2009 Upper Deck Icons Immortal Letterman Manufactured Patches Complete Set # /45

This set took me seven years and $120 to put together.  What else can I say that the scan doesn't already say?  I wish I could have a custom frame made with top loaders attached so I could hang the whole set on a wall someplace.  May be a future man cave idea.  I know they're just cheezy manufactured patches, but I just love this set.  So happy to have finally completed it this year.

2018 Panini Donruss Retro 1984 Signatures Gold Parallel #04/10

Got the blue parallel when this set was released and just picked up the Gold for a surprisingly cheap price for a numbered to 10 card.  It's a sticker auto with a so-so photo but Topps and Panini really know the way to my heart (and wallet) with the re-use of the old 70's and 80's designs.  I owned about a billion 1984 Donruss - many of them would be quite valuable today.  But when I sold off the original collection in 1991, I got a very good price at the time for my Mattingly and Strawberry rookies.  Ahhh, breathe in the nostalgia.....

2003 Fleer Flair Greats Home Team Cuts Dual Relic with Jim Rice

This isn't a card I would typically post on The Obsession, but I can't recall ever seeing this one on eBay before.  I have the single card of Fisk, but I believe the duals are fairly unusual.  Some of that is the fact that it's a 15-year old card.  Also interesting is that the card has no number on the back.

2011 Topps Tier One Top Tier Autographs Gold Parallel #06/10 slabbed PSA 8

To be honest, I really wish I hadn't sent this off to PSA.  Not at all sure why I did except I had a voucher that was expiring and it was one of my favorite autos at the time.  The holder they put it in is like 2" thick.  It's gross.  Can't store it anywhere, bulky, clunky, uggh.  Takes a gorgeous numbered to 10 on-card auto on thick stock and makes it......meh.  Maybe one day I'll figure out how to liberate the card from the holder without destroying it.  Until then, it sits in my "shrine" where I can see it every day and as the Fisk Obsession prime directive goes......it makes me happy.  Thanks for looking.

1973 Topps Candy Lids - slabbed PSA 5

Boy there's so much to say about this issue of cards.  I love it that it's an actual Topps company issue.  I love it that it's oddball.  I love it that it's candy related.  I love it that it's rare.  I love that there are "proof" cards and a 1972 "test" issue out there.  Little buckets of candy.  Just wierd.  When I first started a serious Fisk collection in 1998, I never thought I would even see one of these, much less own one. I bought this one on eBay pretty cheaply many years ago and sent it to PSA myself.  I think the 5 grade is pretty good - can't say I recall seeing one higher.

For those interested, here is a great article on the whole Candy Lids thing, much more articulate and well-researched than I could ever attempt.

Suffice it to say, this is one of my favorite cards in the Fisk Obsession and one of the main reasons I enjoy collecting - it makes me smile.

Original box of 1973 Topps Candy Lids with four example tubs.  The player image is on the inside of the lid.

2012 Topps Triple Threads Relic Combos Sepia Parallel Triple Relic with Frank Thomas & Paul Konerko #24/27

I've been oogling this card for several years now and never quite had the opportunity.  So when I was able to snag this on eBay last week, got super stoked.  Three of my favorite players of all time on one card.  And you know how I love Triple Threads.  An ideal card for me.  The "South Side" lettering is just plain cool.  What else can be said, just a killer pickup.

2005 Topps Pristine Personal Endorsements

I wasn't in the card game in 2005, having rejoined the hobby in 2008 after a nine-year layoff.  So I don't know anything about Topps Pristine, the history of this release, etc.  But I have to say, this card in-hand is a WOW card.  At first glance without an obvious Topps logo, I would have assumed this was an Upper Deck or maybe Donruss card (the sticker hologram isn't as noticeable in person).  This is a surprisingly high-end print for the Topps company.  I don't know what to call the printing technology except that it doesn't appear printed - more like engraved or stamped foil.  The whole thing has a hard metallic shimmer that is incredibly beautiful in the hand.  Very nice job here Topps. If I was at the Topps corporation, this is one release I would go back to the vault for and recycle.  Very happy to have grabbed this for cheaper than 2018 autos are selling for today.  Great card + great price = happy Fisk obsessive.

