one-per-box.

The thing with Score this year is that it's loaded with parallels. Even the photo variations have them! There are Blue Camo, Desert Camo, Green Camo, Night Camo. Here is a Peyton Manning one I found in my box. These as well fall one-per-box.

INSERTS:
There are other parallels to find as well. In my two hobby boxes, I came up empty on them except my three Scorecards. These are unnumbered parallels as opposed to the others.

And speaking of parallels. HOLY MOLY  there are ton! There are parallels to EVERY SINGLE INSERT set. Each one of the following comes in Red, Green, Gold,and Black. It seems the black parallel is the toughest as you only find a couple of those per box. So for us team collectors, you could gather quite a few rainbows together.

There are some classic designs here as well along with some new ones. I am quite impressed myself. You get quite a mixture of regular and parallel inserts in every box.

All-Time Franchise

Sophomore Selections
Black parallel of Jarvis Landry!

Team Leaders

Gridiron Heritage
Loved this design. Totally throwback!

Franchise
Black Derek Carr!

And the most fun insert of all....fun puzzle cards of top fantasy players you can make any combination of. Who would you put together as a team? You have Ground Gainers (RB), Precision Passers (QB) and Playmakers (WR). These have parallels as well as you can see. Blue Camo, Desert Camo, Green Camo,  and Night Camo like the one of Cam Newton I found.

 

MEMORABILIA CARDS:
In every box you are guaranteed at least one hit. I have seen some boxes online with an auto and a mem. My box came with a memorabilia card, game used too, of a trio of Chief defenders. Pretty cool for a low end product and second hardest other than a quad jersey. I like the design and layout as well.

AUTOGRAPHED CARDS:
N/A in this box
There are some top notch players to find for autographs such as Tom Brady and Peyton Manning along with all of the top rookies.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: 
What can I say? As you can tell by my positive review, I am a huge fan of Score. This is not only fun for adults but a product that would be fun for kids as well. With a low end cost, big checklist throughout there is plenty to collect and be excited about in the 2015 version of Score football.

Another One? Yes, Of Course!

No, this is not a repeat post. This is a totally new card but the same card. Confusing huh?

When I had the opportunity to add a piece of baseball card history to my collection again this time at a much cheaper price, I couldn't go wrong. So, once again, another Rey Ordonez 1997 Upper Deck Game Jersey Card. Not as nice of a swatch as the first time, but still a nice card.

And if you had forgotten what the first card looked like, here it is again.

I still need to chase down a Gwynn, very cheap on Dacardworld but I haven't had the chance to get it yet. Of course I would need the Griffey too, in order to have the set. In the meantime, I will bask in these two.

TOP WANT LIST CARD: ACCOMPLISHED

I DID IT! I landed probably the toughest card off from my Want List up til now. A card that is both rare and a piece of sport card history. I landed the first ever produced Game Jersey card. I FINALLY landed a 1996 Upper Deck Game Jersey Card. On an even bigger note, I landed it for under $25.

Now the player on the card isn't the best off the checklist, actually he is the worst, but that isn't the principle of it. I now own a piece of cardboard history. The very first jersey card. The card that fell at an incredible 1:2600 packs. The one that has eluded me, especially because of the price it cost. But, now it's mine. I got an eBay steal and it's mine. My patience of waiting on the card to end paid off.

I hope you guys enjoy my celebration moment as much as I do. Here it is in all it's glory! Yes, even though it's Rashaan Salaam!

Back of the card. I like how it actually states..THE FIRST EVER game worn jersey card....just awesome.

Try not get too attached. This bad boy isn't going anywhere.

I still am in awe that I was able to pick up one of these. My hands were shaking when it arrived in the mail. I know many 90's collectors who I will be the envy of over this card.

So I gotta ask, do you envy me over this card? What are your thoughts on this card? Do you consider it a piece of cardboard history? Let's hear it!

Rey Ordonez...You Mean More Than You Think (eBay mail day)

I have one. YESSSSSSSSSSSS, I have an UD Game Jersey card from the 90's. The card I was able to acquire on eBay isn't the 1996 one I have been wanting forever, but its the 1997 edition and is still one tremendous PC card add.

In 1996, Upper Deck released the first-ever jersey cards into the market with its 1996 Upper Deck football product. In 1997, Upper Deck's baseball product was notable for having the first game-used cards in a mainstream baseball product. So even though this card I picked up wasn't the first overall jersey card like I had wanted, it still was the first overall baseball jersey card.So I guess that goes into consideration for being what I was looking for.

Without further ado, here is the card I picked up on eBay for a reasonable $10. I say reasonable because these cards are hard to find due to the fact they were rare hits falling at 1:800 packs. There is also only three player cards available in the set as well.

I like the fact that it even has a stripe. This kinda card isn't about the player on the card as much as it is about the card itself. Just. Plain. Beautiful.

Back of the card. I think it's pretty awesome the way that UD worded everything and the fact that it's a GAME WORN jersey. Those are seemingly becoming rarer in our market today with so many manufactured and player worn relics.

I liked the card when I bought it, but upon receiving it, I loved it. This is a piece of cardboard history and the start of something that changed the baseball card industry forever. I wouldn't mind trying for the set but with the Griffey being so EXPENSIVE, I know that dream will never come true.

However, my other dream of possibly owning a 1996 UD Game Jersey card, still lives on.

Breakin Wax: 2014 Prestige Football Hobby Box

Prestige, simply one of my favorite releases yearly and this year proved to be no different. It used to come out right after the draft, but Panini decided to switch the Score and Prestige release dates so this product falls a little later now. That just means I get more impatient.

My wife knows about my impatience with the product and was nice enough to pick me up a box. You will have to read on to see how I did.

In every box of 2014 Prestige football, there are 24 packs per box with 8 cards per pack. Most packs come with at least one rookie. You will also find one box topper and 4 autographs/memorabilia cards per box

Here is the box topper wrapper.

The cards are the same Draft Picks version you can find in the packs, but just done in jumbo size. They look really cool up close.

At first glance, I didn't care for the base card design. But, upon further looking at them and looking at all of them, I like it. Panini used team color schemes for the back ground split 50/50 with the team logo watermarked behind the player. Some of the team combinations on these look really nice. One of my favorites is Seattle's.

Back of base card

Rookie cards. These were the top rookie cards I pulled in my box. It was very weak in terms of rookies.

Extra Points parallels. These are the reds that fall 1:13.

Here is the purple Extra Points, these are numbered to 199.

Inserts. I was really impressed with the designs and layouts.

Acetate! Might be a tad bit too much since more than one inserts is made with it. I would rather see one done with acetate and find another way to do the rest. If I had to choose one of these designs to stick with , I would choose the Captain one.

Micro-Etched madness! See acetate feeling above...

My pulls. Nothing terrific, but one thing I know, you have got to give rookies time to see how they pan out.

HAHAHAHAHAHA only my third auto of his this year!! This one is an autograph Extra Points red parallel.

And finally, you should get one on-card auto per box. Mine, Mr. Cody Latimer. Another one of those, "you find a hit in every box" kind guy.

Overall, not the best Prestige break I have ever had. I did much better in 2013. I do like the base card designs, the inserts look nice but are a tad bit overdone, and the hits were okay. It will probably be one of those products since I am a Prestige fan that I will have to get a second glance on before deciding if I really like it or not.