Annoyed, but not
Posted by Jonathan @ RGB Cards | Posted in 1-of-1 , 2009 spectrum , 2013 topps , felix hernandez , short print , trade bait
First, the annoyed bit. Let's get that out of the way first.
I'm going through my jumbo box of 2013 Series 1, and I've opened four packs so far. That said, pack #4 was a complete bust. Every single base card that I pulled was a duplicate of one of the cards in the first three packs, with I'd say 70% of them being from pack #3 (that is, the pack that was lying right next to it in the box). That's just really, really poor collation.
Okay, not every single base card was a duplicate. There was one (one!) different card, and here it is.
I was hoping I would get one of the Out of Bounds short prints, because now I have something to put in the glaring hole on the first page of the binder where card #7 is supposed to be. And Albert Pujols is a nice one to have. That said, he is available for trade if you have a Jay Bruce, Paul Konerko or Todd Frazier OoB short print to trade.
Now for the good part. I mentioned a big eBay purchase the other day. Well, it arrived, quicker that expected:
This is one of the printing plates for 2009 Spectrum, aka the "Four Rainbows" that I've been chasing since, well, 2009. Three years ago, I let a Lincecum printing plate slip through my fingers because I was on school camp and got my times confused (and missed the ending by an hour). I wasn't going to let Felix get away.
The goal for me is not to get all the printing plates, but at least one from each of the four rainbows. One down, three to go.
That's a nice printing plate. I don't know what it is, but I think printing plates are so cool. Maybe it's because they're little hunks of metal instead of cardboard, they're unique 1/1, and also a relic of the process that goes into actually making the cards, like on the Mr. Rogers show where he visits the factory where they make crayons or pencils and it's mind-blowing to see what all goes into the process.