Trade from Bound for Beantown and some incredible baseball photography

So this shot is just a tease for the package I received yesterday from Joe over at Bound for Beantown. Will definitely upload more shots from this trade either today or tomorrow. Lots of Ginter, T206, and Goodwin minis to go along with a bunch of Youks and Buchholz cards!!!!

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Also, came across some fantastic baseball photography from Hy Peskin via the UniWatch blog. Awesome, awesome stuff!!!!!!!! Really, you need to take a look, especially if you are into vintage cards from the 50's and 60's. Absolutely stunning!!!

Trades via reader Matt and The Call of Cardboard

First up today on the trading front is a package I received from reader Matt. Matt contacted about a couple of weeks ago saying he had found my blog and thought he could fill in a couple of needs for me. Going his way later this week on some 2010 Allen & Ginter base and This Day in History cards along with some older Pirates and Cubbies.

First up is a bunch of 2010 Allen & Ginter minis that will go towards my frankenstein set. I am really getting to the point that I might consider going for the mini sets for all the years or just collect any mini I can and if I get build a set. If not, I'll have a hell of a Allen & Ginter mini collection.

I just can't bring myself to boot out a mini Washington Monument card for player X (when player X is a superstar). That's what I love about this set—it's more than just baseball, it's history and little factoids. Having visited my brother in DC a couple years ago, he explained why the monument was two different shades of color. Turns out, they had to stop construction during the Civil War, and when they resumed, the materials were of slightly different tone.

Ok, back to modern day, some here are some nice minis including the X-ray and a Red Sox. 

Second group is some 2010 inserts that I needed for various sets. Thanks again Matt and I'll throw you a note letting you know when your package heads out. Hope we can do it again!

Second trade recap is from Chris over at The Call of Cardboard. This is my second trade with Chris, also a fellow Red Sox fan and collector. We seem to collect the same things, but manage to trade pretty easily. Going his way on some various 2010 Topps set and insert set needs, some 2009 Goudeys and a couple of Red Sox 70's oddball issues that I don't think he's ever seen before.

First up is a card I once pulled out of a pack in 2009 but traded it away, I think to Nachos Grande back in 2009. From Ginter's 2009 Creatures of Legend, Myth, and Terror, the Vampire. Love this series and wonder what Topps will bring to the table this year.

Next two shots are of some 2009 Goodwin Champion minis!!!!  Man, I love these cards!!!  Great color and a nice mix of action and posed artwork. I definitely need to make a list and hit that local card shop this weekend to tackle this mini set. The cards are plenty and cheap, cheap, cheap!!!! Thanks again Chris, I'm sure we'll be trading again soon!

It's Truck Day in Boston!!!

Today is practically a holiday in Sox Nation as the trucks get loaded up with spring training gear and equipment to begin the trek southward to Florida. This event is covered by all five Boston TV stations as well as the radio outlets and newspapers in town.

Today means only one thing around these parts, spring training and "spring" is less than a week away!

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Later today on the blog, I'll showcase two trade packages that I received this weekend.

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Also, in case anyone missed last night's tweet from Beckett's Chris Olds, the 2011 Topps clamsell packs at Toy R' Us contain purple diamond insert cards. So for those of you collecting these diamond cards, Target has red, Walmart blue, and Toys R' Us purple.

Trade with Thoughts and Sox and other tidbits

Being a die hard Red Sox fan, one might think it would be hard trading with other Sox card collectors, but I find it pretty easy. I try to keep my Red Sox collection narrowed down to my All-Time Roster collection and then collect cards from my favorite Sox over the years. Guys like Rice, Mo Vaughn, Nomaaaah, Pedro, Varitek, Youk, Lester, and Buchholz. I don't need to have all of them, but pick up some here and there when I can.

Plain and simple, there is just too much out there and so I have an abundance of Red Sox cards that sit and collect dust. So when Adam from Thoughts and Sox emailed about trading, it was an easy match. Adam has an extensive list of Sox needs so I was able to hit across a wide variety of sets along with a number of other Sox oddball items not on his lists. I think close to 500+ cards when his way. After receiving the package below, and telling him how happy I was with the contents, he said he felt it wasn't enough. I told him not to worry and that making a dent into what I collect far out weighed what I traded away.

So with that, onto the package.

First up, some vintage 1971 Topps Red Sox!! Rico, Boomer, and Reggie. These three cards will be showcased again for a blog series that will roll out as we get closer to the start of the season. Three sharp looking cards of some Sox greats of the seventies.

While on the Red Sox theme, next up are four cards off my All-Time Sox roster collection.

How about some letterpatch and jersey relic Red Sox.

Adam also hit on my Heritage set needs knocking off another '60 and three cards off my '61 set.

Next up we minis, with a bunch of 2008 Allen & Ginters ...

Some 2010 Ginters ...

Ginter insert sets ... really love the flag series cards ...

And finally, some 2009 Topps T206s to boot!

So there you have it, a trade that worked out great for both Red Sox collectors and crossed off many numbers off of each others wantlists. Thank you again Adam and go Sox!!!!

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I also received a trade with reader Matt, but accidentally deleted my pics. I'll be sure to retake and post tomorrow.

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I also received my collection from the Topps Million Card Giveaway. I had been wondering what condition these would be, and was rather pleasantly surprised. All of the vintage '60s had nice, strong color and decent corners. Only two, a '68 and '69 had really soft corners. The various 70's cards were all strong Ex-Mt to Nr-Mt. I'll try to showcase a few of these in the next day or two.

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Gregory over at, Plaschke, The Sweater Is Argyle, nabbed the Utley patch card. Some 2010 Allen Ginters and insert set cards are heading to the east coast in exchange.

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And lastly, the Tooth Fairy brought me a little surprise. I had won last week a 2010 Allen & Ginter Creatures of Legend, Myth, and Joy and when I opened the envelope, these fell out.

Four minis that I didn't have for my T206 Frankenstein set and a bunch of T206 base cards, one of which a SP NNO variation Brian McCann. If anyone is collecting this set, or wants to trade for one of these, drop me a comment or email.

Coming up on today's show(ing) ...

Coming up later today on this blog:

•  I'll highlight two trades that arrived this weekend
•  Received my Topps Million Card Giveaway order
•  The Allen & Ginter Tooth Fairy ebay item arrives with a nice surprise
•  The Utley patch card finds a home

More to follow later this afternoon.

dayf ... eat your heart out!

Fresh from my blaster ... a sparkly Pujols and a sparkly Brave. While these cards do look cool, I can't say I am up for collecting the whole set. Send me an offer as I also have a Michael Saunders too.

Trade Bait—2011 Utley Patch Card

Not really into the patch cards, but this beauty just came out of the 2011 Topps blaster from this morning. Chase Utley and the 1972 Phillies logo patch. Leave a comment or shoot me an email and let the offers come in. FYI, if you're not into the 2011 Champion mini cards in the 2011 Topps, I am.