A little while ago I realized that after my latest batch of 2013 Topps Archives, I hadn't checked the duplicates against anyone else's want lists. There were a couple of cards that matched up with the needs of Chris from Nachos Grande. I already had his address, so I sent them away without consulting him first. I feel like I am always trying to catch up on the good karma that the world of card blogs sends my way. I've even been on the good end of a couple lopsided trades with Chris in the past few months, so I felt I owed him.
To make a long story even longer, he sent back a bunch of cards from 2012 and 2013 Archives that whacked some big chunks out of my want list. I just can't beat this guy. One of the cool things I've seen around is bloggers with their own trading cards that they send out with their packages. His is an Allen & Ginter's mini with a Munnatawket back, which I believe is seeded at 1:4 trade packages.
And before I get into the rest of this post, he has hinted at a new group break that he is working on filling. So far he has only teased the contents of the break, but you should check it out.
There is also a charity break going on over at View from the Skybox. So far it has just hit the break-even point, and needs a few more boxes to fill so that it can generate a donation for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan. He has been offering up discounts on various teams and random team pairs to try to gain traction, so that is something to look into as well.
The first set that got hit was the 1977 Topps Cloth inserts from 2012 Topps Archives. Chris sent 3 cards, which cut my needs from that particular set in half. I hate the cloth texture on these cards and the scratchy sounds they make when I touch them, but I love filling those holes in my binder pages.
Keeping it in 2012, the package also included a 1969 Deckle Edge card of Ichiro. I like the variety of inserts that can be found in the Topps Archives sets. I just wish Topps wouldn't reuse the same designs over and over in the base set.
Next up are two of those dastardly short prints from the base set. I was finally able to finish off the 2013 short prints a little while ago, but the 2012 set still has a ways to go. These two cards will save me a lot of frustration down the road.
From 2013 Topps Archives, I got cards from two different insert sets. One is a retro-themed 1972 Basketball design card of Matt Kemp, and the other is a 1998 Stadium Club Triumvirate card of Mariano Rivera, straight out of the shiny gimmicky insert era. Both were much needed as I continue to pursue the last remaining cards from my 2013 Archives set.
Even the filler cards packed around the Archives stuff were great. They hail from a variety of sets and years, and feature a strong Mariners theme. I have a lot of nostalgia for the Collector's Choice brand, although when I was buying Collector's Choice off the shelf it was always basketball cards. The themes and the branding are largely the same.
This was an unexpected and very exciting package to find in the mailbox. Once again, I find myself owing a debt to the generosity of the blogging community.
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