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*

Celebrity Captains

*sits down on this chilly 5 degree morning with a steaming hot cup of coffee. breakfast has already been eaten so it's time for some cards and coffee*

Posting on this blog is a little different than any other blog I have posted on. I can't post just anything that I normally would. This blog has specifics which makes it a little tough when I get mail days and the thank yous make it to Twitter instead of here.

I can't explain my reasoning on this, it's just the way it is and it has worked on here. It just forces me to have difficulty in posting stuff I sometimes want to.

I am a few mail days behind posting on here and some on Twitter as well. I also have a stack of ideas I want to post, but they don't fit the theme of this blog. I will have to sort that all out at some point so don't take offense if your mail day to me doesn't make the blog. It doesn't mean I didn't appreciate the mail day or that it meant any less, it just means I am a college with twenty superstar applications that I have to narrow down to only seven openings.

For today, I am posting one of those seven that made it in. This mail day has been sitting in drafts for awhile despite showing off the new picture taking background that will overtake the blog soon.

*takes a sip before showing off the cards*

In one of my last trades with blog reader Oren, he discovered a subset that I wanted the set and never knew I wanted.

I don't collect a lot of hockey cards, but those that I do have got to have nostalgia tied in. The 1991-1992 Pro Set Platinum set included some non hockey players in its large base set. 1991-92 was the NHL’s 75th Anniversary, and every team appointed a Celebrity Captain for that season. Pro Set Platinum made cards for 12 of those captains and some you can consider "rookie cards" of.

Some of the chosen captains, I have no idea who they are but others bring me back to a happy place.

Let's take a look. First, some I don't know so well.

 

Susan Saint James and Rick Hansen

Gaetan Boucher and Terry O'Reilly

Rick Hansen and Burton Cummings

And now onto the ones, I do.

Mr. Rogers. Who didn't watch his PBS program??? I have so many memories of it though I was creeped out by a couple of the puppets. One of those is Lady Elaine Farichilde....now I am spooked and almost spilled my coffee.

Karate Kid!

According to Jim...he had a TV show.

Jim Kelly...he showed the Sabres how to win...except the big game.

Larry King...a voice you heard somewhere in your lifetime.

Marv Albert, the sports voice of my childhood with the NBA and especially my NY Knicks.

Here is the overall look at the checklist for this subset with names and the numbers they represent in the set,

• 289 Terry O'Reilly
• 290 Burton Cummings
• 291 Marv Albert
• 292 Larry King
• 293 Jim Kelly
• 294 David Wheaton
• 295 Ralph Macchio
• 296 Rick Hansen
• 297 Fred Rogers
• 298 Gaetan Boucher
• 299 Susan Saint James
• 300 James Belushi

Thanks again to Oren for the walk down memory lane and another great trade.

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

I hope to catch up on the other mail days soon both here and on Twitter. I need to also update my wants list since some of these cards were on my old list I pulled down a couple months ago and I have also gotten a few others as well to take down.

Thoughts on my latest mail day is welcomed in comments. Thoughts on the celebrities and if Upper Deck was to do one of these sets today in their product who you would want to see.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Every Morning

*sun, coffee, cards and a blog. can you ask for any more than that on Tuesday morning? nope, I doubt it*

Every morning there's a cup of coffee

and a laptop on the corner of my kitchen table

Yes they are mine and I will know I will use it

For this morning's post or a weekend one

Sorry for my terrible lyric rewrite. I tried...that's all that matters right? Maybe today's autograph subject can give me some tips since it was his song I was attempting.

*takes a sip, before moving onto today's post*

In the late 90's, there was a group named Sugar Ray that came out with some catchy tunes such as Fly, Every Morning and Some Day. These were songs you would hear consistently on the radio and had no problem with hearing them as often as you did. At least in my case. I remember sitting in my room with the small radio listening and waiting for the songs to come on so I could time it right and record it on a cassette tape. Those times were rough and made it even more frustrating when the DJ would start talking at the end of the song.

It took a while, but I finally managed to get those three songs recorded. It may had been easier to had bought the CD at that point. Which I did later on.

