The final pack. I'll tell you right now that I didn't get any new base cards, so this post will be light on pictures. No top three, because I've already posted the top three cards in the set. No happiest to see/least happiest to see, because it was a 42-way day for least happiest between all the dupes. I ended up 21 cards short of a complete set with a jumbo box, but I can't complain because I GOT A FREAKIN' SANDY KOUFAX 1/1 IN THE BOX!!!!

You thought I forgot about that, didn't you?

Insert cards:

Ryan Braun Topps 60


Joey Votto/Adrian Gonzalez Diamond Duos


1996 Mickey Mantle 60 Years of Topps (the start of the #7 cards featuring The Mick - blame this card for the current lunacy)


Jimmie Foxx 1933 DeLong reprint


Mike Stanton Kimball Champion
Any Gold Parallel cards?:

Why yes there was, and I'm pleased to announce it was not a Pirate! It's David Eckstein (#51). I've taken the scan, and this card will probably end up in the Uniform Back series at some point, but it's available for trade.

Any Diamond Parallel cards?:

Yes! Magglio Ordonez (#181). I had already written about this card, favorably, so it was interesting to get the diamond parallel version. You know what? I don't think it improved the card. If anything, it made it worse. Yes, Maggs, the bat and the ball stand out more, but everything (and everyone) else is obscured, and it was all that other stuff in the background that made the card so good, at least to me.

Card I was most happy to see:


That's right, it's another hit! That makes six for the box, and the second 1/1. A magenta printing plate of Coco Crisp (card #190). I don't really think of printing plates as 1/1s (although I know they are) because they're not cards. I liked the actual card that was printed, so it's kinda cool to have a piece of that in my collection. I think I'll hold on to this for the time being, unless the right offer came along.


Card I was least happy to see: Like I said, a 42-way tie with all the duplicate base cards.


Final numbers: 309/330 base cards (93.6%) 

Lyle Overbay sightings: 2
Hits: 6! (two autographs, one relic, one manu-relic, one printing plate, one sketch card)
Diamond parallels: 10
Damaged diamond parallels: 5 :(

Gold paralells: 4
Pirates gold parallels: 1
Gold parallels I actually want: 1
Cards available for trade: Plenty - list coming soon!