[BGS_Graded_Card_Guy]

So I've been busting boxes most of my card collecting life. It started with my parents asking me what I wanted for my birthday when I was a kid and I responded that I "had to have some baseball cards". Well up to that point, I'd only had pocket change to buy cards and in 1987 a couple dollars could land me 8 whole packs of Topps baseball cards (with gum)! So on that trip when I was still a young guy, my local store was just putting out a brand new box of 1987 Topps. I went to grab some packs and my Dad ended up buying me the whole box since it was my birthday. I was floating on clouds after that. And yes, I firmly blame him for my buying boxes and cases ever since

I don't know about you guys but I understand now at the age of 39 that I can become something that I hate; a "prisoner of the moment" person. I find myself getting caught up busting wax looking for that hot rookie or huge pull and not paying a lot of attention to all the other things that come out of the box. In fact, I find myself putting each and every card into a penny sleeve and right into one of those 5K count boxes and just stacking them in the garage.

Well a couple years ago I decided to start trying to pull one box out at a time and go through them and sort/file them into some sort of order where I could actually find something I may or may not have. I've spent countless hours entering these items into my Beckett profile (which is not many at this point) and deciding on what I want to list for trade and which sets I'd like to build. Some of the really nice stuff, I've sent in to be graded. I now have two little boys running around my house (3 & 1) so this gives me something to do in a hobby I love without spending a dime. But it is taking me forever as I still am busting boxes and cases as money allows. And I'm trying to keep up entering my new stuff which seems like a losing battle some days.

Looking at the things I've been rediscovering in the garage, I can honestly tell you that I have decided I'm a fool. I have found some things out there that I'm sure many people would love to have but at the time I never thought much of it as it was not the "hit" I was looking for. Some of them were "just" jerseys. Meh...nevermind they were of HOF players and were super short printed.

I posted a box break I had a few weeks ago in the box breaks section. I also stated that I had some of the items listed FT which was true. People sent over trade requests but since my Org was so lacking, it was hard for me to find anything I needed/wanted as I had not really narrowed my "want" list yet. In fact I had hardly anything even listed as a want. So I was unable to complete a trade. To those of you that sent requests, you have my sincere apology. I'm working on getting the Org into a workable thing for me and then I will follow up with you guys. All of the trades were either canceled due to my slow response or by me just because I don't know what I want in return.

I'm building the Org up and getting my want lists dialed in. I'm adding new things daily and trying to get through more boxes in the garage as fast as I can. Even though you'll see I have a lot of things listed FT right now, I'm not ready to trade quite yet. I just thought I'd let you know that right up front so people don't start sending in requests. I'll make a seperate post when I'm ready to go.

But as I'm going through the boxes, I'm really finding a lot of stuff that would be considered Home Run status that I foolishly blew past years ago. This tread is just to show you some of the things I'm coming across. Some of them I'll hold onto and some of them I'll list FT but either way I know this fantastic community will enjoy what I'm coming across and apprecaite them. As always, comments welcome and to those who wanted to trade, I still have the cards and will get back with you when I get my Org together.

Enjoy and let me know what you think.

Box #1
2005 Ultimate Signature Edition Berra/Larsen Dual Auto /250. Hard signed, no stickers


2005 Timeless Treasures Dwight Gooden patch # 2/5


2004 Leaf Certified Luis Aparicio Cut Auto # 03/11


2005 Timeless Treasures Nolan Ryan triple jersey /100


2005 Timeless Treasures Albert Pujols dual jersey /100


2005 Timeless Treasures Rod Carew triple relic /100


2004 Leaf Certified Materials Jackie Robinson # 06/19!!


2004 Leaf Certified Materials Mike Mussina #07/19


2004 Leaf Certified Materials Bobby Doerr #05/39


2004 Leaf Certified Materials Rickey Henderson /99


2004 Leaf Certified Materials Bo Jackson /89


2004 Leaf Certified Jason Giambi /20


2004 Leaf Certified Frank Robinson /19


2004 Leaf Certified Reggie Jackson /50


2004 Leaf Certified Whitey Ford /56


2004 Bowman Sterling Mark Mulder /16


Hope you all enjoy. That is all I have time for tonight but I'll list more soon by updating this thread.

[michaelstepper]

I love that dual auto set. Maybe one of these days!
Great "finds"

[bamyanks]

I would love a chance on the Larsen/Berra card and the Ford card. I don't have near everything in my organizer, so please let me know who you're looking for. I have a lot of Tribute, various years, 2013 Select and PInnacle autos. Please PM me and I can look through my cards on Sunday. Thank you very much.

[demondukk]

Very nice stuff! Wish I had cards like that just sitting around! Haha

[DrMitchJ]

Always nice to discovery hidden treasures! Great stuff! Thanks for sharing ... Should be fun seeing what other goodies you dig out of your garage stash!

[Hofcollector]

I love me some buried treasure...

[sonic311]

Great Stash Finds. Thanks for sharing, I really enjoy reading stories like this. I too have a bunch of boxes just stored away in the garage and closet, stuff that I haven't looked at in almost 10 years. Maybe one of these days I'll find the time to look through them. I'll give your Org a look once you have it up to date and hopefully we can trade.

[magicpapa]

I love me some buried treasure...

[Hofcollector]

Mmmmmm... buried treasure... and lifesavers?
Don't eat those.

[djohn]

I have the same problem and know I have a lot of gems just sitting 'gathering dust'. I too started in 1987 with the Topps wood grain cards, which still have a sweet spot in my collecting heart. As I got older and making more money I bought boxes and even some cases of 80s and 90s cards, which I still have unopened. I also bought other peoples collections, and at times sold off or traded away some of the cards, but for the most part I have just been accumulating more and more cards. After I moved this past summer, it really hit just how many boxes of cards I have accumulated over the years. I have nearly 100 monster boxes (3 rows with top loaders) filled with singles and countless other boxes filled with sets, unopened boxes, and even more singles. The hardest part has been just trying to get some organization to the boxes to begin cracking each one open and finding the hidden treasures. The upside is that I have tried cutting down my new acquisitions to just singles and an occasional box or two, but I am still finding that I have some great pulls that I still just tuck into a monster box and forget about (or at least forget which box they're in). I am hoping that over the next year to get through a large chunk of the cards and actually start selling some off. I am realizing more and more that the cards would be better off in collections where they would be better appreciated or at least looked at every so often (as I know I have cards and other collectibles that haven't been looked at in 10-20 years).