2012 Topps Heritage Set

I am spending my weekend putting together the final touches on my second set of the year.  I usually put together a couple of sets each year, the base Topps set is a definite, and for the past twelve years I have always worked on a Topps Heritage set too.  In 2001, the very first box of Heritage I opened might have been my best box ever.  I pulled a Classic Renditions Barry Bonds autograph and a Nomar Garciaparra autograph (photographic proof on another day).  Sold both of them later that week for $1200.  The first thing I love about the Heritage cards is the design.  The older Topps cards always had great designs and it's great to see them again.  I wonder what will happen in thirty years when Topps gets to the early nineties designs?  Anyway, this years base cards are based on the 1963 Topps base set.

2012 Topps Heritage Matt Holliday #190

Like other Topps Heritage sets, this years set also has several subsets which are borrowed from the original 1963 set.  My favorite from this years set is the World Series Highlights which celebrate the Cardinals-Rangers series from last fall.  The sample below might be the best card in the set.  

2012 Topps Heritage Cardinals World Series Card #148

The base set also features 75 short prints and variations which start with card #425 and run through #500.  I try not to fuss over the variations, but I do slowly pick up the short prints.  The card below features North Carolina native and (sigh) a former Tar Heel.  

2012 Topps Heritage Kyle Seager 

One of the biggest complaints with this set year after year is the inserts.  Most of the inserts do not change and they aren't very hard to chase.  Sure there are autographs and jersey cards, but most years they are one per box and not a slam dunk on quality.  Other inserts like the Now & Then insert, featured in every Topps Heritage set since 2001, can be found inexpensively.  This year's set features Stickers and Flashbacks which can also be easily assembled.  

2012 Topps Heritage Stickers Albert Pujols

2012 Topps Heritage Now & Then Miguel Cabrera and Carl Yastrzemski 

2012 Tops Heritage Flashbacks Alcatraz

3 Different Trades

I've got some great cards to post this evening from three different trades that I made over the past few days.  All three trades were Facebook trades from different groups that I have joined.  Many of the groups have the same circle of people, but there are some differences in some groups.  So, without further delay I will recount my trades so far this week.  

Trade #1 

I met a Braves collector with a few days ago with some Cardinals cards that he was trying to unload.  Two in particular caught my eye.  First, I have picked up a few Topps Tribute autographs the past week since it was released and love the fact that Topps has actually put out a high end product with on-card autographs.  This card is a Matt Holliday serial numbered to /74.  The card is my third Topps Tribute autograph to go along with my Matt Kemp and Matt Moore.  I was also able to add in a Tim Hudson from an old issue of Fleer Focus and also picked up a throw in with a Ray Lankford Millennium Marks autograph.  I have the Lankford card, but I don't turn down throw ins and I don't turn down Ray Lankfords.  Going the other way was a very nice 2000 SPX Chipper autograph and a Andruw Jones autograph.  

Trade #2

I saw a post earlier this week with a Clayton Kershaw autograph and answered since the person was looking for Tigers and I had a few to burn.  I also do not have a single Clayton Kershaw autograph, relic, etc.  in my collection and I figure I should add one before the Dodgers win something and the price goes up.  The trader through in a nice Bryce Harper to boot and I sent him back a 2002 Fleer Al Kaline autograph and another nice Tigers card.  

Trade #3

I had a collector contact me during the past week about trading for a Nolan Ryan jersey card and the collector also seems to love Triple Threads cards...maybe more than me, so I turned those to cards into three pretty sweet cards.  First, I got a Fleer Platinum Lance Berkman patch.  Fleer put patches into the Nameplates inserts for a few in the mid 90's and if you look you can find some sweet patches out there in these cards.  I actually have another Berkman card like this, but I couldn't pass up this one.  I also received two more cards for my Marquee collection with two Michael Youngs.  One is a jumbo jersey and the other is a quad jersey with one small piece of patch.  

New Card and My Marquee Collection

Ladies and Gentleman,

I wish you a good evening and thank you for your visit to my little corner of the blogging world.  For your enjoyment this evening I present to you a fabulous new card which I received this afternoon in my mailbox from a trade last week.  The card is a 2011 Topps Marquee Matt Kemp Gametime Mementos Quad Jersey Quad.  However, you will note from the scan posted below the top-right hand box of the card features a piece of blue patch.  Nice.  Remember that you have until Sunday to enter my first month trivia contest (please read the rules) and the question has been reposted below along with several other scans of Topps Marquee cards which you may, or may not, enjoy looking at during your spare time.


Thank you,
The Snorting Bull

2011 Topps Marquee Matt Kemp Quad Jersey 

Trivia Question
Contest #1 Question- During the summer of 2007 Evan Longoria played briefly for the Durham Bulls.  Who was the primary third baseman that season for the Durham Bulls prior to Longoria's arrival?


Some other random cards:

Celebrating One Month

I have had a great time during the past few weeks blogging about my baseball card collection and trades.  It has been awesome to meet new people and talk cards with people responding to my posts.  To thank everyone for everything during the few weeks I am launching a contest this week and another contest next week.  The contest is trivia based and participants with the correct answer will receive two cards (they are nice) related to the correct answer and the question's subject.  Hint: The all are all related to the Snorting Bull.  Answers for the first contest question must be sent in an email to thesnortingbull@gmail.com or sent in a pm to The Snorting Bull on Facebook.  The contest ends Sunday April 1st at 8 pm EST.  Winners will be announced that evening.

