Bob Is Up To His Old Tricks

When it comes to cool Twins cards, Good Trading Buddy BobFranklin always seems to have them, so when I come across any unusual Phillies or Braves cards, I know where to turn. Sure enough, here is what my latest batch shipped off to Bob secured:

clockwise, from top left: 2013 Topps Commemorative Patch #CP-32 Joe Mauer (manu-patch); 2013 Topps Manufactured Patch Card #MCP-21 Joe Mauer (manu-patch); 2013 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects Red Ice #BDPP145 Joel Licon [01/25]; 2013 Bowman Platinum Top Prospects #TP-OA Oswaldo Arcia; 2001 Fleer Greats of the Game #112 Tony Oliva; 2007 Topps All-Star Rookies #ASR9 Francisco Liriano; 2012 Bowman Chrome Purple Refractor #18 Joe Benson [183/199]; 2011 Topps Pro Debut #147 Niko Goodrum

Always a pleasure, Bob!

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Swap With “Sergio’s” Blog

A little while back I joked about “Sergio”, the proprietor of Brad’s Blog, working out a swap with me. Of course Brad is actually the owner of Brad’s Blog, and he had some great Twins cards to trade. I have a standing rule that I won’t post my end of any trades until the return package is at least in the mail, and I finally sent it off after I received this year’s Phillies team set to add to the other cards I had stockpiled for him.

Here are some of the great Twins pickups — a couple HOF’er GU and a Mauer variation among them:

clockwise, from top left: 2005 Donruss Signature Series Stamps Materials #SST-5 Harmon Killebrew [13/70] (stamp/bat); 2013 Topps Out of Bounds variation #107 Joe Mauer; 2012 Topps Chrome Refractor Purple #94 Justin Morneau [055/199]; 2002 Topps Stadium Club World Champions #WC-BB Bert Blyleven (jersey); 2013 Panini Cooperstown #109 Bert Blyleven; 2013 Topps Toys ‘R Us Purple #102 Denard Span

Thanks again for the trade, “Sergio”!

Preseason Trade Blitz

Once again it was time to trade Braves & Phillies with BobFranklin since it was round two of the contest at Sports Card Freaks. Unlike last time, though, I couldn’t help him advance to the next round. Still, it was a great trade:

clockwise, from top left: 2008 Upper Deck Timeline #TM-MO Justin Morneau (jersey); 2007 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Sweet Swatch Memorabilia #SW-HU Torii Hunter (jersey); 2007 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects Future Games Prospect Patches #BDPP104 Matt Tolbert [49/99] (jersey); 2005 Upper Deck Reflections Cut from the Same Cloth Dual Red #CC-MK Harmon Killebrew / Justin Morneau [28/99] (dual jersey); 2007 Upper Deck Artifacts Apparel #MLB-FL Francisco Liriano [082/199] (jersey)

We gave it a good try, Bob; thanks again for the trade!

In addition, I raided the trade bait page at Nachos Grande and flipped some Reds cards to Chris for these (and other) Twins cards:

clockwise, from top left: 2012 Allen & Ginter N43 Boxtopper #N43-8 Joe Mauer; 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen Mini Gypsy Queen Back #153 Delmon Young; 2012 Allen & Ginter Mini Black Bordered #297 Justin Morneau; 2012 Allen & Ginter Mini Black Bordered #138 Josh Willingham; 2011 Topps Lineage Diamond Parallel #20 Justin Morneau; 2011 Topps Lineage Venezuela #TV17 Joe Mauer; 2000 Skybox Metal #96 Brad Radke

Thanks, Chris!

Traded for a few other Twins cards as well, including my first Gaetti AU. Don’t forget to check out my Trade Bait page!

Bob Maintains His “Good Trading Buddy” Status

Fresh off the trading competition at Sports Card Arena, BobFranklin decided to take on the Sports Card Freaks contest as well. Being easy to find cards for (Braves & Phillies), I found several cards he needed, and in return Bob sent a 2013 Joe Mauer base card, as well as these:

clockwise, from top left: 2002 Fleer eX Game Essentials #23 Brad Radke (jersey); 2009 Upper Deck SP^x Winning Materials Triple #WM3-NLB Joe Nathan / Francisco Liriano / Scott Baker (triple jersey); 2012 Topps Finest Xfractor Refractor #83 Joe Mauer; 2007 Upper Deck Future Stars Gold #58 Johan Santana [36/99]; 2008 Topps Moments & Milestones #87 Johan Santana (Strikeout 226) [21/25]; 2006 Upper Deck Ultimate Collection Game Materials #UGM-HU Torii Hunter [19/50] (jersey)

Time to start piling up cards to trade for round two. Thanks again for the trade, GTB Bob!

