2009 Topps Triple Threads All-Star Patch

I posted a little while back about my dilemma concerning having money to spend and not being able to decide.  Well, this card came along via BIN and it made up my mind.  Not only is it a low-numbered patch card – its from one of the defining moments of Hamilton’s career to date.  This probably isn’t the jersey that Hamilton was wearing when he was lighting it up in the Home Run Derby, but he was probably wearing it that day.

OK, that part sounded just a little bit creepy.  But – here it is.  My triple patch from Triple Threads /9.  I like it very much.

2002 Bowman Chrome Gold Refractor

This is another card rom my recent purchase from Checkout My Cards.  I snagged this card quite cheap.  I am a bit of a sucker for Refractors, and Gold is as good as it gets.  This card is serial numbered 12/50.

iCardz: America at War / Band of Brothers – Jump Wings

This card is from the Band of Brothers subset of the America at War product.  A paratrooper earned his jump wings by matering four main areas:  physical fitness, parachute tower and landing techniques, packing their own chute, and actually jumping out of an airplane 5 times.  If they refused one jump, they were automatically dismissed from the Airborne.

What was their reward for all this?  An extra $50 / month in pay.

This entire set is fun to look through.  If you have read the book and seen the mini-series many of the cards will bring familiar scenes and people to mind.  This subset takes the collector to the end of D-Day in great detail.  Hopefully, by this being dubbed ‘Series 1′ there are follow ups which will cover the remainder of WW2 in similar detail.

iCardz: America at War / Band of Brothers S1 – Packaging

I know, card packaging is usually just something you have to plow through to get to the cards inside.  For this product, it was also something I have never seen before.  These cards are packaged in paper envelopes that are about 3″ x 5″ when closed.  This is definitely an eco-improvement over all the plastic and foil from pretty much every other product.

This setup keeps the cards nicely away from the edges of the packs, which I think keeps the corners in good shape.  I am not sure how well this packaging would work for sports cards, as I think it would be easy to tamper with and / or search, but it is a very nice touch for a set like this.

iCardz America at War / Band of Brothers S1: Autographs

I first heard about iCardz Military History products from a post on Trader’s Crack, several months ago.  The post was about the D-Day card set, but when I started searching around the company’s site, I saw a lot of things I really liked.  I ordered a box of their America at War card set featuring a subset of cards commemorating Band of Brothers.  I have a lot to post about this set, but I guess like any product – the hits are the first thing that jumps out at you.

I preordered my box, and it gave me the option of selecting a bonus sketch card, promo set, or autographed card.  I chose the autographed card, and packed on the top of my box was a pack containing a signed card from Edward ‘Babe’ Heffron who served in the East Company.  The back of the card says that Heffron was actually exempt from military service due to his job in a shipbuilding plant, but he chose to enlist anyways.

The basic card design for the autographs is the same as the base card featuring the same person, but it features a light vertical strip along the right hand edge of the card, and the autographs are signed vertically in this space.

In total, there are 9 different autograph subjects in the set, and the cards are numbered with an ‘SP’ prefix.  In addition to Heffron, the other autograph subjects in the set are:  William Guarnere, Ed Tipper, Donald Malarkey, Forrest Guth, Clancy Lyall, Buck Compton, Buck Taylor and Earl McClung.

I can’t find it anywhere on their site right now, but I am sure I read somewhere that there should be one ‘hit’ in each box, which would be either an autograph or a sketch card.  In my case, I ended up with another autograph – this one featuring Lynn ‘Buck’ Compton.

These autographs are a pretty amazing addition to an already history rich product.  I’ll have more to post about the base cards and set later, but I wanted to get these autographs posted.

Is anyone else out there working with this set?

Triple Threads – Hammer

This isn’t my big pickup (hopefully that is in transit), but it was part of a purchase off CheckoutMyCards.com, which is a site I am growing to love more and more every time I visit.  I am considering getting a box of cards together to sell there.

My first purchase from 2009 Triple Threads is this jersey card, numbered 23/27.  Cool looking card, but I must say – they could have sharpened the die cuts they used for the ‘Hammer’ writing.  They look a little bit mangled.  Still, I picked this card up for $10, and I am happy to have it in my collection.

Also, for those of you who read or follow my hockey blog – Cards on Ice has a new home at www.hockeycardblog.com.

Remember my dilemma?

About having money and not knowing what to spend it on?

I solved it.  Showoff post coming as soon as the card gets here.

Dilemma

Not a huge dilemma, its more along the lines of ‘a nice problem to have’.

Normally, when I am browsing Josh Hamilton cards on eBay there are tons of cards that I want.  Normally, I don’t have a ton of ‘card money’ at any one time.  Right now, I have some free ‘card money’ and I seem to have become impossibly picky.  Lots of cards I like, none that have jumped out and screamed ‘buy me’ as they all seem to do when I don’t have any money.

So – at some point in the (hopefully) near future, I should have a nice pickup to show off.  I just don’t know when.  Or what exactly it is going to be.  With how long this is taking me, I sure hope it is awesome.

2009 Sweet Spot Ryan / Hamilton Dual Jersey

I picked this card up at a local show – I might have overpaid a little bit, but I didn’t have to wait and I didn’t have to pay shipping.  I dodged the bullet with 2009 Sweet Spot in that Josh Hamilton didn’t have too many autographs – UD really loaded up on jerseys for him.  This is one of my favourites.

Update

There hasn’t been nearly as much Josh Hamilton news this off-season as there was last season, probably a result of the disappointing season he had on the field, and the fact that he isn’t the ‘hot new story’ now.  My card pickups have also slowed down a little bit in the leadup to Christmas, as they always do.  I also spent a significant portion of my ‘recreation’ budget on tickets to some World Junior Hockey games.

But, this too shall pass, and I will be back to picking up Hamilton cards in the new year.  I am finishing up my thesis, so I am also anticipating some free time in the new year.  Oh, 2010 you should be a wonderful year.

Also, if anyone has any suggestions of what I should do in Miami in the middle of February, hit me up.  I am heading to a conference there, and have a couple days on the tail end to kick around for a while.