Cards From Pops: Box 3

Coffee and cards. Could anyone ask for more?

*takes a sip*

Another day, another round of coffee and a card box I have dug through from a two-round lot trade with my father.

Let's see how this round went. This time there aren't as many photos as the box lacked a lot of, well, interesting cards.

But there were some that stood out more than others.

There were these 1976 Topps hockey Helmet and Stick Decals. These were pretty unique finds and not anything I have seen before. Roughly ten or so were discovered in the box.

Random autograph of Dustin McGowan.

Always liked these Cel win Predictor cards. I never once actually entered a predictor card.

Troy Aikman Greatest Hits insert /2500. These were randomly inserted in packs.

Then some more of those die-cut NASCAR die-cut window cards like I found in the first box,

(this Jeff Gordon was  really cool one)

 

I can't find a lot of information on these such as odds and how big the set is.

And then a bunch of shiny Upper Deck Championship Reflections,

(hold up three fingers as you scroll by)

I am not sure how many are in this set, but it appears I am well on my way to chase it. If any of you know, let me know.

There are two more boxes to show off still in this trade and definitely some fun stuff to reveal. I am though saving the best box for last and why wouldn't I??

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

Before I close, I also wanted to remind you of the Coffee Card Hall Of Fame voting and that it needs you guys to nominate cards in.

Details on the Coffee Card Hall Of Fame can be found HERE. I may add this to every post from here on out for a reminder as I will forget about this too! Haha!

Have a great Friday Night and be safe. Don't drink alcohol and make bad decisions, drink coffee and make bad decisions.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Wow

*sits down, takes a look at today's cards and jaw drops again. pushes jaw back up, inserts coffee, keeps jaw closed with hand*

*takes another sip*

I had no idea what direction to go with today's post. Do I talk about Twitter and how helpful that has been towards my collection? Do I talk about the friendships I have made in the hobby? Discussion on trades and their impact in my collecting process this year with my financial situation? Do I turn this to a Finished Cup post? Or do I simply just say Wow and go from there.

I went with the latter.

Wow was the only reaction I could have when I got a PWE in the mail from Twitter pal, @mcfarm21.

*risks taking a gulp trying not to choke when looking at the cards again*

Rick saw my Cards Over Coffee Unfinished Cup post of 1995 Topps Air Raid and looked in his collection to see if he had my missing piece.   

Which he did. I wasn't surprised though as he has a lot of great 90's inserts.

The back of the card. What are the odds the last card I needed was the last card in the set? I didn't even think about that until this post.

This is why I said this post could have become a Finished Cup post. But, I couldn't do that. He had snuck another surprise in there with this card.

 

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!

Rick has known for a while I have wanted this card from him for my Hall Of Famer/90's autograph collection and he just snuck that in there.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!

Can't believe he did that!

Thanks again Rick for this mail day. Finishing off a set and a huge autograph need on my Hall Of Fame list is HUGE and I am overly happy and appreciative for it.

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

I am glad that I decided to start posting my set needs on my blog as it has been very helpful for me. I have finished off a couple sets because of it. (thank you to those who have helped!!!)

If you are also curious what remains on my want list for autographs, here is my updated list and some I know I will never land, but they are on there anyways,

• Sammy Sosa Auto Card (no TTM or IP)
• Barry Bonds Auto Card (no TTM or IP)
• Tino Martinez Auto Card (Yanks uni only and no TTM or IP)
• Mariano Rivera Auto Card (no TTM or IP)
• Tim Duncan Auto Card (no TTM or IP)
• Patrick Ewing Auto Card (no TTM or IP)
• Paul Pierce Auto Card (no TTM or IP)
• Kevin Garnett Auto Card (no TTM or IP)
• Tom Brady Auto Card (no TTM or IP)
• Randy Moss Auto Card (no TTM or IP)
• Steve McNair Auto Card (no TTM or IP)
• Jamal Lewis Auto Card (no TTM or IP)
• Donovan McNabb Auto Card (no TTM or IP)
• Corey Dillion Auto Card (no TTM or IP)
• Tony Gonzalez Auto Card (no TTM or IP)
• Ike Hilliard Auto Card (no TTM or IP)
• Marvin Harrison Auto Card (no TTM or IP)
• Patrick Mahomes Autograph Card (no TTM or IP)
• Wayne Gretzky Auto Card (no TTM or IP)
• Mario Lemieux Auto Card (no TTM or IP)

There you have it. My remaining autograph needs.

Thanks agin to Rick for helping knock another one down.

