2015 Topps Five Star NPN

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Here’s another NPN from Topps.

Cards and Odds:
Approximate odds per box of finding (*Sequentially Numbered): Autograph Parallels: *Rainbow 1:6, *Emerald 1:30, *Five Star 1:148; *Silhouetted r Logo Patch Autograph 1:310; *Autograph Jumbo Patch 1:23; Autograph Jumbo Patch Parallels: *Gold 1:79, *Rainbow 1:157, *Five Star 1:774; *Silver Signatures 1:13; Silver Signatures Parallels: *Purple 1:25, *Blue 1:31, *Green 1:41, *Gold 1:61, *Orange 1:120, *Red 1:596; *Golden Graphs 1:13; Golden Graphs Parallels: *Purple 1:26, *Blue 1:32, *Green 1:42, *Gold 1:63, ’Orange 1:125, *Red 1:620; *Five Tools Autograph 1:27; *Five Star Cut Signature 1:157; *Hall of Fame Class Cut Signature Book 122,212; *Legendary Lineups Cut Signature Book 1:5,160.

Instructions:
N0 PURCHASE NECESSARY: Open only to U.S./Canadian (except Quebec: residents. For a chance to obtain any of the cards listed above. at the same odds, while supplies last, hand print your name and complete address on a 3 x 5 card and mail in a #10 envelope to: NPN 2015 TOPPS FIVE STAR BB, P.0. BOX 2008, DUBYEA, PA 18642. Only one card per envelope, mailed separately. postmarked by December 30, 2015 and received by January 6, 2016. No metered mail. Limit 1 request per household for 2015 Topps Five Star BB. Failure to comply will result in all entries disqualified. Drawings on or about January 13, 2016. Potential Canadian winners will be required to first correctly answer the mathematical skill-testing question. Include on a 3 x 5 card the answer to the following skill-test question: 11 X 4 + 20 — 6 = ? Major League Baseball affiliates not responsible for this promotion.

Address:
NPN 2015 TOPPS FIVE STAR BB
PO. BOX 2008
Duryea, PA 18642

 

2013 Leaf Metal Draft Box Break and Review

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Product Breakdown:

  • Manufacturer: Leaf
  • Distinction: Hobby
  • Packs Per Box: 1
  • Cards Per Pack: 6
  • Total Cards: 6
  • Cost: $87
  • Cost Per Card: $14.50
  • Base Set: 58 Autographs

My Hits:

  • Base Autographs: 2
  • Prismatics: 2 (1 blue, 1 purple)
  • State Pride: 2 (1 super prismatic 1/1)
  • Approximate Beckett Value: Unknown
  • Opinion: Sharp cards and designs with some drool-worthy collectibles

My Thoughts:
As an avid Nolan Ryan collector, one tip off to a set I really like is when I find myself wanting Nolan Ryan cards in the set’s style, as was the case here.  The base autos are hard-signed and shine like what other products call refractors or prizms.  This touch carries through to the parallels which look great, and made it clear I was pulling something special with the purple and blue variations numbered to 50 and 15, respectively.  The uniqueness came with the State Pride cards and my heart skipped a beat when I saw the familiar shimmer of the Super Prismatic State Pride 1/1.  For the money, this was a great break I would easily do again.

Below are some shots of the box and some of the cards.

2013 Leaf Metal Draft

2013 Leaf Metal Draft

2013 Leaf Metal Draft

2013 Leaf Metal Draft

2013 Leaf Metal Draft

2013 Topps Tier One Box Break and Review

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Product Breakdown:

  • Manufacturer: Topps
  • Distinction: Hobby
  • Packs Per Box: 1
  • Cards Per Pack: 3 (2 autos and 1 relic)
  • Total Cards: 3 (plus a bonus relic)
  • Cost: $87
  • Cost Per Card: $29
  • Base Set: 50 Relics and 24 Autographs

My Hits:

  • Autographs: 1
  • Relics: 2
  • Redemptions: Case hit Dual Auto Tier One Relic
  • Approximate Beckett Value: Unknown
  • Opinion: Good-looking cards and decent value for the break

