2017 Topps Gallery Hall of Fame Rainbow

Throwing in one more rainbow on my day off here.  The one-year only Topps Gallery.  Pretty cheesy throwback to the old Gallery issues of the early 2000's.  The rainbow still looks good though.  From left to right they are: Green Parallel # 46/250, Blue Parallel #42/99, Orange Parallel #7/25 and the base card.

2017 Topps On Demand Set #9 Post Season Heroes & Current Stars Rainbows

As an obsessive completest I pretty well like everything that everyone puts out that has a Fisk image on it.  I'm not picky, that's part of being an obsessive.  So while I think as artwork, these Topps On Demand cards really suck hard, there is the fun of trying to pickup and collect all these little oddball parallels that are a bit more rare because their only available online to other obsessives.

So the rainbows in the image from left to right are: Black Parallel #3/10, Red Parallel #5/25, and the blue Base card which has a stated print run from the Topps website of /1129.

Below are the Postseason Impact Dual Chase Cards with Gary Sanchez.  On the left is the Silver Parallel #2/5 and on the right the Black Parallel #9/10.  I believe the way this worked was that you ordered a base set from the website which was available for one week only, and Topps randomly inserted the low numbered chase cards as a sweetener.  I'm just gonna throw out there that I picked up the Silver Parallel numbered to five over the Holidays this year for......$1.99.  Two bucks.  Score!

Throwing a single scan of the # /5 below.

2005 Upper Deck SP Legendary Cuts Significant Trips Red Sox Triple Relic w/ Rice & Lynn #04/10 (Fred Lynn bat relic MISSING)

Sports fans a card this weird does not come along too often.  The pud knocker who listed this on eBay didn't bother to put the "missing/damaged/error/altered" notification in the title of the auction, but buried down in the full description which these days might as well not exist on eBay as it's nearly impossible to notice.  Of course, I'm doing a lot of eBay on the phone so from a distance the missing bat piece at a quick glance just looks like an all-white jersey relic, just like the one in the lower-right.  Nothing in the description, so I put in a low bid and won it.  Only to receive the card in the mail and notice the error.  I went back to eBay and found the notification in the full description buried underneath.  Hem, haw....decided to keep it because I agree with the seller's logic.  From the front of the card I immediately thought someone (a Fred Lynn fan) tore out the bat relic and used it in a custom card or some other nefarious activity.  However, when you flip the card over, there is a tight, clean, smooth surface all the way across.  I also can't notice any tearing or any sign that it was removed through the front.  So the buyer posted that he believes it's a factory error.  It's either that or somebody was DAMNED good at removing it.  Either way, that makes it an interesting card to me.  And the fact that at numbered to 10 and from all the way back in 2005, I've never even seen one of these before.  With only 9 others in existence there's a pretty decent chance I'll never see another one.  So, it's in the collection....albeit with the words MISSING in my title in all caps :)

2016 Topps Tribute - Tribute Autographs On-Card Auto #42/75

Again following my strategy of waiting a few years for the market to cool on these base autos.  Somebody is always looking to dump a nice card for cash.  Grabbed for cheap.

2017 Topps Bowman Chrome Draft Rainbow

This one is really fun because it's my first ever Superfractor.  Throw in that I nabbed a Red parallel numbered to 5 and I feel really lucky to have this rainbow.  To get both is really cool.  It's kind of an ugly set which is probably why I was able to afford a Superfractor.  Anyway, here's the rainbow.  From left to right:  Superfractor #1/1, Red Parallel #4/5, Gold Parallel #37/50, Refractor Parallel #24/250, and the base card.  I'm dropping a scan of the single Superfractor underneath so I can come back to this post and DROOL.

2017 Panini Flawless Legendary Signatures Ruby Parallel #01/15

In an earlier post I have the base # /20 of this card.  Picked up the /15 Ruby parallel for a good price recently.  Panini has several releases like this that feature really clean designs, thick stock, some foil accents, classic photography, and all the signatures are on-card.  Pretty cool overall, looks much better in person.

2016 Panini Pantheon Metropolis Monuments #04/25

Friggin' sweet card.  Die cut.  Bat pieces of Jimmie Foxx and Tris Speaker!  Rad.  So rare and so rad that I paid A LOT for this card.  And am happy to have it. 

2018 Panini Black Friday Rainbow

Here's another cool 2018 Rainbow for ya.  Absolutely terrible scan, although this Black Friday set is rather, well....black.  From top-left going clockwise:  the sticker auto parallel (same card number as the base set), the Cracked Ice Parallel #06/10, the Galactic Wave Refractor Parallel #16/25, and the Base card #181/199.  Again, I doubt based on the rarity of the galactic wave and cracked ice as well as the auto that anybody else has this Fisk rainbow right now.  Was fun to collect this winter.

