Today's mail brings letters from over the Hill

After a relatively quiet two-thirds of November, I've gone on another mini spree thanks mainly to COMC (purchases on Black Friday AND today thanks to outstanding prices and free shipping), but also because eBay has turned up some cards I've really been after, and you know I just hate to miss the opportunity to grab something I really need for my PC.

The cards from today's post actually come from two separate purchases, but in the interest of not getting behind on other stuff, especially the COMC posts, I'll combine them.  Here's what I nabbed last week:

Rich Hill 2008 Topps Triple Threads Relics Combos Autographs triple relic auto (with Cueto and Gorzelanny) (#11/36)

As usual, THAT's a mouthful.  There's definitely lots going on with this card.  It's my first of Hill's '08 TTT issues that features three players, and the other two aren't terrible, especially Cueto, who had a very nice 2012 campaign.  That makes it a little funnier that they went with a bat relic instead of a jersey here, but whatever--it's another auto/relic I needed for Hill's PC and I was thrilled to grab it for my minimum big.  I now have:

• 104 Hill cards in-hand and scanned
• An all-sport-leading 58 Hill hits
• 8/27 of his 2008 Triple Threads issues (including 1/1s)

So that was a fun pickup, and I'd like to take this opportunity to say that, although I'm not a member of Topps Five Star Club, I've always known them to be a company that produces excellent cards with zero quality control issues, just the right amount of redemptions (with outstanding replacements!), and plenty of imagination--Topps knows best when it comes to reprints!  In truth, there's never been a better sports card manufacturer, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Topps will continue listening to collectors and producing reasonably-priced products that everyone loves.

See what I did there?  This was my other significant purchase last week:  2008 SP Rookie Letterman letter patch autos of Chad Henne, Jake Long and Adrian Arrington.  I actually already had one of these for each player, but I got these at such a steal of a price (around $20 shipped for the lot), especially considering Henne's recent hot streak, that I had to pounce on them.  I shy away from doubles of hits otherwise, but each of these letters is still unique to my collection for each player, so I'm always happy to add more. (at the right price)  It's just a super fun set to collect, and in no way could I possibly imagine Topps coming up with such a well-designed and well-executed college-themed manu-relic set.  These letters look like they came straight off a Wolverines jersey, and the sweet autographs are just the icing on the cake.

And while I'm at it--sorry, Jake Long, you're still one card behind Rich Hill thanks to today's other pickup.  But tomorrow is another day!

Stay tuned for a couple more (smaller) eBay purchases as well as plenty more from COMC!