2016 Topps The Mint Golden Engraving Autographs #68/99

I could be wrong but I think this is the first Fisk "inscription" autograph I've purchased.  That "HOF 2000" really grabs me.  This scan is a TERRIBLE representation of this card.  The card itself is printed on extremely thick, heavy cardstock.  It took a 180 point magnetic to hold it.  Second, the overall printing is very glossy black, almost mirrored finish.  Very classy, very expensive printing.  Lastly, the gold sharpie for the auto and inscription are just awesome.  In any of the 100 Fisk autos I own, don't one even close to as nice as this.  Finally, baseballcardpedia.com notes that The Mint is, on a per box basis, the most expensive product Topps has ever released at an MSRP of $899 per box for.....FIVE CARDS!  I don't track the current release stock market like a lot of guys, so I'd be curious no know how this release ended up selling.  Per card average of the MSRP, this card should have cost $180.  Picked it up for 20% of that.  Just shows to go you how these cards really won't hold their value over time.  I do this because I love it, not for the money.  Thanks for looking!

2003 Topps Retired Signature

I've always liked this set of cards and have coveted this Fisk auto for a very long time.  Just didn't (and don't) want to pay the exorbitant prices that some folks ask.  This particular one I picked up in 2012 for - get this - three dollars.  Yup $3.  Three single George Washingtons.  It's a steal.  What is funky about it is that it is not encased as most 2005 Topps Retired cards are.  It's a naked card in a top loader.  So I'll continue to hunt for an encased one at a reasonable price.  Meanwhile, here's this beauty of a win in the Fisk Obsession collection.

2003 Fleer Rookies and Greats Boyhood Idols Jersey Auto #18/50

As I was filing away newer cards, I keep running across cards that really catch my eye that I haven't put on the blog before.  Picked this one up back in 2012 for $7.  That's right, seven bucks.  I love catching deals like that on The Bay.  Granted, this card is ugly as sin but it's still an auto numbered to /50, so don't hate.  The overall layout isn't bad for 2003.  I like the Boyhood Idols script with the double shadow (white/black/burgundy).  Also, the black background makes it overall very dark so it really doesn't pop but I appreciate the design effort.  If it were me and I was going to use the white "autograph box" that they have at the bottom, I would have gone for a lighter contrasting color.  As it is, the black/white contrast really makes this card all about the autograph box.  Overall experience is , "yup, I got an auto".  But push this design forward ten years and put a 2-color patch and on-card auto with a colored sharpie and this could be a hit. 

2006 Upper Deck Artifacts MLB Game Used Apparel Jersey Auto #05/30

I've always liked the look of the UD Artifacts release.  It's got that 19th Century script and sepia tones that really give it an old time feel.  I've rarely seen Fisk autographs come up in the Artifacts line though, so when I ran across this one I had to have it.  Made an offer and grabbed for a very reasonable price considering it's numbered to /30.  I don't love the sticker and the way it's positioned, partially covering the title logo and the borders of the jersey holder below, but it's a solid add to the collection.

2003 Fleer Fall Classics All-American Collection Autographs #058/100 and #13/75

These are old purchases for five or six years ago, but ran across them while filing some other cards in 2003 last week and pulled them out to scan.  Wierd, they don't look as good in the scan.  For a relatively plain card, they have a nice pop to them in person.  I like that they're identical cards but one is to /100 and the other to /75.  Great photo of Fisk too, bet that guy was out at second.

2005 Fleer Showcase Masterpiece Showpiece 2-color Patch #1/1

Haven't got too many One of One cards in the Fisk Obsession just yet.  I think this is my third, and first to be posted.  As cards go, it's not a stunner.  But when it came up for sale, I couldn't recall seeing anything from the "masterpiece showpiece" set before.  Rare, great 2-color piece of a letter patch, and stamped "1/1" in red foil on the back.  Nice pickup, makes me smile.