National Gifts From Frankie

One of the things I liked the most about The National was the time I was able to spend with some of my closest friends in the hobby.  During that time, I was able to make a new friend, Frankie, who spent the week walking around the venue with us.

Frankie surprised me with this really nice Adam Jones 2014 Topps Supreme auto numbered 5/45.  It was a really kind gesture from a really good guy.

Frankie also surprised me with this 2015 Topps Tier One Jones relic that he pulled out of a box that he busted in the VIP room.  This card is numbered 131/399.

I really appreciated the cards from Frankie, but I appreciated my time with him even more.  It was cool to get to know him, and welcome him into our little group.

A Christmas Present From Mom, in August, at the National

This past Christmas, my mom gave me a $20 prepaid Master Card to use on baseball cards.  It took me until August to use it, but I think I did pretty well.

I challenged myself to get the best possible deal with the card, and the two cards I got far surpassed anything that I thought I would be able to find.

The above 2014 Topps Trajectory jumbo relic of Chris Davis would probably have found itself on next year's Top 10 Wishlist, since I really wanted one, but hadn't jumped on one yet.  The card is numbered 11/99, and looks awesome.  I really loved the Trajectory design, and now I have this and a Ripken auto.

I was also able to throw in this 2014 Topps Supreme Jonathan Schoop auto, numbered 45/45.  This was the other Schoop auto I had referred to in my Schoop post a couple days ago.

The Davis jumbo has gome for $15-$20 regularly, so being able to get it, and the numbered to 45 Schoop auto was really a steal.  I feel like I did a great job in my "challenge."  I may do something similar at next year's show.  Take a certain amount of money, and challenge myself to get the best possible deal, then blog about it.  Seems too easy...

Thanks for the Christmas present, Mom!

Awesome Autographs From Michael

I completed a trade with Michael the other day when I sent him a bunch of relics, autos and inserts from 2015 Topps in exchange for this 2014 Topps Supreme Sonny Gray auto and the below Yoenis Cespedes from 2014 Topps Hi Tek.

I guess I am going to be PCing Sonny Gray on a limited basis.  Mainly relics and autos for now, I think.  I do know the Topps Supreme card looks pretty awesome.  I might have to add some Orioles from that set, if some good ones are available.

I loved this Cespedes when Michael showed it to me.  The card is numbered 19/50.  It took me a while to figure out how to scan it outside of my normal way to scan.  If I do it my normal way, I have to put something behind it or the computer breaks the image up.  If I manually scan it, then it scans right, like shown above.  Anyway, I figured it out, and it scanned well.  I think the cards are so cool.  I need to get some Orioles of these as well.

Thanks so much for the deal, Michael!