Sometimes after I buy cards, I look at them and think, "That card looks awfully familiar," only to find out that I've purchased a duplicate. Sometimes it turns out that the card isn't a duplicate, though, as perhaps I have mis-remembered or merely purchases a similar card. Both of today's Danica Patrick cards were cards that looked vaguely familiar to me after I purchased them, so I hopped into the wayback machine to see what was going on with them,
This card comes from 2014 Press Pass Redline. It's a Black and White parallel, and it is numbered # 32 / 75. It turns out that this was a false alarm. While I did already have a Black and White parallel of Danica Patrick from this set, it was the parallel of card # 44, while this one is card # 43. The other one has a different pose on the front and features her blue Aspen Dental car on the back. The firesuits on each would be different colors, but that doesn't show through on a black and white card.
My eyes weren't fooling me on this card, though. I purchased another copy of this Red parallel from 2013 Press Pass Legends back in early 2016, so now I've got two. This one is numbered # 78 / 99, while the one I picked up previously is # 20 / 99.
I think duplicate purchases happen to all of us, and in some cases there are people who make a hobby out of collecting multiples of the same cards, like stack22 over at the Tim Wallach blog or that guy who is trying to collect every copy of one particular vintage card (I wish I could remember the set, but I just spent 10 minutes trying to search it out and I am quitting), leading to a tough search for anyone else trying to collect that one set. For my collection, though, duplicates are usually kind of a waste. At least on this particular purchase I wound up with only a 50% duplication rate.
As I write this, Danica Patrick is currently running in 26th place in the AAA 400 Drive for Autism at Dover International Speedway, with about half the race completed. There is plenty of time to move up, so we'll see where she ends up.
It's an unintentional hobby...but yes I quite frequently buy cards I already have.
ReplyDeleteI think it probably happens to most of us.
DeleteThe guy that is trying to collect every copy of the vintage card is collecting the 1964 Curt Flood card http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/11411892/mysterious-curt-flood-card-collector-chases-1964-baseball-card?ex_cid=espnapi_public
ReplyDeleteThat's the guy! I just couldn't come up with the name, and my usually-strong Google-fu was failing me earlier today.
DeleteAs a collector who spends most of his card show time in front of dime boxes, I'm always purchasing duplicates.
ReplyDeleteI could see that. Especially in a dime or quarter box situation, it's easier just to grab everything that you think you might need, and check for duplicates later.
DeleteI recently posted about this phenomenon, trying to come up with a name for it. "Ninjas" is what we have so far. They sneak into your collection without getting checked off your want lists and aren't visible until you get the other one.
ReplyDeletehttp://thecollectivemind.blogspot.com/2017/05/to-coin-phrase.html
I remember reading that post. I wish I were organized enough to have want lists.
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