Hope everyone has a great Tuesday.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Finished Cup:1995 Skybox Impact Countdown To Impact

 *coffee is ready, cards are next to me and it's time for a new cards over coffee.*

So yesterday I posted an Unfinished Cup, which is a set that needs completing to today a Finished Cup meaning......you got it, a set I completed.

It almost took me 30 years to complete this set, I never know why it takes me that long but it has to do with my focus on the hobby, but it's officially done, and I can celebrate.

The 1995 Skybox Impact Countdown To Impact fell 1:20 packs. There are 10 cards in this set. I posted this as an Unfinished Cup back in March of this year so I finally focused and got it done.

Here were the four cards needed to finish this one up,

Some big time names in there. Which is the way I work with all of my set chases tackling the top guys last.

Here is the 10-card set in all of it's glory,

Yes, I am smiling behind my mug that this is finally done.

*takes a happy sip and may have done a little happy dance*

*gets back to blogging*

Thoughts on my latest set completion welcomed in comments.

Hope everyone has a great Tuesday.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Unfinished Cup:1997 Pinnacle Inscriptions Football

There is nothing worse than an unfinished cup of coffee.

It's almost as bad as an unfinished set.

So, to finish up some of these sets, hopefully, I am posting my set needs in this set thread called Unfinished Cup. I am hoping someone out there has some set help for me sitting in boxes or on their desk at home. If you do, reach out!

Today's set is one I recently started again. By again, I mean this is one in the 90's I had started but never fully completed. That's because the packs/boxes were so expensive you couldn't afford to buy enough to fill a set. And by the time I was opening up this stuff back the closest hobby shop here began to close up its doors.

I gave up.

But, not anymore! 

It's time to finish the 1997 Pinnacle Inscriptions football base set.

 

This one is simply eye appealing if you are a fan of dufex, If you're not, you're not a real collector. Just kidding, actually I am not, what's wrong with you?!!? Are you a serial killer? Who doesn't like dufex?!

Okay, enough with that. I mention that you have to be a fan of dufex because the entire 50-card set is built up of that.

Here is what remains for my set, 12,16,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50.

If you have any help, let's talk. Email me at sportcardcollectors@hotmail.com or comment below!

Thanks again!

Hope everyone has a happy Wednesday.

Coffee Card Blogger Out.

Needing A Distraction

*places cards on the table before grabbing coffee. i had to put cards over coffee for once...see what i did there? there were too many cards to hold, grabs mug, brews a cup, sits down, opens laptop and begins today's post*

It's almost been a week since I have posted on here. 

Why? Well, a lot has happened since then. My wife's uncle passed away. Poor baby Ariella, my nephew's baby, passed away as well two weeks after being born.

Once again, if you can donate to their GoFundMe, now to help cover funeral expenses as well, you can do that here,

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-with-medical-expenses-for-baby-ariella?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer

On top of that, I have been plain busy. Blogging gets put on the backburner because life comes first.

*deep sigh*

*takes a sip*

One thing that has kept me afloat during all of this has been getting cards in the mail. I haven't gotten a lot of mail days, but a few have flown in that have kept my mind occupied enough. Most of them were one or a few card mail days, but one of the biggest ones arrived from @mcfarm21 and I will cover it today.

*takes another sip, having trouble focusing on completing a post today. another sip, maybe that will help*

*nope. need to take a break. hopefully will finish this post later*

Why do I say partially cover the mail day? Well, he packed a lot into two packages and there is no way I can cover all of it. From NY Giants cards to 90's inserts to players I collect and even a magazine. It is an overwhelming number of items to post all of.

So, I just plan to tackle the main part of the trade which involves two players I collect in Kerry Collins and Terrell Davis.

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

Rick sent me a pretty decent sized stack of Kerry. He had more, but most of those I already had, and I don't take on dupes.

Once again, there were a lot of cards sent in this mail day especially for these two players so I am just going to break it down to my Top 5 favorites from that stack. 

#5 Ultrabilities from 1995 Ultra which is Collins rookie year but also my first big year of collecting. Lots of fond memories.

#4 1996 Topps Underclassman has a little bit of shine, so that wins.

#3 1996 Upper Deck Hot Properties. Some guy named Troy Aikman is on the other side of this foil etched card. I just want to focus on the key player. I still need the gold version.

#2 1998 Flair Showcase base. It's 90's Flair Showcase, that says enough.

#1 is this Playoff Contenders Clash of Collins and Reggie White. I remember the Packers and Panthers battling it out a few times. I can't remember though who won the battles between Collins and White. A great looking card on top of this and die cut. Not one I have seen before.

Now that we have covered my Top 5 Kerry Collins, let's take a look at Terrell Davis.

