With that being said... I wanted to make the most of my four day weekend and one of the things I was looking forward to was busting open a huge care package sent to me from SumoMenkoMan... also known as... Ryan over at Japanese Sumo Wrestling Cards and Menko.
I've been the recipient of several generous care packages in recent years and they are always filled with awesome goodies that range from vintage sumo cards to German chocolate to packs of oddball non-sports cards.
Now I can't speak for all collectors out there... but all of these things are right up my alley. So for the past three weeks, the level of excitement would increase with each passing day.
Yesterday... I finally sat down in my office, laid the box in front of me, and slowly opened up this medium size flat rate box with the giddiness of a little kid on Christmas morning. And the contents of the box was nothing short of amazing.
See for yourself...
Item #1: 10 Packs of 1988 Topps UK American Baseball
I know I've stumbled across singles from this set over the years, but I don't think I've had the pleasure of opening up any packs. Until now.
Item #2: 2011 BBM Our Friends Factory Set
Oh man. My face lit up when I saw this familiar box. I opened up one of these factory sets a few years ago. If you're wondering if I actually want two of these sets. The answer is "heck yeah"! I kept the first set together as a complete set. I'll be breaking this one up and putting it into my Japanese PC binders.
Plus... each of these factory sets comes with one on-card mascot autograph. I can't wait to find out which mascot's signature is sitting in this box.
Item #3: 1989 Topps All-Stars DoubleHeaders Box
Ryan knew that I busted a box of this product before, but he sent me another one anyways. And I'm glad he did. I've been stockpiling older wax boxes for a rainy day and there's nothing quite like adding a 80's oddball box to the stack.
Item #4: 13 Packs of 1985/1986 Topps 3D
Speaking of 80's oddballs... there were a bunch of these Topps 3D packs from the mid 80's. I've opened a few of these over the years and I'm looking forward to busting these 13 packs the next time get that wax pack itch.
Item #5: 6 Sake Flavored Kit Kats
In Japan, you can find a variety of Kit Kat flavors. I've tried the matcha (green tea) and sakura (cherry blossom) before. I'm looking forward to testing out these sake flavored ones.
Item #6: 3 Packs of 2003 Topps Shoebox Collection
In 2003 Topps produced a product called Shoebox Collection. Each box contained four original Topps cards and four packs, which represented four different decades: 50's, 60's, 70's, and 80's. I've been tempted to buy one of these boxes in the past, but never pulled the trigger. Now I won't have to.
Stay tuned. I'll be busting these and reviewing them on A Pack To Be Named Later sometime this summer.
Item #7: Samoas Girl Scouts Cookies
These are my third favorite Girl Scouts cookies... right behind Tagalongs and Do-si-dos. These won't last the weekend.
Item #8: 2003 Flair Sweet Swatch Jersey Jumbo of Hideo Nomo
This is a HUGE addition to my Nomo PC... and I mean that literally. This card is approximately 7.75" x 5" in size.
Item #9: Vintage Sumo Cards/Photos
I honestly have no idea what these are... but they were my favorite items in the box. The majority of these look like vintage photographs of sumo wrestlers that have a small stamp on the back. Here's a closer look at one of them:
Hey Ryan... thank you for this awesome care package. I still owe you for the package you sent earlier in the year. Not sure there are enough Brandon Laird cards out there to repay you for your kindness, but I'll try my best.
Happy Saturday and sayonara!
11 comments:
You and I have favorite girl scout cookies in common. Love me some somoas!
Great looking mail day overall
Those Shoebox Collection packs are awesome! It's always a treat to find those reprints in dime boxes, though it doesn't happen often.
Very interesting sumo cards
Hi Fuji, Hopefully you get some pack ripping entertainment out of the baseball stuff. The sumo photographs are black and white bromides. I came across a huge lot of these over in Japan and shot you some of the doubles. As of now, they are uncatalogued, but my huge summer project for my book is to catalogue/recatalogue all the bromide cards I have into sets. Out of all Japanese cards, these are the most difficult to organize since the backs are usually blank.
I’ve never heard of the Doubleheaders. Interesting!
I'm most intrigued by the shoebox cards. Never heard of them before.
Wow...that's some really neat stuff. I remember tose 3D cards and what....wait...you got COOKIES? I guarantee I've never gotten a sweet snack in a care package..not even when I was in college. Don't get any crumbs on those Sumo cards.
I remember DoubleHeaders! Had a bunch when I was a kid and almost bought a box at Kruk Cards last year. I dont think I saw any packs of the Topps UK cards but I definitely had some loose singles back in the day.
Samoas are my favorite girl scout cookie..everything else is a distant second. Can't wait to see those Shoebox collection cards.
sport card collectors - as predicted... the box is gone. finished it tonight.
nick & hackenbush - i'm interested in ripping these packs open and checking them out.
ketchupman36 - ryan has some of the coolest sumo stuff around. everything he's ever sent me in regards to sumo wrestlers has been very interesting
sumomenkoman - very cool. i remember seeing the term bromides on your blog before. best of luck on your summer project. can't imagine trying to catalog these based on b&w photos alone. but if anyone can, it'll be you.
the lost collector - if you're interested... i wrote about them a few years ago on a pack to be named later:
http://apacktobenamedlater.blogspot.com/2012/11/1989-topps-doubleheaders-all-stars.html
commishbob - ryan is known for sending treats. last time i received a variety of german treats. the germans sure have some smooth chocolate
chris - i may or may not have a factory set of the topps uk cards. either way, i'm excited to bust these packs open sooner than later.
That should be some great fun ripping those packs. Fun stuff.
I can't wait. This weekend is a little crazy... and next weekend isn't any better. Might not get a chance to bust them for another 2 weeks.
Post a Comment