When I saw that Mark McGrath, the lead singer, had an autograph in the Leaf Pop Century, I wanted to add it to my nostalgic 90's collection which brought back today's memory. So fortunately, I was lucky enough to land a copy.

*takes a sip before showing off today's card*

As you can tell with all of my music adds, they have been done in the Pro Set Super Stars design. I really like the look of the design as its throwback as well.

Back of the card. All of the base autographs are numbered to 60.

I was pretty stoked about adding this one to my collection.

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

My wife and I actually saw Sugar Ray in concert in 2003 who was there alongside Michelle Branch. My wife also a fan of their music and may have been like most girls and had a small crush on Mark. One thing I will say about their concert is that they put on a great one. If you haven't seen them yet, go check them out as they are still touring.

I must also note before finishing up today's post, Mark is also a great person with his fans. On Twitter, he actually responds to you which is where I found out he is also a fellow NY Giants fan. I hope he sees today's post and maybe even gives me a RT for other fans to see.

In comments below today, tell me your favorite Sugar Ray song.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Music To My Ears

*sits down for the early morning cup of coffee, grabs laptop, turns it on and fires it up. It's time for a new #CardsOverCoffee*

Today is kind of a piggyback off from yesterday's post where I discussed how during the pandemic I have learned to appreciate the little things both in life and in the hobby.

Another thing I took for granted is music.

I, just like everyone else in the world, love music. Music soothes the soul and can take you places. Certain songs can take you back in time, bring back warm memories, and work really well for a calming center point during a pandemic.

I felt the impact of music over the past year and how much I took it for granted before. Certain songs I have played over the past year brought me such joy and memories in my life that made me laugh and sometimes even tear up. Yes, men can admit that they cry.

Over the past year I have played music on the way to run errands, while I sort cards, while I worked out on the treadmill and even while I blog. Yup, I am jamming right now as I type and enjoy this mornings cup of coffee. Music is simply needed in my life.

What I didn't know was that MusiCards were also needed in my life.

*takes a sip*

If you were to ask me over a year ago if I had any interest in collecting music related cardboard, I would have said no way. Though I saw many forms of them across the blogging world especially the MusiCards. But, that all changed recently when I saw a few posts on Twitter about them so I sought out the checklist.

When I saw that some of the checklist consisted of musicians I had spent the past year listening to, I needed the cards.

That's when I posted my need on my Friday Twitter "I Need" thread. This thread is specifically is aimed at specific cards that you need and others can try to trade, sell, or RAK you them. You're technically supposed to put a specific card but instead I put any and all of the MusiCards. That's when @jrl1828x8 saw my cry for help and assisted.

He not only sent along the musicians that I wanted, but also sent me an almost complete set just out of kindness!!!! 

Lets check out some of my favorites in the set.

*takes a sip, flips through a few cards to upload and begins to type*

Eric Clapton has had a ton of hits, but none hit me harder than Tears In Heaven and Change The World. I can't explain my love of both songs but Tears In Heaven I am sure hits everyone in the feels.

One singer I have listened to the most during the pandemic is Huey Lewis. Not only does he have some of the greatest music videos ever, but his tunes are catchy. The Power Of Love, Stuck With You and Doing It All For My Baby are some of my favorites.

The sad news about Lewis I found out this year was that he is suffering from Meniere's Disease which sounds pretty awful because it consists of Vertigo, Hearing Loss and ringing in the ears. Which forced him to cancel all of his tours and possibly made it so he wouldn't be able to sing again.

Cheap Trick had many hits as well but my favorite is The Flame. Such a great tune.

Goo Goo Dolls was a band I couldn't stand in the 90's, but now I rock to. I actually bought a Greatest Hits CD within the last year. And yes, some people buy CD's still :) 

Some of my favorite songs by the Goo Goo Dolls are Iris, Slide, Black Balloon, Come To Me,Sympathy, Name, and by far my favorite song of theirs in Better Days. Better Days is a song we should all listen to.

