2016 trade package #13: SCFtDS is one of a kind!

Hmmm, three of my last trade packages came from Doug at Sports Cards From the Dollar Store.  Who could this latest one be from?  Oh, it's Doug!  And not only are the cards he sent even more high-end than usual, they're also part of the 40th package I've shown off on this here blog, which is just crazy!  If you don't believe me just check out all of my posts tagged with his name.

By the way, based on today's exchange rate I think that puts him at 1.31 of a kind Canadian.  Anyway, let's look at some cards!

Nik Stauskas 2014-15 Immaculate Collection Rookie Jumbo Tags Printing Plate Cyan (1/1)

Nik Stauskas/Glenn Robinson III/Mitch McGary 2014-15 Immaculate Collection Quad Materials Printing Plate Black (with Gary Harris) (1/1)

Here's a pair that easily rank as "Didn't see those coming!" candidates--well, sort of, as I was able to guess the second one based on some hints he passed along to me.  Incredibly, my first two hits of Nik Stauskas, a.k.a. Sauce Castillo, come courtesy of this pair of plates from 2014-15 Immaculate.  I'm pretty sure that's a first in my collecting life.  Anyway, I would have been happy enough just scoring a simple relic of the talented guard who was a Kings first-rounder in 2014, but that's not how Doug rolls.

And one Wolverine wasn't enough as he managed to dig up a plate with three recent Wolverines, throwing in GRIII and Mitch McGary, along with former Spartan Gary Harris because reasons?  That aside this second plate is extremely cool thanks to the college connection, and it gives me three hits of those other two guys.

One other interesting note:  just about anyone who's held a plate knows they're light, thin cards.  Not so with these versions from Immaculate, which are likely as thick as the relic versions, if not the others in the product, likely to prevent pack-searching.  The extra heft makes these already interesting cards even cooler.

We're not nearly done here, though--I mean, we haven't even talked hockey yet!

Shawn Hunwick 2013-2014 National Treasures 2012-13 Panini Prime Printing Plates Yellow (1/1)

The four-player plate was what I considered the most interesting card of the package, but this is the one I was most excited about since I supercollect Hunwick.  While I don't have as much luck tracking his stuff down as I'd like, I've built up a decent collection, and Doug was nice enough to send me what's now my hockey collection-leading third 1/1 of the former netminder.

This one proved to be a bit tougher than usual to identify because it's not listed in Beckett's catalog, plus it was actually inserted into a 2013-14 product, National Treasures, despite being a plate for a 2012-13 Panini Prime card.  Glad I've got that all sorted out!

John Madden 2001-02 Parkhurst 2002 Chicago Sportsfest 1-of-1 (1/1)

Brendan Morrison 2002-03 Parkhurst 2003 Chicago Sportsfest 1-of-1 (1/1)

And to finish up our five-of-a-kind/one-of-a-kind post, here's a couple more 1/1s, stamped convention card-style.  Also it doesn't hurt that a couple of my favorite former icers, John Madden and Brendan Morrison, are the subjects.  If you've been collecting for a bit, especially recently, you've likely seen this type of oddball pop up from time to time.  While I don't know much about SportsFest and can't easily back up the authenticity of their "one-of-oneness" these cards are a fun, cheap way to add that type of hit to your collection.  And you definitely can't go wrong with an iconic hockey name like Parkhurst.

My third hit of Madden ends up being my second 1/1 of him, and the other also came from Doug!  Morrison joins in the milestone fun with his 25th hit, which is still eight behind leader Marty Turco, but I'm happy to land my first 1/1 of him.

And that, folks, is how you send someone not one or two but five 1/1s of someone's favorite team.  Incredible, generous, amazing stuff, Doug--thank you!  I'm reloaded and ready to fire back as soon as you give me the green light that your post office is no longer trying to out-lazy their American counterparts--a war they could never hope to win, eh?

2016 trade package #10: Sports Cards From the MacGyver Store

It's that time again:  time for another Sports Cards From the Dollar Store trade package!  Doug's actually responsible for the most recent package I showed off here back in April.  This time he "MacGyvered up something" that would allow a couple cards he'd promised me (and more) to arrive safely, and in that (and the content) he did NOT disappoint!

