Offer Up Collection Purchase Recap #1

I've had fun the past couple of days going through the small Offer Up collection I picked up recently.

There was exactly one card in a top loader and only a handful of cards in penny sleeves in the entire collection. Here is the one card that was in a top loader.

I'm not even sure this card is all that deserving of a top loader, but I do collect Bryce Harper cards, so I removed it from the top loader and penny sleeve and added it to my Bryce Harper binder.

I mentioned that the older football was going to be traded to my Offer Up football/basketball guy. I reached out and already made the trade. Sorry Night Owl and Angus. I don't think there was any big names, but there was a good number of 1979, 1980 and 1981 Topps football as well as another 1000 or so more recent football cards and a few hundred 1993-94 Fleer basketball cards that I traded for these.

I know what you are thinking. More junk wax? This is true, but these are a little different and they are complete sets that eventually I will binder and enjoy. They are also sets that I don't already have, so I am happy with the trade.

Here are some other cards from the Offer Up purchase that I have been able to add to my collection from the Offer Up collection purchase this past Saturday.

I was able to add these two cards to my Topps All-Star Rookie Cup binder as the best Rookie Cup card for that year. I have these already as part of the Topps base sets, but these were able to go into my specific Rookie Cup binder.

I'm very familiar with Upper Deck MVP cards, but I wasn't familiar with this factory set. I was worried that there might be a card or tow missing, but it is 100% complete. Not only is it the base 2003 MVP set, but it contains an Update Set as well. Always happy to add complete sets to my collection!

There was a stack of about 75 1984 Donruss cards and I was able to add 6 cards to my set. There were two Diamond Kings and then these 4 that I needed. I'm down to needing just 50 cards to complete this set.

One of the other collections I traded for had a near complete set of 2000 Topps HD cards. It's a small 100 card set. I needed 10 cards. There were a few cards in this collection from this set and I needed 1 of them.

Here are a few other cards that I pulled from the boxes and will be keeping in my collection.

I probably already have this Jim Morris rookie card, but it was still a nice find. This card is usually in the $5 range.

I don't come across the Mantle Baseball Heroes cards very often and when I do they are usually a couple of bucks apiece, so it was nice to find this one.

Next up are these 1989 Holsum discs. This is a 20 card set, so I am now halfway there. The dups were of Wally Joyner and Frank Viola. I collect Wally Joyner, so that dup was put to good use.

Speaking of dups. Check out these 1989 Fleer insert sets. The funny thing is that I don't think there was actually any 1989 Fleer in the collection.

I'll probably have another post or two from this collection, but so far I think it's been worth it.

Topps #7 and my missing Mantles!

My comc order came in earlier than expected. I got it Saturday the 18th. The estimated delivery date was almost a week later. Friday, the 24th.

I was really excited about this package because I thought I was finishing off a bunch of projects. I was wrong.

In 1996 Topps immortalized the late great Mickey Mantle with card #7 in it's set. A tribute to his uniform number.

From 1997 - 2005 Topps didn't produce a card #7 as a tribute to The Mick. Then, starting in 2006 Topps issued card #7 with Mickey Mantle on it up until 2012. Starting again in 2013 and continuing through 2016, again there was no Topps #7 card. Earlier this month 2017 Topps was released and the collecting world was treated to card #7 again, but this time it was not of Mantle, but it was a card featuring another Yankee superstar in the making, Gary Sanchez.

The paragraph above is probably not new to most of you reading this. It wasn't new to me either. I had set aside the various 2006 - 2012 Topps card #7 that I came across but I was missing 2 cards; 2009 and 2011. I actually had the Topps Opening Day version of the 2011 card, but when I placed my most recent comc order I decided to "complete" the mini set and I ordered the 2009 and 2011 cards.

So here they are in chronological order; 2006 - 2012.

Which one is your favorite? For me, it's between the 2007 and 2009 cards.

I wanted to show the cards backs because again, they're all card #7. Aren't they great? And they completed a small little project; right?

Wrong.

I was doing a little research and I learned that in 2006 when Topps issued it's first card #7 since 1996 they produced a 10 card insert set called the Mickey Mantle Collection that featured a Mantle card in each Topps design 1996 - 2005.

Now I've got to get my hands on those 10 cards. I realized that I actually already have one of them (MM1997), so I guess I only need 9, but it's frustrating to think I was adding 2 cards and finishing off a project to learning that I need 9 additional cards to complete the project.

If you have any of the 2006 Topps Mickey Mantle Collection cards I need please let me know. Thanks!

MM1996 Mickey Mantle

MM1998 Mickey Mantle

MM1999 Mickey Mantle

MM2000 Mickey Mantle

MM2001 Mickey Mantle

MM2002 Mickey Mantle

MM2003 Mickey Mantle

MM2004 Mickey Mantle

MM2005 Mickey Mantle

More on the Mantle Autograph

I bought this Mickey Mantle autograph from a card shop back in 1999 or 2000. The card shop had recently purchased a large collection from someone and this was part of it. It came with a Certificate of Authenticity (which I haven't been able to find since we moved back in July) and a picture of the guy with Mickey Mantle at a card show. The card can be seen on the table in front of Mantle. So while it appears that some of these cards were autographed by Mantle and sold by Upper Deck, I don't think that this one was. It appears that it was bought unsigned and that Mantle signed it at a card show.

I recently notice a serial number and stamp on the back of the card. It card be seen on the bottom left hand corner. I can't make out any of the writing in the circle. I'm assuming this is from the company that provided the certificate of authenticity. Is anyone out there familiar with this stamp/company? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Mickey Mantle Autograph - Real or Fake?

Take a look at the card above and give me your honest opinion of whether or not you think the autograph is real or fake. The card itself was produced by Upper Deck in 1994 and measures 3.5" x 5". 

I've had this card for over 10 years and have always wondered whether or not it's legit. Not because I don't trust where I got it from, but because of the huge number of Mantle forgeries out there. I'd like to get everyone's opinion and then I'll provide a little more information about where I got it from. Thanks!

25 down, 0 to go...wait, that means I'm finished!

 It took me well over a year to complete this, but it was worth it! I now have a bat card of every member of the 500 Home Run Club. Here they are.