2018 Topps Factory Set Rookie Cup Medallions Rainbow

Pretty cool rainbow here.  From the bottom up are the base card, the green parallel #08/50 and the blue parallel #03/25.  I've only seen the one green and one blue cards on eBay so I could be fairly confident that this is the only Fisk rainbow of this card out there right now.  Pretty cool.  Will sit in giant 360-point magnetic holders in the collection.

2015 Topps Supreme Supreme Scope Auto Relic Booklet #5/10

Don't know what happened to Topps Supreme, because this card is so super disgusting.  It's difficult to see in the scan, but all the cutouts are see-through so when you hold it up to the light, you can see through a good percentage of the card.  That, the huge jersey patch, the booklet, the auto, and numbered to 10.  Just love this card!

Front

Back

2002 Topps Tribute Marching Marks Dual Bat Relic with Johnny Bench

Was pretty stoked when I found this.  They come up very rarely.

2005 Topps Retired Signature Edition On Card Auto Encapsulated

2018 Topps Archives Signature Series Retired Player Edition - 1982 Topps All-Star On-Card Auto #08/10

I have to say Topps has my number with these re-issues.  Collectors really want the encapsulated card with the foil security label and an on-card auto.  Topps got it right with these cards for the Baby Boomers and Gen X-ers who orignally collected these cards.

2016 Panini Pantheon Sacred Deployments #4/25

Pretty sick triple booklet of the Red Sox greats.

2014 Panini Flawless Diamond Embedded #19/20

Got this a long time ago not long after it was released. Never sure if these damned diamonds are really real, but it's pretty cool anyways.

2013 Topps Gypsy Queen Framed Printing Plate - Cyan Plate One of One

Can't believe I snagged this on an auction site for 12 bucks!  I love the price even more than the card.  One of one baby!

2013 Topps Five Star Silver Signatures Purple Parallel #4/15

Really love this auto, sick silver sharpie and low numbered.

2007 Upper Deck SP Legendary Cuts Legendary Signatures #34/75

The scan sucks but a pretty cool older auto.

2018 Panini National Treasures Stars and Stripes One of One

Disgusting.

2010 Topps Triple Threads MLB Die Cut Relics Emerald Parallel #13/18

Here's the fourth and last Triple Threads post of the day.  Pretty basic relic card but I dig the digital design in the background and the green parallel.  Cool card and at least the scan came out good.

2008 Topps Triple Threads Relics Sepia Parallel #27/27

This scan is so terrible.  It's a Sepia parallel so the card is dark, but this is bad.  But gonna post up all the Triple Threads today, so here it is :(

2007 Topps Triple Threads Autographed Relics Gold Parallel #2/9

It's crazy that I got the card in the previous post and this card in the same two week period.  Both Triple Threads autos Gold parallel numbered to /9.  So I'll go ahead and put the blog posts back-to-back.  I like this one just as much as the 2010.  Being three years older, it looks and feels a bit more old school.  I think Topps was still figuring it out a bit as this is only the second year of Triple Threads.  The "376 HRS" looks fantastic, especially with that pinstripe down the middle.  My only criticism is the sticker which from a design point of view, looks like it's just floating in the corner.  Was great when somebody figured out they could put a simple frame around them and really jazz it up.  That said, I absolutely love this card and am stoked to have it in my collection.

2010 Topps Triple Threads Autographed Relics Gold Parallel #4/9

Seems like it's been a Triple Threads time of year here at the Obsession.  Over the past six months a bunch of really nice older Threads cards have come up for sale and I've been lucky enough to snag more than a few of them.  More posts coming soon.  This 2010 Auto Gold Parallel is among the more exciting ones to me.  There's something about that huge, all-wood "pudge" that gets me.  It's just a sticker auto, but something numbered in the single digits?  Makes me feel like a kid again.  Even ten years ago I woudn't have been able to afford this card, so I feel very fortunate to be in a position to own gems like this.  #gratitude and #killercards

2001 Topps Tribute Franchise Figures Game Used Bat Relics with Luis Aparicio and Nellie Fox

I can't tell you how stoked I am to finally be able to afford this card.  They aren't numbered and I don't have a sense of the print run, but they very rarely come up for sale.  Fortunately for me, one sold for a huge amount of money (for a non-auto, un-numbered card) about two weeks before this one came up.  That always brings the price way down for the second auction and I was able to grab it.  I really love Topps Tribute and this was the first year it was issued, not long after Fisk was elected to the Hall of Fame, which started a flood of high-end cards.  With bat pieces of three Chicago Hall of Famers, this one is a centerpiece of my collection.