Today's appetizer is this pair of 2015-16 Panini-branded cards of former Michigan star Trey Burke, and they couldn't be more different if they tried.  On the left is Complete, a throwback-type set with a more vintagey (as in non-glossy) card stock.  Just a white border, nice photo, the player's name, and some logos.  Meanwhile, Trey's Select Prizm (I believe this is the Tri-Color version) is shiny, in-your-face colorful, and has something more like a Chrome feel to it.  People can rag on Panini all they like but I'm still in their corner.

For the main course here are five hockey Wolverines cards.  Cogliano starts off with a base card from this year's UD release and a numbered parallel from 2013-14 (hard to see, but it's 048/100).  Wolverwing Dylan Larkin makes a much-appreciated appearance with this Red parallel from this year's O-Pee-Chee Update set, and I don't think they could have picked a better color for his team.  John Madden doesn't get a ton of airtime around here so I make sure to show off stuff when folks like Doug include him.  And finally, Max Pacioretty makes the first of two appearances today with a Blue parallel (#d 086/499) from this year's UD Countours product.  Again, a very nice choice of color that goes well with Montreal's unis (not to mention Michigan's!).

Max Pacioretty 2015-16 Upper Deck Game Jerseys jersey

For dessert, also from this year's UD flagship product (seeing a theme?) is a nicely-done jersey relic of Patch.  It's my third hit of the sniper in my hockey PC and a nice way to highlight his third straight and fourth overall 30-goal season.

And for an after-dinner snack, here's the card that required MacGyvering:  

1997-98 Beehive was a Pinnacle product that honored a series of photos produced between 1934 and 1967 (click here to learn more about them).  The whole set measures in at 5x7 making these pieces larger than average and that much cooler because of it.

Naturally I'm thrilled to get Morrison's card, not only because it's obviously an amazing piece, but also because it counts as a rookie.  Oh yeah, and the back mentions his career at Michigan, including one of my favorite moments:

As you can see, the front takes advantage of the extra space with a great photo while the back goes with a second, black-and-white image, typical bio info, a short write-up, and a trivia question, with most of the text available in English and French.  Nice!

Doug, thanks once again for some fun additions--and careful packaging!  Whenever my latest COMC package arrives I'll have some interesting things to send over to your side of the border.

2014 trade package #6: Do you know the way to San Jose?

As I noted over on TMV this evening, I recently completed my first trade with Mark of the Chronicles of Fuji.  We had some minor trade discussions over the last year or two, but nothing definitive until recently.  I picked out some awesome stuff from his copious amount of trade bait, and in return he'll be getting lots from me, including some COMC goodies that will hopefully arrive soon.  In addition to what you can see over on the sister blog, I picked up the following cards:

This here is a 2005-06 Parkhurst of former Flame and four goal-scorer for the Stars Eric Nystrom, whom I mentioned in yesterday's post.  This is a classy looking RC of Doug's favorite Wolverine (2/14!), and one of a few Michigan alumni I found available in Fuji's collection.

John Madden 2000-01 BAP Signature Series auto

Somehow I made it this far in my Michigan-collecting career without hauling in an autograph of three-time Cup winner John Madden.  Hell, I didn't even have a single hit of him until recently, when Doug sent me a plate as part of this trade.  That's no longer a problem for me thanks to Fuji, who swapped me this purdy BAP signature.  I talked a lot about how great that set is yesterday, and you can see why, since it consistently features so many players I collect!  2000-01 happens to feature one of the brand's best designs, by the way.

Marty Turco 2009-10 Upper Deck Champ's Threads jersey

Maybe Marty just wanted to further pull away and increase his lead over hockey #2 Brendan Morrison; the contest is now 24-20 in Turco's favor, thanks to this mini jersey, which I happily added to my PC of my favorite goalie ever.  Jerseys in the form of minis are always fun as they take up a larger proportion of the card.  Still, I think Upper Deck used the space pretty well in this design.

Tyrone Wheatley 2000 Playoff Prestige Team Checklist auto

And yes, I did land one football hit in this package in the form of this excellent Tyrone Wheatley auto, my third (and fourth hit overall) of the former star RB.  Wheatley has a very interesting signature, and even went so far as to include his jersey number here, which is a big plus.  As a bonus, since this card is a checklist, Raiders teammate Charles Woodson (in his first stint with the team that drafted him, of course) has his name appear on the back as well.

Mark, I'm glad we were finally able to get together on a trade, and I'm thrilled with my pickups.  I just hope you enjoy what I'll hopefully be sending you this week!  Everyone reading this should already be following the Chronicles of Fuji, but if you aren't for some reason, well, what are you waiting for?!  Head over there now!