My Thoughts:
I like these cards and they do look good, but they remind me a little of Upper Deck’s Exquisite or Ultimate Collection from years ago.  That said, I think the redemption I pulled is a book card and they do look pretty cool.  That redemption features relics and autographs from Don Sutton and Clayton Kershaw for a nice L.A. Dodgers hit and Beckett has them listed as serially numbered to 10.  The 3 other cards are each numbered to 399 which was nice to see.  Inception and Supreme have base cards that are limited in that there’s only so many cases out there, but they don’t serial number the base cards and I wish they would.  This was a fun little box to break and I’ll probably pick up another with my next order from Dave and Adam’s.

Below are some shots of the box and some of the cards.

2013 Topps Tier One

2013 Topps Tier One

2015 Bowman Inception 8 Box Case Break and Review

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Product Breakdown:

  • Manufacturer: Topps
  • Distinction: Hobby
  • Boxes Per Case: 8
  • Packs Per Box: 1
  • Cards Per Pack: 5 (4 autos and 1 auto/relic)
  • Total Cards: 40
  • Cost: $610
  • Cost Per Card: $15.25
  • Base Set: 58 Prospect and 14 Rookie Autographs

My Hits:

  • Autographs: 31 (5 numbered /99 or /150 and 1 orange /25)
  • Autograph Relics: 7
  • Redemptions: 2 (1 auto and 1 auto/relic)
  • Approximate Beckett Value: Unknown
  • Opinion: Great-looking cards to keep in my collection.

My Thoughts:
I really liked these cards.  With 5 per box versus the 2 per box seen in may other products of this ilk, I was able to collect a lot more autographs for the money and they look great, too, so I’m happy to keep most in my collection.  Sadly, I do have a few duplicates, but for the most part, there was a fair mix.  In all, I ended up with 1 orange, 2 green, and 3 blue variants and 7 unique Auto Relics out of the set of 32.  In base autos, I wound up with 18 Prospect Autos, 7 Rookie Autos, and 2 redemptions which I’m redeeming for my collection.  Of course, I fuel future purchases by selling off some of the bigger hits, but I’m happy to keep some cards for myself now and then, too.

Below are some shots of the box and some of the cards.

2015 Bowman Inception

2015 Bowman Inception

2015 Bowman Inception

2015 Bowman Inception

2015 Bowman Inception

2015 Bowman Inception

2015 Bowman Inception

Great NPN Mail Day

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Upper Deck has a great NPN program that makes it very easy to enter for any of their sets.  I enter all the time and just when I start to wonder about the older ones I entered weeks or months ago, cards show up at my door like today.  My mail day today consisted of four cards and they’re all great.  If you want to trade for any of these, you can find me on Beckett.com as “nodomain”.

The cards I received, pictured below are:

  • 2014-15 Black Diamond Ruby #19 Marc-Andre Fleury
  • 2014-15 UD Masterpieces Autographs #20 Martin Brodeur C
  • 2014-15 UD Masterpieces Memorabilia Framed Red Cloth #129 Steve Yzerman/85
  • 2014-15 Upper Deck March Madness Collection Gold Foil Autographs #AC1 A.C. Green E

2014-15 Black Diamond Ruby #19 Marc-Andre Fleury

2014-15 UD Masterpieces Autographs #20 Martin Brodeur C

2014-15 UD Masterpieces Memorabilia Framed Red Cloth #129 Steve Yzerman/85

2014-15 Upper Deck March Madness Collection Gold Foil Autographs #AC1 A.C. Green E

2015 Topps Supreme Baseball Case Break With Mojo Hits

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Product Breakdown:

  • Manufacturer: Topps
  • Distinction: Hobby
  • Boxes Per Case: 10
  • Packs Per Box: 1
  • Cards Per Pack: 2
  • Total Cards: 20
  • Cost: $650
  • Cost Per Card: $32.50
  • Base Set: 81 Autographs, 71 Simply Supreme Autographs

My Hits:

  • Autographs: 20 (2 1/1 and 2 other numbered)
  • Jerseys/Patches: 1 (logoman 1/1)
  • Redemptions: 1 Veteran redemption
  • Approximate Beckett Value: Unknown, but well over $650
  • Opinion: I got lucky, but I’ve seen weaker breaks, too.

