The Question Is Why?

The question is why?

Why would someone overpay for this card? 

 

Why would someone pay $26 for this card?

When they could have just scrolled down and bought one for under $4 like I did.

 

I mean the only difference was the way the card was listed and the fact it was put into a magnetic case. Mine came in a toploader. I don't feel like paying the extra $22 for a nicely set up picture and a $4 magnetic case is worth it. I don't know about you.

I am happy to have added this Griffey to my PC and especially for the price if I am comparing here. Maybe I got a deal but looking at the average rate for this card I got it for what it should have been for.

What do you guys think about when a card like this sells for more? Is this done by mistake? Is it the misleading title catching unsuspecting buyers off guard if they are new to collecting? Or was it literally because of the picture and magnetic case? And have you ever paid more for a card by mistake?

Leave your thoughts in comments.

I hope everyone has a great Thursday!

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

LowBallin

Are you having trouble affording to stay alive in the sport card hobby? Can you add cards as much as you were once able to? Does overpaying for something that should be cheaper frustrate you? Do you dread it when your wife finds your credit card bill before you do?

If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, there may be a solution for you. It's called LowBallin.

With LowBallin, you will be able to feel like a collector again.

Symptoms of LowBallin include, being able to afford cards, pay the prices you want to, find money in your wallet, making your wife happy by having extra money for her, and finding that joy in adding that long sought after PC cards.

 

"I can add 1/1 cards to my collection and pay the price I want to pay for it."- Matt (not a paid actor portrayal).

Start LowBallin today. 

Ask your fellow Coffee Card Specialist about LowBallin and start to feel like a collector again.

Haunted Hits

Today is Friday The 13th, and for those of you that celebrate by staying at a camp by Crystal Lake and leaving out machetes and axes the night before for Jason Vorhees to use today, hope you can survive the day.

All I ask from Jason first is letting me enjoy my morning cup. Then let me run and scream like I saw a mouse, yes I am afraid of mice, away from him until I trip over something from old age and fall to the ground unable to get up and save myself other than hitting my life alert button (I don't have one yet but we all know its coming).

*takes a sip of hot coffee*

For everyone else, Friday The 13th may have different meanings. Such as avoiding your superstitions for the day or just ignoring the fact that it's Friday The 13th and go on with their work day. Or maybe throwing some raging party if you are young.

However you react to the day, just react however you want.

For me, I will be sharing off a "scary" card on this blog to commemorate a "scary" day.

 

This is a 2025 Wild Card Haunted Hits Eli Manning. It's a parallel of some form and is numbered to 9. It's so hard to figure out the parallels in Leaf products since there are so, so many of them.

I know many people don't like Leaf/Wild Card products, but I think the creativity they use is appreciated. Basically the same kind of creativity we may have seen in the 90's.

Well, that's it for today. Just a short post for the short period of time I have.

In comments, let me know which of the Friday The 13th movies were your favorite or any comments on Leaf/Wild Card products like this one.

Have a safe Friday.

*takes a sip, looks around safe from danger. Jason must have listened for now*

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Blog Bat Around Again: The Post Without Words (let the picture(s) speak) Football Edition

 

*Coffee Card Blogger Out* (yes I know, these are words but deal with it haha)

Will This End Up As A Smart Move?

It doesn't happen often for me, actually has never happened at all, that I collect a ton of cards of a certain player, they leave my team, turn good and the value of their cards go up a little.

I usually have Kadarius Toney type results.

But, we are talking about a win this time and that win was Daniel Jones.

He was terrible for my Giants never quite hitting his stride in NY, was cut last year and ended up on the Vikings practice squad before turning into a backup quarterback for their playoff run and then this past offseason ended up on the Colts roster and earned his starting job there.

So far this season, he has led the Colts to a 8-2 start, has thrown for over 2600 yards, 15 touchdowns and has completed close to 70% of his passes.

Pretty impressive for a guy who was the laughing stock of the NFL.