But first...

*takes a sip, another sip, then dives in.*

If you think that stack of Kerry Collins was anything, the stack of Terrell Davis was nuts! There was at least 100 cards in there so narrowing it down to my Top 5 favorite ones wasn't easy. The number one card was an easy choice, but the rest, well, I could have done a Top 100 with.

#5 This Fleer Ultra 2 Minute Thrill. Shiny wins the day again.

#4 Collectors Edge Supreme Monday Knights. This guy definitely slayed a few dragon defenses back in his top years.

#3 1998 Stadium Club base. This may look like he is being tackled, but I bet he got away here. I love any card where the Patriots are being pushed around.

#2 1997 Upper Deck Star Crossed. It would be crazy not to put this insert in my Top 5.

And finally....drum roll...coffee mug tap....take a sip....

#1 1998 Skybox Premium Intimidation Nation. This card fell 1:360 packs and was the toughest insert to find in that product. It eluded me for years as I have always wanted to own one, now I do and it's also a PC player. Such a bonus!

Thanks goes out to Rick for the mail day. Hope to have something sent your way next week once everything hopefully settles down again.

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

Today's post featured a lot of great cards and believe me, there were many other great ones in that mail day. I hope to post some on my NY Giants card blog I am trying to revive at some point. If you don't follow it, please do.

Eli's Big Blue Crew

As for my family, if you can't donate, please add us to your prayers. We can use all we can get. Thank you in advance.

Make sure also to tell someone you love them today. Sit down, have a cup of coffee or preferred drink (come on its gotta be coffee), and have a conversation. Or a text or a call. Simple, quick, has all of the meaning in the world to them. Not to mention how great it will sound hearing those words being reciprocated back to you.

Thoughts on my mail day welcomed in comments.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

90's Cards Over Coffee:1996 Summit Football Box Break

*going to be fun today, it's been awhile since I have done with one of these posts. So let's get on with a trip back to the 90's with a box break. But first, let me get some coffee*

Long before the rise of box prices in the hobby, I was able to make a trade with my buddy @ShaneSalmonson and land a few boxes to open of 90's stuff I enjoy. These box breaks happened such a long time ago, not just because they are in the 90's, that I no longer have the odds information to offer you. I apologize in advance for that.

Knowing this break already has been ripped instead of being ripped "live" on here, there won't be any sippin' before I do some rippin'.

*takes a sip, begins to show off the break. This doesn't sound as much fun*

In each box of 1996 Summit football, there were 18 packs of 7 cards each. The box back then was around $30. Now I don't even want to look and see what they are going for.

When you open up the box, the stack of packs stare at you in a nicely centered Styrofoam. Back in the 90's, Summit was considered to be a "higher end" product so it was packed like so.

*takes a sip before breaking down the product more and showing off the results*

The 1996 Summit base set consists of 200 total base cards.

This breaks down to 146 veterans, 35 rookies, four checklists, and a 15-card subset all about quarterbacks in Quarter Horses.

 

The 35 rookies are from a strong class that include such stars as Keyshawn Johnson, Marvin Harrison, Kevin Hardy, Simeon Rice, and Eddie George.

*takes another sip, looks around for a breakfast item since posts like this usually take awhile before I will hit publish. Finds a Jalapeño cheddar bagel, toasts it, butters it, comes back to the laptop. Notices beverage is getting low, gets back up, brews a cup, comes back to sit to move onto the inserts*

One great thing about breaking 90's cards, you aren't concerned about hits. It's all about the beautiful inserts and parallels.

The parallels in 1996 Summit are the same as the 1995 edition in Ground Zero. Difference being, the 1995 is more of a speckled design and the 1996 is more of a zebra color. Both though, look striking.

Jim Harbaugh Quarter Horses

John Elway. Nice find!

Danny Kanell. This is a nice PC piece.

*takes a sip before moving onto the insert finds*

Inspirations is a rookie laden insert set with all cards being numbered to 8000. I pulled one of the guys who has a fun last name to pronounce and a guy I pulled a lot of in the 90's.

3rd And Long. These look really great and are numbered to 2000

And Turf Team. This card I missed when opening up packs but after sorting found it stuck to the back of another card. These are numbered to 4000.

*takes another sip before finishing up today's post. Also finishes last few bites of bagel*

This was a fantastic break. Emmitt, Elway and Aikman inserts and parallels. I got a good chunk of the base set and was already chasing the Ground Zeros and all three pulled were new. Very happy with the results from this break.

Let me know your thoughts in comments.

*takes one final sip, heads back for cup #2. Coffee Card Blogger Out*