Congratulations Derek Jeter on becoming the 28th member of MLB's 3,000 hit club.
I'm the furthest thing from being a New York Yankee fan, but I admire the fact that Jeter has played his whole career in Yankee pinstripes. Which is why Jeter fits the definition of a player I hate to love.
Over the years, I've come across my share of Jeter cards. Most of them I have either sold or traded away. But every now and then I'll pull a cool card of his and decide to keep it. Here are the cards I've decided to hold onto over the years... along with a very special card I recently picked up off of COMC.
The final card in my Jeter collection arrived on my doorstep a few days ago. It's a 1998 Zenith "Z-Silver" #17 Derek Jeter. If you're not familiar with the 1998 Zenith product, I encourage you to pick up a pack if you're able to find some. (IMO) It's one of the most underrated products from the 1990's and was well ahead of it's time.
Pinnacle's slogan for the product was "Dare to Tear", because you got three 5x7 cards in a pack and each of these cards had a regular sized card embedded inside of it. If you've ever seen someone with a Topps Treasury or Allen & Ginter RIP card, then it's exactly the same concept. The collector had to decide, do they keep the 5x7 intact or do they risk tearing it open to see what regular size card was hidden inside. I never bought any of the baseball product, but I did build both the 5x7 and regular issue sets of 1997/98 Zenith hockey.
Unfortunately, I think the size of the cards and the fact that the baseball product didn't contain any true rookies turned collectors off... because I don't come across these very often. So when I found a few over at COMC at reasonable prices, I swooped them up. And this Jeter was definitely the one I wanted the most.
As you can see from the photo on COMC, the card look to be in good condition. In fact, when I used my scanner it looked like this:
But when you're holding it in your hand... it's obvious that this card is DAMAGED!
I know I shouldn't overreact, since it only set me back the price of a 16oz Jamba Juice. But I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't disappointed. At first I was upset at the seller for not mentioning it... then I was mad at COMC's scan of the card... but in the end there's nothing I can do anyways... except add it to my Damaged Card PC.
In case you're new to my blog... I save every single damaged card (valued over $1) and hold onto it, so nobody else has to deal with them. Cards under a buck, go straight into the trash or I'll give them away to my students.
What about you... what do you do with the damaged cards you receive in trades, purchases, box/pack breaks, or gifts?
Bonus question (worth 1 extra point):
With the exception of non-mint vintage cards (which I consider "aged"... not damaged... unless of course it has a mustache drawn on it), what's the nicest damaged card in your collection?
Hats off to Derek Jeter and his accomplishment. It's even sweeter that his 3,000th hit was a home run.
I hope everyone has a safe weekend. Sayonara!
Depending on the damage...I might gift them or chunk them if they are too bad. I guess my best damaged cards are any of my 53 topps commons. They have been through it!
ReplyDeletedepends on who it is... a big star player I'll give to anyone who wants it, usually some kids I know.
ReplyDeleteother than that, in the recycle bin it goes.
as for my best damaged card... that would be a '75/76 Pierre Larouche card. My very first card ever. I carried that thing everywhere in my 4 year old pockets. I think it may have gone through the wash even.... but I still have it today.
If it's a Kemp, Kershaw, or Russ Martin card (my three main PCs), I keep it. I've been refunded or promised some credit on a couple of eBay purchases of those guys that arrived damaged.
ReplyDeleteMy best damaged non-vintage card would probably be this Kershaw dual auto which has a dent near the other guy's signature.
http://plaschkethysweaterisargyle.blogspot.com/2011/06/2008-tristar-clayton-kershaw-dual-auto.html
Like you say it depends on age, and what type or player.
ReplyDeleteFor instance I have a Nap Lajoie for from 1960 it has a crease but it is 51 years old!
If it was base, I'd either bin it or add it to a extra cards in a trade!
I tend to just keep the damaged cards. I'm not big on condition, unless it's not mentioned on a purchase or something, especially with a "high value" card.
ReplyDeleteI have tons of vintage in horrible condition, including a few with hole punches in them. I don't have any memorable damaged cards from recent times, except for a $100+ autograph from Sweet Spot that has faded so much the signature is basically gone. I consider that damaged.
I generally keep all the cards for my PCs, damaged ones as well. I own very few vintage cards (the Troll gave me my first '60 Robin Roberts which is in great shape)(http://dawgbonesaphilliesphan.blogspot.com/2011/01/what-great-way-to-start-weekend-thanks.html)(maybe I'll start referring to myself as vintage!!) The card with the most damage came courtesy of Dayf (sort of). It's a '60 Frank Sullivan. Now, although he is the source of this card, he did not purposely send me a damaged card, this is one of the MCG cards that he did not want to have sent to him. So I offered him a very recent card, one that he'd never consider having shipped, in trade for this one, which I had shipped to me. The best I can say is the card looks like someone hit it twice with 80 grit sandpaper and then preceded to try erasing the second O in Boston from his chest!!
ReplyDeleteOddly, that is the extent of the "damage", the corners are fairly crisp, it is well centered and otherwise a real nice card.(http://dawgbonesaphilliesphan.blogspot.com/2011/04/mcg-2.html) My mis-cut category does not really fit here as generally the only thing wrong with them is the alignment of the slicing and dicing, otherwise they are the requisite 2.5 x 3.5 size. I would never dream of giving someone a damaged card that they were not fully aware of.
I have received 1 damaged card in an ebay transaction for which the seller refunded my entire purchase price for the 8+ cards I bought from him. That card was the last topps attax card I needed from 2010 (it got "sealed" in the wrapper and shows a crimped edge), and is safely tucked away in that binder with the rest of the set.
As is also posted in another comment, I'm not as big into condition, especially when someone out there in the blogosphere has taken the time to send me a card for my collection that they think I'd like to add to my PC.
Wow, this has gone waaayy longer than I had intended, but thanks for a very thought provoking question this evening. Have a GReat night!! ~db
If I get pc cards that are damaged I don't usually make to much of a fuss, if on the other hand it's a card to be used as trade bait I may try to get a refund or sort out a deal with the original trader.
ReplyDeleteMy best damaged non vintage is my Shields SPX patch card which has a bit of a crease near the swatch insert,nothing major and it's pc so no harm no foul.
If they are multiple or high value cards and they are current I return them to the company for a replacement. I feel an obligation to do this because it makes them aware of problems in the delivery process. I always get a good response. If it's low value or a single base card, I donate it, whether it be to some underprivileged kids if the cards is mostly in good shape, or to some artists I know who find ways to integrate them into pop art pieces.
ReplyDeleteMy nicest damaged card is an Aaron Hill 2010 Triple Threads Auto #/9 that has a chip on the sticker.
Recycle unless it's an insert.
ReplyDeleteI have a 1954 Topps Johnny Lipon I just bought missing part og his name on the front. Not sure how the condition was described, but it wasn't poor. I chalked it up to age and put it in the vintage binder.
Ryan G - I feel your pain on the Sweet Spot autos... I have a Tim Raines autograph that you can barely see. But... I can't complain, b/c I purchased it that way.
ReplyDeletedawgbones - wow... that was one helluva recap. i'll reward your for your effort with one extra point.
baseball nut - glad to see others donate cards to kids too. if we have any hope of keeping this hobby going, we need to get more kids into the hobby.
thanks for sharing everyone... i'll have another post up either tonight or tomorrow morning... which means that this post is closed for contest points.
contest update will be up within the next 30 minutes.