3 Cards a Week Habit

I got an unexpected envelope this week from Robert at $30/Week Habit. We had talked about a trade awhile ago, but it somehow got put on the back-burner.  It was great getting stuff from him that I needed, and I packed up a return package with some "Insanity" cards and Jays that he has already posted.  Here's three highlights:

2012 Topps - Walmart Blue Parallel - Salvador Perez

Salvador Perez has been excellent at catcher this year for KC (once he got off the DL).  As I mentioned before, I don't have access to Walmart or their delicious blue parallels, so it was a very nice treat to see this in the package.  Looks like the two blue parallels I have for 2012 are Perez and Brayan Pena -- both catchers.  Maybe I should mix in another position on that....

2008 UD Baseball Heroes - Charcoal - Luke Hochevar - #259/399

Oddly enough, this card was for sale on COMC at some earlier time.  I know that because when I looked it up on Zistle, I came up with a picture this specific card!

2011 Allen and Ginter - Portraits of Penultimacy - Sancho Panza

I was just telling my wife last week, "I really need more squire cards.  My 'page' and 'second' binders are nearly full, but my 'squire' binder is pretty sparse."  I'm glad to add this in with my Squire Trelawney in there.

Thanks, Robert!!  It is all much-appreciated.

What is your Best Listia Card so far?

2012 Topps - Eric Hosmer SP - #35C

Here's mine.

This card is $6-$8 on Ebay.  I essentially traded a juice coupon for it.  :-)

Can you beat it?

History Want Lists

I mentioned that I am going to start shooting for two of those Ginter history subsets, Historical Turning Points and Minds that Made the Future.  If any of you have these for trade, I'd be happy to take them off your hands! :-)

Here's what I still need for 2012 Allen and Ginter - Historical Turning Points
HTP2 The Battle of Waterloo
HTP3 The Fall of the Roman Empire
HTP7 Invention of the Printing Press
HTP8 Allied Victory in World War II
HTP10 Discovery of Electricity
HTP11 Signing of the Magna Carta
HTP12 The Renaissance
HTP14 The Emancipation Proclamation
HTP15 The First Flight at Kitty Hawk
HTP17 The Great Depression
HTP18 On the Origin of Species
HTP19 Sputnik I

Here's what I still need for 2011 Allen and Ginter - Minds that Made the Future:
MMF1 Leonardo da Vinci
MMF3 Eli Whitney
MMF4 Nicolaus Copernicus
MMF6 George W. Carver
MMF7 Samuel Morse
MMF8 Granville Woods
MMF9 Elisha Otis
MMF10 Alessandro Volta
MMF11 Tycho Brahe
MMF14 Johannus Kepler
MMF15 Isaac Newton
MMF16 Marie Curie
MMF17 Carl Friedrich Gauss
MMF18 Sigmund Freud
MMF19 Bernhard Riemann
MMF21 Robert Fulton
MMF22 Ada Lovelace
MMF23 Florence Nightingale
MMF24 Nikola Tesla
MMF25 Galileo Galilei
MMF26 Charles Darwin
MMF27 Louis Pasteur
MMF28 Guglielmo Marconi
MMF29 Antoine Lavoisier
MMF30 Michael Faraday
MMF31 Dmitri Mendeleev
MMF32 Robert Koch
MMF33 Euclid
MMF34 Archimedes
MMF35 Jagadish Chandra Bose
MMF37 John Deere
MMF38 George Eastman
MMF39 Samuel Colt
MMF40 Benjamin Franklin

Drafts from the Past

I mentioned in my last post that I had entered Jaybarkerfan's Card Draft #2.  I got a bunch of other goodies from that one, but just wanted to show off some more of them.

Let's start with a couple of NFL relics...DeAngelo Williams and a nice red swatch of Marcell Dareus.

Swatch Supremacy - DeAngelo Williams

2011 Bowman Sterling Relic - Marcell Dareus

I got a couple of history cards from Mayo Cut Plug...Booker T Washington and Gugliermo Marconi.  Is Mayo basically the football version of Ginter?

There was also some fun, fun vintage football in this draft.  NOBODY else was taking it, so I had my pick of it.  I can see a little bit of both Eli and Peyton in Archie's youthful face.

And finally, an XFractor of a wrestler dressed as an Indian?  YES PLEASE.  This guy is "Chief Jay Strongbow."  Never heard of him, but I couldn't pass that up, especially as a late-round pick.

2008 Allen and Ginter WWE - XFractor - Chief Jay Strongbow

One Unique Trade

2009 Topps Unique - Zack Greinke - #654/1199

 I just completed a very unique trade with Nick from Dime Boxes.  (And it's not just "Unique" because of the Greinke above).

No, this trade was unique as it was a "Sweeney Swap."  He had mentioned in one of his posts that he had a Mike Sweeney collection.  What a coincidence -- so do I!!!  So a few emails later, we knew which doubles we could exchange.  I sent him a stack, and he sent these guys to me.

 Those were all new to me. 

 He also gave me this sweet Conine and a couple Gold Sparkle 2012 Topps Royals.

All of those are going into my "Keepers" collection.  Thanks so much, Nick!

It's Tebow Time!

I like Tim Tebow. 

(commence throwing of tomatoes)

Luckily, some people have no affinity for him, which makes it easier to get his cards.  All of these came to me from Wes at Jaybarkerfan's Junk.  I picked up the first one as my first pick in his "Card Draft #2" -- then he just threw in the rest of them!!!  All of these were new to me, so they were VERY much appreciated.  Thanks, Wes!

The first one is a Wal-Mart-exclusive parallel.  The rest are from 2010 Press Pass.

Look Out, Ruben Sierra!