Contest #1 Question- During the summer of 2007 Evan Longoria played briefly for the Durham Bulls.  Who was the primary third baseman that season for the Durham Bulls prior to Longoria's arrival?

In Today's Mail....

I got some cool Cardinals cards, a Rays cards, and a Sabathia jersey card in a Facebook trade.  I traded away a few Red Sox to get these cards.  I am starting a week long contest to celebrate the first month of my blog later tonight.  Details within the hour!  

2007 SP Legendary Cuts Ozzie Smith Autograph

2005 Upper Deck Heroes Stan Musial Pants

2011 Topps Marquee Jeremy Hellickson Jumbo Jersey

2004 Topps Finest C.C. Sabathia Jersey

Does anybody want some Magic Johnson?

Taking my title from a great Chili Peppers song my trade mail today focuses on a card that I have been chasing for eight or nine months.  One of my highest priorities with my collection is to seek out and find as many cool and unique Cardinals cards as I possibly can.  Today I feel like I ran into a really cool one.  I acquired this card last weekend with a dealer in Michigan who was looking for some Tigers cards.  I put together a couple of cool Tigers cards and walked away with this gem:

The card is a 2010 Donruss Elite Jordan Swagerty autograph, but the card was actually signed by Magic Johnson.  I've heard all kinds of crazy theories of how this happened, but don't have a tin foil hat.  Just a really cool card.  

Just in case you have deprived of this song...

Breaking My Wax Rule

I do not buy high end wax.  Ever.  Long story, but I would in most instances pull the worst name on the autograph list if I spent good money on a nice, high-end product.  So, this weekend I was at a local card shop and was offered the opportunity to purchase a pack of Topps Tribute under price.  I asked the store owner for a copy of the checklist and got the run down from the owner on the Hank Aaron and Matt Moore autographs.  I explained that I had already traded for a Matt Moore.  He continued on with Cardinals.  Matt Holliday, Jaime Garcia, etc, etc.  However, I was looking for my worst case scenario.  Chris Heisey?  I told the owner some of my tremendous pulls from high end products.  I remember vividly going into one of my favorite cards stores in 2005 and seeing about five packs of Ultimate Signatures being opened.  The pulls were all high-end Hall of Famers.  The most memorable of which were a Jack Morris/Kirby Puckett dual autograph and a low number Whitey Ford.  Fifty Dollars later I had a Dave Gassner autograph.  Even in 2005 that was terrible.  Some other gems: 2001 Playoff Absolute Signing Bonus Henry Rodriguez autographed baseball, 2005 Bowman Sterling Chris Volstad, and my favorite draft flame out Dewon Brazelton 2002 Topps Pristine autograph.  At some point I just quit opening the end stuff, but this weekend I had a few bucks knocked off a pack and.......I might go back.  

Highlights from the Weekend

I made several trades over the weekend and will have a few more cards to show off from some awesome traders on Facebook later on in the week.  However, I did get some actually cards in my hand this afternoon from trades made last Thursday and Friday ready to get some props.  So, here are my four favorite from the weekend:

1.  2011 Topps Triple Threads Gio Gonzalez Autograph

This is my second copy of this card, so I probably go to flip one of them around this week.  We'll see what I can get for it.  

2.  2009 SP Authentic James McDonald By The Letter Autograph

Not the greatest player by any means, but I really enjoy some of the letter autographs put out during Upper Deck's final days in the baseball game.  The autographs can be a little bit shaky on some of the cards, but compared to other McDonald autographs this is pretty nice. 

3.  2011 Topps Triple Threads Evan Longoria Cards  

I got two different variations of Longoria.  The first is numbered 7/18 and the second is numbered 04/27.  Best of all I purged my collection of Cubs to get these cards.  

4. 2005 Prime Patches Jim Thome Patch 

It's just a really nice patch, but it is numbered to 150.  More later tonight.  

2011 Topps Marquee Ben Zobrist

Got a ton of cards today in the mail, but I only have time and energy to post one for this evening.  This is my newest Rays card of Ben Zobrist.  I got to spend a lot of time watching Zobrist play for the Durham Bulls a few years back and have been pleasantly surprised with his play in Tampa the past few season.  This is actually my second Rays card from the Topps Marquee set from last year.  I also have a Jeff Niemann dual jersey autograph.  

Trades From The Last Week

Still catching up a bit from last week.  These four cards came in last week and I did not give them their proper dues here on my blog.  The Ryan and Hornsby cards are from one trade and the two Cardinals cards are from a different trade.  Overall, four quality additions to the collection, but I was most excited about the Carpenter and Hornsby.

2012 Topps Tribute Champions Materials Chris Carpenter

2011 Topps 60 Relics Matt Holliday Bat Card

2003 Topps Record Breakers Rogers Hornsby Bat

2003 Topps Record Breakers Nolan Ryan Jersey

Triple Threads Relics

Catching up a little bit from the past week.  I am trying to make a post a day and haven't made any this week until this evening.  Last week I post my Triple Threads autographs and tonight I post my relics.  I generally keep less relics, bats, jersey, etc than autographs, rookies, and short prints in my card.  After nearly 15 years of relics cards I feel they have become quite stale.  I will still pop for a premium piece if the right player is there, or I will take a common relic if it is a Cardinal, Ray, or throw in on a trade.  Some of these are in other posts.  Here they are: