KK Off the List

I feel like I have crossed a pretty big item off of my Most Wanted List.  Yes, I know I need to throw a few more cards up on the list and plan to do so at some point this week.  More importantly, I feel like I have done a really good job in recent months of moving some of the cards off of my list.  After not publishing a Want List for a long time, I have seen the addition of my list help in two way as a collector:

• I am focused on specific cards that fit into my collection
• Other collectors seeking to make trades have a great starting point

Which brings me to my list card which I picked up in a Facebook group page.  There are so many cards posted in some of the pages it is hard to sift through them all some days, but a copy of a Kevin Kiermaier autograph caught my eye last week.  I had to ask and a few minutes later I was the proud owner of this card:  

I gave up a sharp looking Yoenis Cepedes autograph in exchange for this card, but in my opinion it was well worth it.  Kiermaier, currently the Rays center fielder, spent parts of three seasons as a Durham Bull.  While those three appearances only totaled up to 77 games, it's was a long enough time to make a lasting impression on baseball fans in North Carolina.  Kiermaier hustled, played great defense, and sparked the Bulls offense.  All the same things he is now doing at The Trop.  

I have had my eye on a Kiermaier autograph for awhile now, and while they are not too difficult to find, I could never settle on a copy and find it at a price I was willing to pay.  All of his certified autographs are Panini, which means no logos, but they sell for more than you would think.  When his signature first started to appear in Panini products many of his cards would end between $25-$30 at auction.  Cards with nicer patch pieces would push closer to $50.  I would have loved to have owned some of those, but not at that price.  

The last month, or maybe two, I have seen a few pop up on both Ebay and COMC, but they were rather ordinary.  Given the amount of cards I have seen with big pieces of patch I decided to wait it out.  I think I finally landed a winner with this National Treasures card featuring an on-card signature with a nice big blue patch piece.  All number out of just 10 copies.