When I found out that he was having a decent season, I said to myself, self, I have thirteen Daniel Jones autograph cards and he is playing well and the values might be at the best they will ever be right now. So, now that he isn't a Giant, shouldn't I find a way to turn some of these into something I want more? Especially since most don't feature him in a Giants uniform.

So that's what I did. I pulled out nine of this autographs, all rookie ones with some numbered, and posted them for trade.

The surprising part, there wasn't a single bite.

Despite his hot start, not a single person wanted to trade for this lot....or even a single card from it.

After pushing them and pushing them, I had come to the point where I was just going to keep them and hope he continued to do well so I could turn them into something even bigger at a later date. Then at the same time, I became concerned if I didn't move them soon, he would get hurt or turn back into that Giants quarterback again and that I may never see anything from them.

This led me to seek an alternative route to move them.

I started trade talks with a long time trading friend and we came to an agreement for a trade.

I ended up sacrificing some value and in return, I got some wax to open.

It wasn't the full ideal trade I had hoped for, but it was something. It gave me an opportunity to open some wax I may not have been able to otherwise. I can't remember the last time I opened something so it was kind of exciting.

But, would I get my value back in the long run after moving on from those Jones? That is for me to share with you guys and for you to be the judge of.

Coming up, I will be posting some Coffee Breaks of the following products that I landed in this trade,

• 2 2025 Mosaic Football Blaster Boxes
• 2 2025 Topps Holiday baseball boxes
• 1 Hanger pack of 2025-26 Topps basketball

And then a bonus post where I will sum up the "best hits" and compare it to the nine Daniel Jones autographs to see if I made the right move or not.

Of course with feedback from you guys as well.

Thanks for reading today's post. Sorry for the lack of coffee for this one, but it's eleven pm. I shouldn't even be awake still, but I had some homework to do and wanted to get a post up.

Now that the post is done, time to go back to homework.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Coffee With Griffin Dunne

If you are reading the Coffee With title part and scratching your head at the name Griffin Dunne, don't worry, you just haven't watched the right horror movie yet.

For those of us who have, we realize that Griffin Dunne played Jack Goodman in An American Werewolf in London. Some consider it a comedy-horror, I just look at it as a horror.

If you are unfamiliar with the film, it features two American graduate students guys backpacking in England, when the two wandered off the road they were told to stay on and were attacked by a beast, later on finding out it was a werewolf.  One of the students was brutally killed, Jack, while the other was just bitten some but now turns into a werewolf because of it. 

And even though Jack was killed, he still makes appearances in the film and talks to David and is the one who reveals to him what really happened to the both of them.

The film included some cool scenes including varying looks of Jack's return and what I consider one of the best human-to-werewolf transformations in horror movie history.

When I found Griffin on the checklist for Leaf Pop Century,

 

I grabbed the autograph because this was a movie I watched time and time again with my mother growing up. It was one of her favorite werewolf movies other than The Howling. 

I actually preferred this one over The Howling. 

This autograph actually serves as a two-way find as Griffin also played Uncle Nicky on the series This Is Us. A show that was superb and one that my wife and I binged.

But, for the focus of today's post on Halloween, I stuck to the Halloween movie. But, please if you haven't yet, watch This Is Us. So many plot twists and turns. I do suggest though not watching the final two episodes, I consider the final episode the third to last episode. That's the way it should have ended.

Let me know in comments today if you have seen this movie and what your favorite werewolf movie is!

I will end this post short so you guys can get ready today for the kids and I will end it with some candy, coffee and cards. Because who doesn't buy extra Halloween candy? We say it's for the kids, but while we are saying that we have four Reeses in our mouths. It's okay, I get it. Go ahead. Eat that candy (especially if it's coffee flavored). I won't tell. 

*munches on an almond joy*

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Don't forget you can start to nominate cards for the 2025 Coffee Card Hall Of Fame!! Cards don't have to be autographs, patch cards, super star cards. It can be whatever you think is Hall Worthy! Find details and current nominations HERE.

Coffee With Geena Davis

I am going to be honest, I love sports, but I am no sports movie fan.