2015 Panini Cooperstown Etched in Cooperstown Sapphire Gem Parallel #07/10

Ima keep the 2015 Cooperstown theme going by posting this sweet card I recently picked up.  Once again, always easier to be patient and wait for folks to lose interest and sell of the cards they were hot to bid on three years ago.  This one has an actual sapphire gem inserted, and I have the ruby gem of this card to go with it.  Never have been able to grab the Dual Etched due to the other dude in the "dual" being Frank Thomas which sends prices through the roof.  This blue is a "sparkle" treatment that really pops in-hand.  Great card.

2015 Panini Cooperstown HOF Induction Signatures

This is the ultimate bad scan.  Actually a decent card in-hand, but the material is a silver foil and just won't scan well.  For the first time ever on this site, I actually applied a filter to the photo so the pic actually looks a bit more sepia than the actual but got the overall point across better.  I really love the overly-huge, complicated sets that force a collector to really dig in - probably the same thing that most collectors hate.  The 2015 Cooperstown set is one of the more confusing, large, repetitive sets out there and I've enjoyed chasing it over the years.  This is the first time I can recall seeing an auto up for sale however.  I think the price reflected the community's hatred of Cooperstown 'cause the price was cheap.  Nice pickup for me.

2015 Topps Update Rookie Sensations Insert Sticker Auto #18/25

Back when these came out I really enjoyed this card.  The base cards were in Chrome Update, then the 5" x 7" parallels came out on the Topps website.  Thought that was it, so big surprise when Fisk gets a rare look in the Update series.  Kinda tossing off some extra stickers to beef up the product probably, but still.  For a player that doesn't get that many lower-end cards these days, it's fun.  I like the super retro photo from the early '70s combined with the really slick stock and glossy finish of a modern card.

2017 Panini Flawless Legendary Signatures Base Auto #18/20

Another scan that looks like poo.  This card stock is glossy and really pops in-hand.  Looks like the scanner calibrated to the blue sharpie which looks amazing.  I just picked up the Ruby /15 parallel of this over the weekend to boot.

2008 Donruss Playoff Prime Cuts Timeline Quad Relic #10/10

Was a big weekend for card updates at the Obsession house with three days off for the Veteran's Day weekend.  Time for some much needed maintenance to the collection.  Am not certain that this card rises to the standard for a blog post, but evidently when I made the scans this weekend - I did.  In keeping with the prime directive of this site, I do this hobby because it gives me pleasure so here goes.  I thought it was rare (and therefore cool) to find a quad jersey piece numbered to /10 up for grabs on an auction site for less than an arm and a leg.  Usually these are listed as Buy It Now for (pinky to lips) One Million Dollars.  So a nice low-numbered quad jersey that's 10 years old for cheap.  Cool card.

2011 Topps Triple Threads Autographed Relics 7x Jersey Relic & Sticker Auto #15/18

Picked up this little gem a couple months ago for about half of what it's worth - love that.  I've posted here a lot lately that I'm going through a Triple Threads phase right now.  Party because I can finally afford that level of card and partly because you can grab older TT's for cheap when people dump them.  Fun to troll the Interwebs and snag these great cards for probably 25% of what they were selling for shortly after their issue.  Of course, that doesn't bode well for the value of these cards as an investment, but that's never been my objective.  All in all, a beautiful little gem.

2015 Leaf 'Q' Pure 25th Anniversary Clear Autographs Gray Parallel

Brian Gray over at Leaf gets my vote for being a good dude and a friend to the hobby - a collector's owner.  I can't imagine how tough it is to compete in the marketplace against giant corporations and turn out a good product.  These cards are very simple but cool.  Like that they're encased.  Love the clear see-through card stock.  Love the on-card autos.  I wish I'd grabbed a parallel version that had some color, but got this grey version very cheaply on an auction site.  This card looks a lot better in-hand than this scan.  Overall, a good auto that I'm happy to own.  Thanks Brian for trying to do good stuff for the collector!

2009 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Classic Signatures Bat Barrel Autograph #08/25

One of my favorite autos.  Blue sharpie on a wood bat barrel - just awesome.

2012 Topps Triple Threads Autographed Relics White Whale Printing Plate 13-piece Bat Relic Auto #1/1

We all know that adult card collectors are all about getting the cards that you drooled over and dreamed about when we were kids.  In the beginning you were lucky just to get the $0.35 for a wax pack of 1980 Topps and you were happy if you got a couple cards that weren't dups.  As we age and our budgets get better, we get better and better cards and collections.  For me this card represents another rung up that ladder.  Just a cheezy sticker auto 1 of 1 to some, for my budget this is a holy grail kind of card and it made me extremely happy and proud to bag it for a good price.  Will always have an honored place in the Fisk Obsession.  I've got enough 1 of 1 cards now that I recently added that attribute as a column in my Fisk inventory spreadsheet.  Up to 97 autographs, 273 relic cards, 632 numbered cards, and now 4 Juan de Juan.  Love this card and feel lucky to have it.

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.