Read The Fine Print

Last month, I received a nice Christmas card in the mail from Angus over at Dawg Day Cards and inside of the card were a bunch of baseball cards and stickers.

Right out of the gate my eyes were drawn to this card:

1983 Kellogg's #8

Kellogg's 3D oddballs are quite possibly the greatest oddball issues ever created.  I remember being so jealous of one of my friends who had sent away for a complete set of these.  I'm sure the eleven year old me would have pretty much traded anything in my collection for this card back in the day.

The only downside to these cards are the summaries on the card backs.  Could they use a smaller font?  Maybe I could read this back in 1983, but I definitely can't now.  Thank goodness for scanners.

The second card that caught my attention was this:

1984 O-Pee-Chee #230

I don't remember exactly the first time I stumbled across O-Pee-Chee baseball cards, but I know that for years I considered them subpar compared to their Topps counterparts.  These days, the roles have been reversed.  I truly treasure every 70's or 80's OPC baseball card I can get my hands on.

He also sent a team bag full of stickers.  Not the kind that Fleer and Upper Deck would insert into their packs.  I'm talking about the ones you collect and stick into those albums.  Back in the 80's, I'd always see them near the checkout stands with a box of packs nearby.

1984 O-Pee-Chee Sticker #327

At first glance, I thought that I might already own some of these stickers.  However upon closer inspection, I realized that these were the OPC version.

1984 O-Pee-Chee Stickers #3 and #4

I had no idea that these even existed, but it makes sense that if they produce Canadian versions of cards, they'd do the same for stickers.

Angus sent me practically the entire Oakland A's team set:

Now all I need is the sticker album.  Just kidding.  I'd never actually peel these, because as far as I can tell... once you remove the backing the Topps and O-Pee-Chee stickers are exactly the same.  Although it wouldn't surprise me if there were some variations that existed.

Angus also sent a labeled sleeve filled with the 2017 Topps New Era cards.  However, I'm kinda dense and assumed that when he wrote New Era on the Post-It note, he meant modern cards.

I was really intrigued by this card of Khris Davis:

2017 Topps New Era #3

I found it interesting that Topps would choose a photo of him bunting, since he's best known for hitting home runs.  Then when I flipped the card over, I noticed the New Era logo at the very bottom and the memories of a few bloggers writing about this oddball issue came rushing back into my head.

Collectors who purchased a New Era hat and a team set at the ballpark received a pack of these New Era oddballs.  Davis was the only Athletic to receive a card in the base set.

However the A's did have three guys included in the New Era insert set:

2017 Topps New Era '87 Topps #97T-2

2017 Topps New Era '87 Topps #97T-8

2017 Topps New Era '87 Topps #97T-13

You probably noticed that these look very similar to the cards Topps included in their Series 1 and Series 2 flagship packs.  Unfortunately there isn't a New Era logo printed on the card like there was on the Davis.  However there are a few ways to tell the difference.

#1: The 30th Anniversary stamp on the New Era cards are white, while the ones inserted into flagship packs are silver foil.

#2: The card numbers are different.

#3: The super small Topps codes on the back at the bottom are different.

Anyways, it's a really good thing that Angus labeled that sleeve, because I probably wouldn't have noticed the difference, since I rarely read the fine print.

By this point, I was analyzing all of the remaining cards with extra care as if they were Da Vinci Code clues.

1991 Silver Star AuthenTicket #1

Back in 1991, Silver Star created 8 different holograms.  Rickey was one of them.  Each hologram came with one of these AuthenTickets which described the athlete's accomplishment.  This one commemorates Rickey breaking Lou Brock's all-time stolen base record.

If you look closely, you'll notice Litho'd in Canada is printed on the back of this ticket.  I actually have one of these in my collection, so I pulled it out to see if Angus had sent me a special Canadian version.

Unfortunately... the one I picked up at the flea market has the same thing printed on the back, so I'll assume all of the Silver Star AuthenTickets were printed in Canada.

I also spent a minute or two examining this card very closely as well:

2017 Stadium Club #88

Turns out this is a regular base card from this year's Stadium Club set.  Even though it's not a rare O-Pee-Chee version that unlocks some secret door to the Topps Vault, it's still a very cool card featuring Rickey during his first stint with the Athletics back in the early 80's.

I also analyzed the final three cards very carefully...

1992 Post #25 

1996 Pinnacle McGwire #25

2013 Topps Emerald Foil #316

None of them turned out to be Canadian or New Era versions... but all three are still pretty amazing cards that are truly appreciated.

Thank you Angus for thinking of me and my A's collection during the holidays!  I can't remember the last time I analyzed cards so closely.  It was a lot of fun.

I'll make sure to send you some Dawgs during my next round of care packages.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!