There are very few sports movies I enjoy and watch time and time again. I just feel like most sports movies are beating the same old storyline into the ground. Someone rises up from a tough life and becomes some superstar. Been there, seen that.

I like movies that are a little outside of that.

So, my favorites are on a very short list. Well, three I would consider classics I could watch time and time again.

The Sandlot-Comedy, a giant beast and backyard baseball like I used to play with my friends. Boy, I miss those days.

 Little Giants-a bunch of "losers" get together and play football against some all-pros. Some laughter and the legendary actors of Rick Moranis and Ed O'Neill (need both autos still). Childish humor, but solid for this childish adult.

And then comes the sports movie with probably the most famous one-liner that everyone will know.

A League Of Their Own. A comedy/drama loaded with big names, great story and the classic line, "There's NO crying in baseball!!"

 

And I picked up the autograph of who I consider to be the star of the show. Well, on the field, Geena Davis who has also been in a ton of other big movies like Beetlejuice, Thelma And Louise and the Stuart Little movies just to name a few.

Davis plays Dottie Hinson who went from waiting for her husband to return from the war to the super star catcher on the field. Everyone laughed at the thought of a women's baseball league after World War II threatened to shut down the MLB season, but things changed quickly once the girls started to play led by the popularity of Dottie. It kind of reminds me of the WNBA. They had no fans, were probably about to close up shop then Caitlin Clark comes in and drives revenue up by selling out arenas.

Interesting.

Another thing I thought was cool about the movie and Geena, is that I read somewhere that she performed some of her own stunts in the movie including the famous "split catch". That's pretty cool.

There is just a lot of moments in the movie and the story is one that kept my attention. I like also the mix of humor and drama. It may actually rank as my favorite sports movie of the three. Don't tell anyone this ;)

In comments, let me know some of your favorite sports movies, your favorite Geena Davis film, and if you liked or have seen A League Of Their Own.

Hope everyone has a great night or morning depending on when you are reading this.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Don't forget you can start to nominate cards for the 2025 Coffee Card Hall Of Fame!! Cards don't have to be autographs, patch cards, super star cards. It can be whatever you think is Hall Worthy! Find details and current nominations HERE.

Coffee With Lou Ferrigno

Today's autograph I have been wanting for some time but couldn't quite ever get my hands onto.

A few times it slipped through the cracks with last second bids which made me very angry.

You wouldn't like me when I am angry.

*proceeds to turn green, picks up laptop getting ready to throw it. realizes autograph sits on desk, calms down and turns back to regular color*

If you haven't figured it out yet...today's autograph is of the man of green himself, Mr Hulk, Lou Ferrigno!

 

And even though The Incredible Hulk series ran on television before I was born...which makes me angry as well that I couldn't have watched it live.....

You wouldn't like me when I am angry.

*starts to turn green again, pauses, makes a cup of coffee, calms down and returns to typing*

....I was still able to watch it on reruns on SCFY channel I believe when I visited my grandmother.

I was always a nerd/geek so this kind of thing was up my alley.

Another place I saw Lou was on King Of Queens as he played himself on the show as the neighbor. 

Why couldn't they bring back King Of Queens?! I loved that show. That makes me angry.

You wouldn't like me when I am angry.

*turns green again, gets ready to hulk smash the coffee cup into the computer and realizes doesn't want to waste coffee, sits down, takes sip and continues on*

I am pretty thrilled to have added this autograph to my collection, just like another one I just added to. That one will come in a future post.

Let me know your favorite show or movie you have seen Lou in.

*takes a final sip for the post*

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Don't forget you can start to nominate cards for the 2025 Coffee Card Hall Of Fame!! Cards don't have to be autographs, patch cards, super star cards. It can be whatever you think is Hall Worthy! Find details and current nominations HERE.

Coffee With Boyz II Men

I have my coffee in hand and I am ready to have some Coffee With....Boyz II Men!!!

*takes a sip*

For those of us who grew up in the 90's and listened to the radio, you can't tell me that you wouldn't know at least one song by Boyz II Men.

They were that big.

And I was a big fan.