My Thoughts:
What can I say?  In my very first box of two cards, I pulled a 1/1 Auto Logoman Patch of Chipper Jones and a 1/1 Auto of Buster Posey.  Of course, it made the rest of the boxes feel pretty light by comparison and when you think about it, these are an average of $65 a box, so getting anything close to what I spent out of the rest of the autos is not going to happen.  That said, I like the outcome because I can sell off just a couple cards and keep the rest.  I’ve seen other breaks, and the results can be all over the place.  What’s really important to note here is the quality of these cards.  The layered design really makes them jump out but there’s still some elegance baked in.  These are definitely cards I’m proud to keep in my collection.  My one big complaint here is that the big hit had a sticker auto rather than being on-card like the rest.  I imagine Topps doesn’t want to run the risk of something happening to such a unique card during the signing process.  Over all, these are great cards with some variations to chase and chances at some incredible hits.

Below are some shots of the box and some of the cards.

2015 Topps Supreme Boxes

2015 Topps Supreme

2015 Topps Supreme

2015 Topps Supreme

2015 Topps Supreme NPN – No Purchase Necessary

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One of the great things about the sports card industry today is that even with some packs and boxes averaging out at $100 per card or more, you still have the chance to get a card for the price of a stamp thanks to the No Purchase Necessary.  The hard part is finding these without buying the packs first, so I’m sharing any as I come across them.  Each will be in this category to make it easy to see all the NPNs I post.

Cards and Odds:
Approximate odds per box of finding (*Sequentially Numbered): Autographed Veteran 8. Retired Stars Parallels: *Green 1:8, *Orange 1:15, *Red 1:72, *Supreme Black 1:359, *Printing Plate 1:90; Simply Supreme Autograph Parallels: *Green 1:8, *Orange 1:15, *Red 1:72, *Supreme Black 1:359, *Printing Plate 1:90; *Supreme Styling Autograph 1:21; Supreme Styling Autograph Parallels: *Red 1:187, *Supreme Black 1:925; *Autograph Relic 1:45; Autograph Relic Parallels: *Red Patch 1:244, *Supreme Black 1:1,234; *Primary Pieces Autograph Relic 1:740; *Primary Pieces Autograph Relic Supreme Black Parallel 1:766; *Supreme Scope Auto Relic Book 1:117; *Supreme Scope Auto Relic Book Supreme Black Parallel 1:1,388; *Touch of the Game Book 1:1,388.

Instructions:
Open only to U.S./Canadian (except Quebec) residents. For a chance to obtain any of the cards listed above, at the same odds, while supplies last, hand print your name and complete address on a 3 x 5 card and mail in a #10 envelope to: NPN 2015 TOPPS SUPREME BB, PO. BOX 763, PITTSTON, PA 18640. Only one card per envelope, mailed separately, postmarked by December 23, 2015 and received by December 30, 2015. No metered mail. Limit 1 request per household for 2015 Topps Supreme 88. Failure to comply will result in all entries disqualified. Drawings on or about January 6, 2016. Potential Canadian winners will be required to first correctly answer the mathematical skill~ testing question. Include on a 3 x 5 card the answer to the following skillotest question: 13 X 3 + 15 – 2 – ? Maior 1930″? Baseball affiliates not responsible for this promotion.  