Look out, Ruben!  Things are getting bad -- Giant eagles are attacking from the sky!  They are dropping huge class rings on people to capture their prey!  (I think these eagles are working for Jostens). 

Eric Hosmer has the good sense to run for cover.  Though he is encased in a bronze paper frame, he has eluded the rings and eagles so far. 

Billy Butler and David DeJesus have an alternate plan.   They are going to bash the ringed-eagles out of the sky with large sticks of wood.

They can't  hold them off with the bats for long.  Little to no assistance is coming to them from the outside.  Only one person can save them now -- the fireman!  USE YOUR HOSE OF POWER!!!

Oh no!  Something has gone horribly wrong!  The eagles have warped Montgomery's mind!  He has turned into some sort of fireball-throwing maniac. Mankind is DOOOOOOOOMED!

As he watches the apocalypse, Alex Gordon wishes he was back in Nebraska.

--------------------

If any of you have survived to read this, you will be happy to know that all these cards came from Colbey at Cardboard Collections.  Some were part of his Stadium Club Monster Group Break (Ruben got randomed to me), and others were some extras that he threw my way.  Thanks so much, Colbey!

Also, if anyone else has any of those other Ginter State Cards (particularly John Buck (WY), Brian Bannister (AZ), or Casey Blake (IA)) to trade, I'd love to have them. 

History of the World Part III

History rolls on.  More "Minds" and more "Turning Points" from a Zistle trade.  These came from bdlehman18.  I did a report on genetics in 8th grade, and Mr. Mendel featured prominently in it.  Anyone feel like making some Punnett Squares??

Georges Clemenceau and Norman Borlaug.  Together at last.

Iowan-born Wyatt Earp.  Frederick Douglass always looked mad.  I guess he had a rough life, but would it kill a guy to smile once in awhile?

2008 Allen & Ginter World Leaders - Ehud Olmert

I was not collecting in 2008, so I have not seen any of these before.  I got Israel.  I'm not familiar with Olmert...he must have been the leader between Bibi Netanyahu and......Bibi Netanyahu.

Here are some Olympians from my youth.  Kerri Strug is the sister of Kippy Strug. 

And finally, this is the most fundamental card I received.  I don't want to sound negative...I'm really charged that I got this one.  It's shocking, really.

2009 Allen and Ginter - Electron

History of the World, Part II

Look out, Christopher Columbus!  Martin Luther is burning indulgences and John Hancock is going quill-pen CRAY-ZAY!

These all came to me from Blogger-of-the-Year, Night Owl.  I had been begging him for the "Reformation" card, and he finally relented and sent it my way.  :-)  Gotta get my fill of Reformation History.  As they say, "I've got 95 Theses, but a Pope ain't one."  Go ahead and watch that video.  I'll wait.  (Shout-out to Johann Guttenberg)

In his abundant generosity, NO sent me two more of the Historical Turning Points cards seen below.

That is not the mental image I have of the Berlin Wall coming down.  My mental snapshot is all the people on top of it during that first wave of history.  By the time the cranes came around, the "turning point" was over and industrious businessmen were selling the wall chunks to Americans for 20 bucks a pop. 

He tossed in one Royal (this blog isn't just called "Randoms", after all), and Iowan pitcher Joel Hanrahan doing his best Bo Jackson impression.

Yep.  I see the resemblance.  :-)

Thanks, Night Owl!!!

History of the World, Part I

No Mel Brooks movies here.  This is all cards, baby.  I've had the good fortune of recently receiving three history-themed trades and I'm going to show them off.  This first set of cards came to me from Laurie at LV's TTM Autographs.  She and I actually made this trade happen over Zistle.  Her profile is here.

She and I worked out a great deal where she sent me the two cards above..."Minds That Made The Future" from 2011 Allen and Ginter.  I think that this is a subset that I am going to chase.  I'll have a few more of those coming up in the next few posts, then I'll post a want-list. 
 

The other subset that I want to chase is the "Historical Turning Points" set from 2012 Allen and Ginter.  Laurie included one of those for me, too.

2012 Allen and Ginter - Culinary Curiosities - Kopi Luwak

Yep.  That's poop coffee.  Kopi Luwak. 

We've got a flashy pink Bo, a Pacquaio, and an old Willie Wilson.

Sweeney blocking the plate.  There's that Bo!  If you remember my sealed box post, then that was the main card I wanted from that box.  I'm definitely not cracking open that box now.

2011 Topps Diamond Anniversary - David DeJesus

Here was the favorite card she sent me.  Even though DDJ was no longer with the Royals, he's still one of my favorites, and that sparkly card is beautiful.

Thanks again, LV!

Billy Butler is in my Cardboard Collection

2012 Allen and Ginter Relic - Billy Butler - AGR-BBU

A 1-for-1 trade can be a beautiful thing.  Look at the card above from Colbey at Cardboard Collections.  I had a Gypsy Queen relic of Brian McCann that I sent his way, and this guy came my way.  Everybody's happy! :-)

Thanks again, Colbey!

Listia Goodies from the Disco Era

Listia continues to be an excellent site for turning unwanted stuff into KC Royals cards.  (BTW, you can signup here and get 400-500 free credits.)  Earlier this summer I "sold" a bunch of basketball cards on there, and my wife has been getting rid of some unwanted coupons there, too.  All 5 of these cards came from the same seller.  It was a lady in Texas who just threw them all in a PWE, slapped a stamp on it, and they showed up at my door. 

1974 Topps Steve Busby and Nelson Briles (Traded)

1975 Topps Bruce Dal Canton, Steve Busby, Lindy McDaniel

All-in-all, these ran me just under 600 credits.