*takes another sip, puts a song on YouTube of theirs to listen to while putting together this post*

When I was scrolling Twitter, I saw a collector post that this year's Pop Century had Boyz II Men autographs, and at that exact moment, I knew I had to have them.

The collector who posted had a triple autograph card of them, but according to my gift card budget, that wasn't going to work.

That's when I found out that each singer had their own card as well and that was something I could jump all over. For some reason, they were cheaper apart then together on a card.

So, I did.

Up first was Nathan Morris who is the founding member of the group.

Next was Wanya Morris who has no relation to Nathan besides his love of music and singing. He also was on the 22nd season of Dancing With The Stars.

Shawn Stockman is a singer and a song writer.

(side note, the group turned to four singers sometime in the 90's but the guy had to leave in the early 2000's due to health issues)

Some of my favorite songs of theirs were all of their biggest hits such as,

• Motown Philly
• It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday
• End Of The Road
• In The Still Of The Night
• I'll Make Love To You
• On Bended Knee
• Water Runs Dry

I must have listened to those songs many, many times and to the point I know the lyrics to them. I still have the CD of their greatest hits. Now I just need to somehow get a CD player so I can listen to them again.

*takes a sip before finishing up today's post*

I am always on the lookout for more nostalgic autographs from Pop Century, I know there are others to pick up. I have updated my Top Wants list with them. Helen Hunt is at the top of wants on there.

Before I close for fun here are my coffee versions of the songs I listed above by Boyz II Men Make Coffee,

• Brewtown Philly
• It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday's Cup
• End Of The Cup
• In The Still Of The Night I Am Making Coffee
• I'll Make Coffee ForYou
• On Bended Knee With A Cup
• Coffee Runs Out

Have a great day and don't let that cup run dry!

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Don't forget you can start to nominate cards for the 2025 Coffee Card Hall Of Fame!! Cards don't have to be autographs, patch cards, super star cards. It can be whatever you think is Hall Worthy! Find details and current nominations HERE.

The Unicorn Of Bloggers

The Unicorn; Informal definition, "the term unicorn is used to describe someone or something that is very rare and almost impossible to find".

I consider myself that when it comes to being a sports card blogger.

About 99% of the blogosphere is built up of baseball card collectors, a sport I don't dabble much into anymore other than Ken Griffey Jr, 90's inserts and a couple of NY Yankees players. I guess that makes me the other 1%.

So, when it comes to exchanging cards with fellow bloggers in the mail, things can get a bit more complicated since I don't have "that baseball team" like the other bloggers.

Despite the challenge, my latest mail day from Night Owl Cards showed that these types of exchanges can still take place despite me being that unicorn.

Just check out what he sent,

I think I made a comment about this Mondesi in one of his posts. Great 90's insert back when creativity was top shelf. These were found 1:30-1:36 packs depending on hobby or retail.

This is a nice tribute to the 1998 insert, I will take it. Volpe has also shown some bright spots.

I have the Griffey, the Frank Thomas and now own the Piazza. Such a cool looking insert. I am thinking it's set chase time. These fell 1:12 packs in 1997 Fleer.

I got quite a few of these from my father and surprisingly did not have this Piazza version. Each player has nine cards in the set.

Own The Game is a tribute to a past Topps insert line, they look really nice in hand. Nicer than the pictures I posted or ones I have seen online. I also won't ever turn away Aaron Judge cards. Love his story and his game.

Mining For Gold fell 1:12 packs of 1996 Metal Universe. It's shiny, gold nugget goodness.

I like inserts outside the usual; this is one of them. Once again, inserts in the 90's will always rule over today's stuff. These fell 1:8 packs.

 

I have always been a big Fleer Metal fan, this 1:8 insert falls into my category of a keeper.

Thanks again for the mail day Greg!

I was really happy with everything you sent and sorry for my unicorness (if this is even a word) which made your search a little harder.

I have more many Dodgers to send your way soon, just for a heads up.