Here are some Twins AU that have arrived recently as well, including my first AU of Garza, Rincon, and Dinkleman:

clockwise, from top left: 2007 Topps Updates & Highlights #HA-MG Matt Garza (auto); 2007 Fleer Ultra Ultra Graphs #UG-JN Joe Nathan [140/299] (auto); 2000 Bowman Draft Picks Autographs #BDPA26 Juan Rincon (auto); 1997 Score Select #103 Todd Walker (auto); 2008 Upper Deck Ballpark Collection #143 Nick Blackburn (auto); 2008 Bowman Chrome Prospects #BCP283 Brian Dinkleman (auto)

COMC Black Friday Haul

On Black Friday, I finally used Check Out My Cards for more that just a reference website, and actually purchased something. LOTS of something, actually.

Besides offering free shipping for orders of more than 10 cards (not a problem!), they were set up to allow their sellers to offer sale prices, plus they gave a $.10 credit for each card purchased, so if I was ever to dive in, this was the opportunity.

I approached their huge inventory from many different directions, looking for Twins cards to complete sets, knock out some annoying 80’s/90’s singles, find some cheap vintage needs, inexpensive autograph cards, and favorite players (ie: Lewwwww!).

The booty was nicely packaged, and arrived in a timely manner; I was more than happy with the cards and with their service. Now, to spend the $7.60 in credit!

(pictures below after the break)

Offseason Swaps

Been plenty busy lately, but still managed to get a couple offseason trades in. Sports Card Arena is having a trading contest, and I put together two quick exchanges with contestants there, including frequent trade partner BobFranklin. Also, I found Phillies collector Brad’s blog (conveniently named Brad’s Blog) and worked out a first-time swap of a Lidge GU, some Big Hurt inserts, and other singles for some really nice Twins cards that Brad had sent.

clockwise, from top left: 2008 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Sweet Beginnings #109 Brian Bass [556/699] (auto); 2005 Bowman Futures Game Gear #FGG-JMO Justin Morneau (jersey); 1997 Donruss Signature Series Javier Valentin (auto); 2011 Bowman Sterling Refractor Relic #RRR-BR Ben Revere (jersey); 2012 Topps Chrome Black Refractor #158 Joe Benson [073/100]; 2008 Upper Deck UD Premier Signatures Blue #226 Jose Morales [75/99] (auto)

Some others that arrived recently as well:

clockwise, from top left: 2005 Leaf Century Collection #170 Shannon Stewart [090/100] (bat); 2002 Donruss Rookie Crusade #RC-9 Adam Johnson [098/500] (auto); x; 2004 Upper Deck Authentic Stars Gold #AS-TO Torii Hunter [012/100] (jersey); 2004 Topps Chrome #240 Matthew Moses (auto); 2005 Topps Gallery Penmanship #GPA-JB Jason Bartlett (auto)

Thanks for the trades, Brad & Bob!

Winning!

Before I get to honoring the prize package, I wanted to list a couple recent trades. First, one more swap with BobFranklin from SCA, Phillies-for-Twins:

2005 Donruss Zenith #ZB-40 Jacque Jones (jersey); 2005 Topps Opening Day Target Exclusive #44 Shannon Stewart (jersey)

Second, a quick little exchange with Matt at Cardboard Conundrum, Cubs-for-Twins:

2012 Topps Gypsy Queen Straight Cut mini #119 Justin Morneau; 2003 Donruss Playoff Piece of the Game #POG-44 J.C. Romero (auto/jersey)

Lastly, I want to express my appreciation to Brian of 30-Year Old Cardboard who held a contest celebrating his 500,000^th(!) hit. I was randomly selected for the top prize, this beauty:

2002 Fleer Greats Authentic Autograph Andre Dawson

And Brian already has 8,000 hits since then! I gotta get me one of those kind of counters. 😉 Thanks again for the great prize; The Hawk was a quality player.

What About Bob?

I went back to the well with Sports Card Arena trader BobFranklin, and for some more Braves and Phillies GU and inserts/s#’d cards, I received the following cards. (more after the break)

Autos:
I’ve taken a shine to the Beam Team autograph cards, and these were my first B&W and Gold parallels. Also, the Endorsements cards are very sharp looking.

clockwise, from top left: 2008 Topps Stadium Club Beam Team Gold #BTA-CMO Craig Monroe [42/50] (auto); 2008 Topps Stadium Club Beam Team Black & White #BTA-CMO Craig Monroe [94/99] (auto); 2005 Donruss Signature Series Silver #68 Garrett Jones (auto); 2006 Upper Deck F/X Special Endorsements #SE-DG Dave Gassner (auto)