Address:
NPN 2015 TOPPS SUPREME BB
PO. BOX 763
PITTSTON, PA 18640

 

2008 Upper Deck Heroes Nolan Ryan Chase Update

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I collect just about every Nolan Ryan card, but there’s a few chases I’m actively in pursuit of and one of those it the 2008 Upper Deck Heroes variations of two cards.  The first is #35, Nolan Ryan.  The second is #193, which features Nolan Ryan, Greg Maddux, and Randy Johnson.  Besides the base cards, each has the following variations: beige, brown, black, blue, charcoal, emerald, light blue, navy blue, purple, red, and sea green.  As if that wasn’t enough, there are purple and red variations of #35 that contain Nolan Ryan’s autograph, the emerald, navy blue, and red variations of card #35 that include a jersey swatch and Nolan’s signature.  There’s also a patch auto variation of the bas #35 card and patch variations of both #35 and #193 in beige, light blue, and purple.  Finally, there are jersey variations of both cards in black, charcoal, emerald, light blue, navy blue and red, with the exception that there’s no jersey variation in red for card #193.  As you can see, this is an incredible chase and to make it harder, most of these are serial numbered with anywhere from 499 down to only 1 made.

I started really chasing on this one almost a year ago and while I’ve still got a long way to go, I’ve made some decent progress.

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Above are most of the base variations, and a couple of the jersey variations.  The new prize of this collection is the emerald jersey variation numbered 20/25 that I picked up a few days ago.

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The thing that makes this chase so hard to complete is the same thing that makes it so exciting when I acquire another card in this set.  They’re 7 years old and the ones I don’t have surface very rarely.  When I do see one, I still consider the price carefully, but unless it’s completely unreasonable, I usually go after it.

This is a really fun chase because some cards are within reach and keep giving me small successes while other cards are nearly impossible to find, so there will always be something to chase.

So, what are you chasing?

 

2015 Americana Hobby Box Break and Review

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Product Breakdown:

  • Manufacturer: Panini
  • Distinction: Retail
  • Packs Per Box: 10
  • Cards Per Pack: 5
  • Total Cards: 50
  • Cost: $48
  • Cost Per Card: ~$0.96
  • Base Set: 73 cards

My Hits:

  • Autographs: 3 (one dual)
  • Jerseys/Patches: 1 (dual)
  • Inserts: 15
  • Approximate Beckett Value: $270.75
  • Opinion: Fun non-sport product – decent value

My Thoughts:
Most people have at least one actor or actress they’re a fan of.  For me, there are several.  I only wish I could find one product that had all the people I want to collect.  One thing I like about the Americana boxes is that they’re affordable and I can be sure to get 4 or 5 autographs or material cards out of each box.  These are also fun to see who you get.  Unlike Nolan Ryan, I don’t collect autographs or base cards of the stars I’m after.  Instead, I favor the materials, so the Ginger Rogers / Jimmy Stewart dual worn materials card was a treat, even if it’s worth less than the autos according to Beckett.  Packed with a sampling of Blue variations, die cuts, and other inserts in addition to the dual material and 3 autograph cards, this box was fun to break.  Just remember to take your time and enjoy it at $4.80 a pack.

Below are some shots of the box and some of the cards.

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2015 Garbage Pail Kids Series 1 Stickers Hobby Box Break and Review

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Product Breakdown:

  • Manufacturer: Topps
  • Distinction: Hobby
  • Packs Per Box: 24
  • Cards Per Pack: 10
  • Total Cards: 240
  • Cost: $39
  • Cost Per Card: ~$0.16
  • Base Set: 162 cards

My Hits:

  • Autographs: 0
  • Printing Plates: 1
  • Inserts/Variations: 75
  • Approximate Beckett Value: $288
  • Opinion: Generally good with one great hit

My Thoughts:
While out of town, I saw a some of the new GPK packs in a Target and picked up a few.  I so much enjoyed opening them and chuckling at all the artwork and creative names that I decided to grab a box.  At almost $40, it was worth it if even for only the entertainment and nostalgia.  This box didn’t have a lot of amazing value unless I was going to try and sell all 240 cards one at a time, but there’s a lot of variety, which I like.  And then came the 1/1 cyan printing plate. I like the cards, but the printing plate is something I’ll sell to fuel more purchases and looking at eBay, I should be able to get at least three times what I paid for this box.  Assuming you don’t get a printing plate (and that’s a safe bet), you could probably get close to break-even selling off a few of the better inserts you pull from the box, but you should really buy this one to enjoy the cards.

Below are some shots of the box and some of the cards.

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