Don't forget you can start to nominate cards for the 2025 Coffee Card Hall Of Fame!! Cards don't have to be autographs, patch cards, super star cards. It can be whatever you think is Hall Worthy! Find details and current nominations HERE.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

I Am Getting Old

I have been experiencing a lot more "old people" moments recently.

• Nighttime driving has been an absolute struggle.
• Staying awake watching TV has been tough, I have been falling asleep while sitting upright. I actually fell asleep while typing the last post on here and funny enough the zzzzzzzz button had been pressed when I was leaning forward.
• My body has been aching more.
• I watched politics when sports were on TV.
• Almost every room I walk into for a meaning, I forgot why I was going in there until long after the fact.

And I am sure there are other moments that I forgot, but that's because I just started typing them.

So, to balance this out, I have been trying to find ways to stay young.

I have been doing extra time on the treadmill, outdoor walks, extra chores around the house that have been needing to get done for 20-years, taking daily vitamins, jamming to 80's-90's hits and watching shows that make me feel young. Just recently I finished re-watching the entire Mighty Morphin Power Ranger, Alien Ranger and Power Ranger Zeo series. 

Which is roughly over 200 episodes combined. That's a lot of Mighty Morphin action fun and memories.

Watching those all over again led to me adding some new Power Ranger cards to my collection I don't think I have seen any new Power Ranger cards since 1996. 

I discovered that at this year's The National, Leaf must had joined forced with Heritage Auctions to come up with an eight-card Power Ranger Promo set to promote an auction of the Power Ranger/Villain suits from the show/movies they must have had up for auction.

The card fronts feature a shiny chrome like card and featured character.

Back of the card is /500 and gives a very short description.

Each of the original Rangers and two villains each have their own card.

And then one group card. I only have three of the eight as they are a little tough to acquire and there are not too many out there listed.

I would really like to finish the set or at the very least get the Lord Zedd card. 

We will see if I can remember to do so now :)

I suppose I better head to bed before I fall asleep trying to finish up this post. I need to catch some Z's, not type them again.

*Old Man Coffee Card Blogger Out*

These Are LIT

My coffee is bussin' this morning, and I am not one to flex.

However, I may rizz you up with something pretty lit bruh. Believe me, I ain't cap.

When I saw a four-printing plate lot of 2023 Leaf Pro Set Lit unautographed Eli Manning on eBay, I thought I was going delulu. I hadn't seen that kind of listing before, something very extra. All I know is that 1/1's hit differently of your favorite players and if I was to win them, it would be pretty poggers.

Not being a Noob on eBay, I knew exactly how to approach winning them.

Which I did. Completely slayed them.

Now the hope was when they arrived that they wouldn't be mid. 

The seller was fast at shipping them as they arrived a few days later, I got a little emo over the sight of them.

 

Boy did these smack. They were exactly what I had hoped.

Well, that's it for today's post. I need to get my drip on and go chill with the fam.

Leave me some Lit comments to read today. I will keep the receipt of them all, but please don't be sus.

Also, don't judge someone older learning teenage slang in 2024, I figure if Leaf can do it, so can I.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Coffee With Dan Lauria

What would you do if I drank some coffee?
Would you be jealous of me?
Lend me your cup and I'll pour you a cup
I will try not to spill any, yeah

Oh, baby I get happy with coffee
By with a little help from my coffee maker.
All I need is my coffee
By with a little help from my coffee maker
I said I'm gonna get by with a little cup of coffee
I will share a little help with my friends

Whoa oh oh oh oh

If you grew up when I did, you would have spent some time on ABC watching The Wonder Years. I didn't know many that didn't grow up at least watching the show or at least hummed the theme song.

The show and the song bring back a lot of nostalgic memories. When I found that Lauria, who played the stern and loving father Jack Arnold on The Wonder Years, had an autograph for cheap-I snagged it.

Fun parallel on top of that.

 

The card is numbered to 25.

As with any autograph card I add and chase, this was a nice addition to the nostalgic PC.

Now if only I could add a Savage and especially a McKellar someday.

