A PC of a Guy I Don't Actively Collect

People who read this blog generally know my favorite teams and the players I actively collect.  But there are plenty of athletes in my personal collection that I fail to mention on this blog.

Hank Aaron is one of those guys.

It's probably because I don't actively seek his cards.  But that doesn't mean I haven't purchased some really cool collectibles featuring him over the years.  The bottom line is he's a legend.  When I started collecting cards back in 1981, I was also becoming a really big fan of the game of baseball too.  A big part of both of those things had to do with my love for numbers... which is why I've been fascinated by baseball statistics since the very beginning.

1974 Topps #1

How does this relate to Henry Louis Aaron?  Well even though I've had a deeper appreciation for high average hitters over home run hitters for as long as I can remember... what nine year old baseball fan doesn't appreciate the all-time home run king?  That's why I've slowly tucked away his cards (and collectibles) as I've encountered them over the years.

And as news of his death quickly spread over our blogosphere, I decided to pull out my boxes and scan some of my personal favorites.  It wasn't an easy task, but I even created a Top 10 list.

But before we get to those... here are a bunch of honorable mentions...

2001 Upper Deck Hall of Famers Bat #B-HA

1964 Topps #9

1968 Topps #3

1972 Topps #87

1968 Topps Game #4

1969 Topps #100

1970 Milton Bradley #NNO

1973 Topps #100

1975 Topps #660

2006 Kellogg's All-Star Autographs #NNO

1989 Kenner SLU Baseball Greats #NNO

2000 Hasbro SLU All Century Team #NNO

1991 UD Heroes of Baseball Hologram #HH1

1996 Hallmark Keepsake Ornament #HK2

2017 Bowman's Best 1997 Best Cuts #97BC-HA

Alright... now that we've gotten those out of the way.  Let's check out my ten favorite Hank Aaron collectibles...

#10:  2001 UD Decade 1970's Game-Used Jersey #J-HA

Yeah... I know memorabilia cards aren't for everyone.  But I enjoy collecting them and if you've followed this blog long enough, you know how much I love this product.

#9:  1967 Topps Posters #15

This is the first of two oddball issues from the 60's on this list.  I really like the simple design and the fact that it's printed on newspaper stock.  It definitely has a vintage feel to it.  I also think it's cool that he has his jersey number written on the knob of his bat.

#8:  1966 Topps #215

Do I really need to explain why this card is so awesome?  Two words: three legends.

#7:  1967 Topps #250

Back in the early 90's, I purchased a few Hank Aaron cards from the card shop I worked at.  One of them was the 1973 Topps card featured in the honorable mentions.  This was another one of those cards.  At the time this was one of the oldest and most valuable cards in the collection.  However it wasn't my favorite.  That honor belonged to the #6 card on this list.

#6:  1972 Topps #299

This was one of the other vintage cards I purchased from the card shop I worked at.  I can't remember ever writing about this card before... which is a shame, because it's so darn beautiful.  Plus the 1972 Topps baseball card set will always hold a special place in my collection since it's my birth year set.

#5:  2015 Topps Museum Collection Premium Prints #PP-HA

This is one of the most valuable baseball cards in my collection.  For the longest time, I wanted to add a pack pulled on-card autograph of Aaron to the collection, so in 2017 I purchased this card for $125 on eBay.

#4:  1983 Perez-Steel Hall of Fame Art Postcards #177

I realize slabbed signatures and oversized items are not popular among many bloggers... but I love this collectible.  It's not my favorite Hank Aaron autograph... but it's pretty darn close.

#3:  1964 Topps Giants #49

This is the 2nd oldest Aaron collectible in my collection and it comes from my favorite oddball issue from the 60's.  It's such a great looking card.

#2:  715th Home Run 16" x 20" Signed Photo (Steiner Certified)

Thanks to an awesome gift card offer, I was able to purchased this photo off of the Steiner website nine years ago for only $117.55 (+ $9.99 shipping).  One day I'd like to have it professionally framed and hang it up in my office.  That won't happen until I move and buy a larger place... which may or may not ever happen.  Until then... I get to look at this photo of my photo.


#1:  1956 Topps #31

If I have a copy of a player's 1956 Topps card... chances are it's going to be my favorite card of his.  This card actually features two legends... since the player sliding into home isn't Hammerin' Hank.  It's actually the Say Hey Kid.

Well that wraps up my Hank Aaron PC.  Like I mentioned at the start of this post... I'm not actively looking to add any new cards of his to this collection.  But that doesn't mean I won't.  Maybe one day I'll stumble across an affordable graded vintage card from his playing days or a cool looking memorabilia card from the late 90's/early 2000's.  If that ever happens... I'll try to remember to share it on this blog.

Until then...

Do you have a favorite Hank Aaron collectible?

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

Digging Up Buried Treasure

Imagine digging through some old boxes of cards and stumbling across cards worth hundreds of dollars.  That's exactly what happened to me last year...

While digging through some of my lower end rookie card boxes, I discovered a 2008-09 Topps Chrome rookie card refractor of Russell Westbrook.  I immediately knew it was worth something, but had no idea that they were selling upwards of $250.

That discovery motivated me to look through my higher end stuff stored at my parent's house.  I wasn't really surprised to find a bunch of cards that fetch anywhere from $5 to $50.  There was actually a time when I was really into collecting basketball cards.