Eddie Money just like the other artists on here had plenty of hits but none caught me like Take Me Home Tonight and especially I Wanna Go Back. Because I wanna go back and do it all over, but I can't go back I know.

And finally Tom Petty. Once again plenty of hits but none I liked more than Last Dance With MaryJane. I know the song probably relates to drug use but I ignore that part and use the song in my mind as a girl named MaryJane and his last dance with her. It's Good To Be King was another song I enjoyed.

Thanks goes out to @jrl1828x8 for the mail day. I really appreciate it.

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

I need to write down which numbers I am missing in this set and seek help in finishing it now. I would be interested in hearing your favorite songs from any of the artists I featured here today.

By the way, if you are curious what I am listening to as I blog today, it's a Pandora station on my phone from 1993. Songs like All That She Wants, In The Still Of The Nite, How Do You Talk To An Angel, and Have I Told You Lately.

*time for breakfast and another cup of coffee, Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Not Vintage

*pours a cup from the freshly brewed pot*

Vintage is a word that gets thrown around out there loosely when it comes to older items and sometimes not used in the right context in my opinion when it comes to sport cards.

Here's a few examples of the definition of Vintage.

• The definition for vintage for clothing is something that is at least 20 years old.
• The definition for wine is 50 years or older.
• If the item is no older than an antique which is 100 years or older, but not less than 20 years, it falls under the term vintage.

So where do we draw the line with sport cards?

To me, "vintage" in the sport card world is any card older than 1970. Which falls under the wine and final definition examples I gave above.

However, some believe, that cards from 1990's are vintage.

V....I....N....T...A...G...E.

That's very misleading to me. Cards from the 1990's are NOT vintage they are RETRO folks. Anything over 10 years old to 30 years old is considered retro. DO NOT USE THE WORD VINTAGE for cards back in the 1990's. Not even cards in the 1980s'.

*ranting makes me drink coffee faster, time for cup number two!*

Is this coffee mug that I am using this morning vintage because my wife has owned it close to 20 years? No. No it's not should be your answer (I like to use this mug as it's the bigger ones we have not that I don't have a sister)

Or how about this coffee, if I was to let this sit here for an hour per say, does that make this vintage coffee that I poured a long time ago? (by the way no plans to do try that)

But I bet some would consider both of those scenarios as vintage.

*quick sip*

For Christmas this past year, my sister-in-law grabbed me a box of "vintage" cards online. She knows I love to collect so she was trying to find a unique item for myself. Which she did, as I hadn't seen one of these before. So I expected the unexpected but seeing the word vintage I was drawn in and was excited to rip into it.

Until I found out that the wrong term was used for the product.

I didn't find vintage, I found retro packs. Not just any retro packs, but "junk wax" retro packs.

Those kind of packs I don't really ever open. They are more valuable to me being sealed than to be opened and trying to find a place to store them since most cards would be duplicate cards and I don't keep dupes in my collection.

Here is the pack variety I found in this box. There are 20 packs in every one of these boxes with some packs, the most common ones, having multiples of the same pack.

not the ugly yellow baseball, but still....

I have three base sets of these and close to 100 Hampton rookies

6 packs of these!

Could be a Favre rookie in here I guess

The final pack I was most excited about....

There you have the box breakdown of these "vintage"packs.

Did you see any from 1970?....I didn't.....

*Halfway through cup numero uno, time to weigh my breakfast options. I did make chocolate no bake cookies yesterday....*

I was curious what my sister-in-law dished out for one of these boxes and it appears they go for $35-$40 each. 😒😒😒😒😒😒😒😒😒😒

That's saying each pack would go for $2 each. I am sure you could buy multiples of some of these packs for $2. It's tough for me to see and definitely not something I would have grabbed for that cost.

I never told my sister-in-law anything negative about the cards because she bought them for me. I just opened the box in front of her, smiled and thanked her. She gave them to me as a gift she thought I would enjoy. So I will and will find a way to do so.

So my rant is over for the term vintage. I think I made my point. Now I better go eat my breakfast and pour cup number three before both of those and maybe even myself become vintage sitting in front of this computer.