*takes a sip before finishing up today's post*

Hope everyone has a great Friday and weekend. I probably won't post again until next week. I had some extra time this week so took advantage to try and catch up on some posts.

Hope you enjoyed this weeks' worth of posts.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Coffee With Charles Martinet

It's another late-night post, which will probably be the only way I can squeeze some in right now, but it works.

I am hoping you can still enjoy a cup of coffee no matter what time you are reading this. I already enjoyed three today myself.

I do have some mail day posts from others to post and wanted to post first, but I didn't have the time for that tonight so wanted to do a quick post instead.

*yawns a little, but is more focused tonight than the last post*

I am sure some of you reading tonight's post title are like, who is Charles Martinet while others are like, oh-I know who that is!

If any of you are gamers or even know the name Mario, I am sure you know who Martinet is. 

He is the original voice of Mario for the Nintendo video games and was Mario from 1991 up until he retired in 2023. The new guy just isn't the same. You can tell the difference.

I remember playing Super Mario Bros with my friend growing up plenty of times and even today, I find myself occasionally playing some Mario Kart or Mario Party when I have free time. Most of that time when I do play it's with and against family.

And I am not that great at it. Nothing I can brag about that's for sure.

But, as with most of my non-sport pickups, its nostalgia driven.

So, when I found out he was on the 2024 Leaf Pop Century checklist, I had to have a copy.

 

And it did not disappoint. Clean signature and a cool Mario drawing that adds a special touch.

This copy is /6. I didn't care if it was numbered or not, I just wanted a copy.

*yawns again before finishing up today's post*

Martinet is one of a few recent autograph additions to my Non-Sport PC. I have been putting a bigger emphasis on adding more non-sports than sports recently.

I can't wait to show those off and the cool cards I got in the mail from others.

More #CardsOverCoffee on the way.

Hope everyone has a great nights sleep...just make sure you read this when you wake up.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Turning Over A New Leaf

Coffee is ready and so am I! It's time for a new Cards Over Coffee!

*takes a sip*

I have been anti-Leaf trading cards for many years, well not their Pop Century product, but all of their sports products. I only saw junk without the logos and a sad attempt to try and match the other company's efforts.

But recently, I have turned over a new Leaf, I have been adding Leaf cards to my collection and becoming quite fond of them. Maybe more than the licensed companies.

So far, my chase has been mostly focused on Eli Manning and there has been plenty to chase between 2023 and 2024.

This is a Blue Crystal parallel from 2023 Pro Set Metal. As always, team color match for the win.

These are numbered to 7.

2023 Pro Set Pink Wave

These are /4

2023 Pro Set Silver Wave

Those are numbered /7

Then another team color match with 2023 Pro Set Blue Wave

These are /8

Then there is the 2023 Pro Set Silver Crystal. 

 

These are numbered to 5.

I also have a Pro Set Retro from 2023 that's in the same product with the other.

This is a Blue Crystal. If you haven't been able to tell yet I really like the blue ones.

These are /7.

Now onto my 2024 chase so far. I like the 2024's even better so far.

This is the base 2024 Leaf Metal. This card is not numbered.

This is an Orange mojo parallel.

These are /4

Green Pulsar

This is /5

And that's it...for now. I think I may have a couple more on the way.

In the meantime, here is a happy group photo of them,

 

I am not sure how many more of these I will seek out. Depends on the situation and price. There is still tons more I can go for as it feels like this product is an endless pit of parallels with multiple 1/1's. There is no such thing as a rainbow chase with either year of these products, but they do have some very creative parallels. One of the 1/1's was called something like flame or fire and had flames in the background, looked amazing but got out of reach for me.

Maybe someday it will pop back up again, and I can find a trading friend to assist in landing it.

*takes a sip before closing up today's post*

 It didn't take me much to turn over a new leaf when cards look this good and with the creativity they spent with doing these parallels. I am looking forward to adding more of them to my Eli collection and hopefully other parts of my Giants PC as well. 

I also need to make a list of Pop Century autograph cards I want from its recent release.

Hope everyone has a great Wednesday filled with full mugs.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*