Now I realize that most of my readers are baseball fans.  Don't worry.  I won't be turning this into a basketball card blog anytime soon.  In fact... if you're patient, I've included a nice piece of baseball buried treasure for all of you at the end of this post.

With that being said... basketball is very popular all around the world... so there's a huge market for their memorabilia.

Today I'm going to show off seven examples of basketball cards that represent some of the most valuable cards in my sports card collection.

And maybe... just maybe... even some of the baseball card collectors who read this blog will be able to appreciate these basketball cards.  Are you ready?  Here we go...

Let's kick things off with some rare Air...

#1:  1996/97 Fleer Ultra Starring Role #4 Michael Jordan

Insertion Rate:  1:288 Packs (1:12 Boxes)
Recent eBay Sales (Raw Copies): $395.95 (BIN in March) and $469 (Auction in January)

Michael Jordan inserts have been popular for decades... especially the rare ones.  This acetate insert is truly a beautiful card.


#2:  1998/99 UD Black Diamond Quad Diamond #6 Michael Jordan

Print Run:  #'d 091/150
Recent eBay Sales (Raw Copies): $50 (BIN in February), $112.50 (Auction in February), $191.50+ (Best Offer in March), $191.50+ (Best Offer in April), and  $300 (Auction in January)

The first thirteen cards of the 1998/99 Black Diamond set were Michael Jordan cards.  If you're familiar with this product, then you know that each card had three parallels.  The Quad Diamonds are the rarest.

There's a pretty big price range in regards to completed listings on raw copies, but I definitely call the $50 sale an outlier.


#3:  1998/99 Metal Universe Planet Metal #1 Michael Jordan

Insertion Rate:  1:36 Packs
Recent eBay Sales (Raw Copies): $242.53 (Auction in April), $249.99 (BIN in March), $267+ (Best Offer in April),  and $275 (BIN in March)

This card is sort of a mystery to me, because they weren't exactly tough pulls.  It's definitely a beautiful card, but there's no way that justifies the prices collectors are paying for these.  Maybe 1998/99 Metal Universe were printed in short supply or something.


#4:  1997/98 Metal Universe Championship Galaxy #1 Michael Jordan

Insertion Rate:  1:192 Packs (1:8 Boxes)
Recent eBay Sales (Raw Copies): $???? (Best Offer in March)

This card is the other mystery card.  Not in regards to rarity.  With 15 cards in the set, the odds of pulling Mr. Jordan are 1:2880 packs, which is one per four cases.

No, the mystery has to do with putting a value on this card.  There's only one raw copy currently up on eBay and the vendor is asking $800 (or best offer).  I'm very curious to see what this card ends up selling for.

Okay... now let's take a look at the non-Michael Jordan stuff.


#5:  2009/10 Absolute Memorabilia RPM #146 James Harden

Print Run:  #'d 5/5
Recent eBay Sales (Raw Copies): ????

There are only five copies of this card in existence... and none have popped up recently.  However... the standard RPM #'d to 499 sold for $125.95 back on March 18th.  I think it's safe to say that this card is worth more than that.


#6:  2008/09 Topps Signature Autographs #TSA-RW Russell Westbrook

Print Run:  #'d 125/184
Recent eBay Sales (Raw Copies): $104.49 (Auction in January)

This card is the cheapest card in this post, but I included it because I built this set and I know exactly how difficult it was to acquire this card.  Out of the 85 card set, there are only five cards #'d to less than 200 and Westbrook is one of them.

To put things into perspective... just check out the print runs on these hall of famers who had autographs in this set:  John Stockton (676), Jerry West (649), Larry Bird (499), Shaquille O'Neal (825), Bill Russell (499), David Robinson (899), and John Havlicek (799).


#7: 1999-00 Topps Gallery Autographs #TD Tim Duncan

Insertion Rate:  1:2,637 Packs (1:109.87 Boxes)
Recent eBay Sales (Raw Copies): None

I've saved the best for last.  This is hands down my favorite card out of the seven featured in this post.   I've always enjoyed the way #21 played the game.  He was quiet, yet affective.  And when I stumbled across this autograph, I was pretty stoked to find it.

Duncan hasn't signed for a lot of products over the years... and unfortunately none of these have popped up recently on eBay lately.  However similar Topps cards have sold anywhere from $291.78 to $425 on eBay.

Okay... I'm sure some of you are wondering...

What am I planning on doing with these seven cards?  Well... the Jordans are part of my Jordan PC and probably won't be going anywhere anytime soon.  The Duncan will go into my basketball hall of fame autograph collection.

As for the Harden and Westbrook... I'll probably throw them up on eBay eventually.  Although... I'm planning on sending in some cards into PSA to get graded, so they might be part of that submission.  Or who knows... maybe I bring them back down to Vegas in a few weeks and rebury them.

By they way... if you're a baseball fan and you've stuck around this long, here's the baseball buried treasure I promised...

Back in 2012, I found this signed Dave Parker jersey on Steiner for $10.

Yeah.  That's not a typo.  $10.

I probably should have this jersey framed and displayed somewhere... but sadly this piece of baseball memorabilia is buried somewhere.  My office?  My buddy's garage?  My parent's home?  Who knows... I'm sure I'll dig it up eventually.

What about you...

Ever dig through your collection and discover some buried treasure?

Okay... since this might be the last basketball post of 2018... this might be my only chance to feature this song on the blog:

Happy Sunday and sayonara!