[y2hood]

Between the Frank Thomas in your earlier post and the Brees you've posted in this last post, my fan boy tail was wagging, yes. Very happy that you collect the greats . It is also very helpful education for me to see cards that I might have overlooked building my own PC registries.

[jeffv96masters]

Got to do some more scans this morning. More Drew Brees and Brady with some colors from various series and a dual HOF again. I have tons more BGS & PSA slabs to scan

Your probably wondering same as I was how I could have a bunch of Mint 2005 Bowman's Best colors-- then that 5
Well- I didn't send it in that way= let's put that out there. I see a card like this come thru my apartment= its shredded
Literally- I would put in the shredder so no one else would ever encounter its damage
I certainly wouldn't have wasted time & money subbing the thing in this shape

And when all the cards on the same sub were 8 and higher- yeah- C'mon now- let's get real
23 years with PSA, 21 with BGS- I don't sub trash unless its a short print 10 or less and then I'll authenticate slab

Reported as a Quality Assurance issue using the appropriate channels
Second item in the last few subs to come back with damages
I normally do not waste time- but this is getting out of hand on my low serial number items
I've had enough of the damages. It happens now on a card I care about- getting reported

I reported the Bernie, this one, and any that follow
Just in case the numbers on the 05LRS Ruby are not visible kept the last 3 digits open so you can see its a different card
I won't be selling the Gold Holo from the 2007 PlayoffNFL Playoffs set either that's not a dupe- rest of these all are
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[jeffv96masters]

Back from a couple of early 2021 box breaks from PSA some ultra moderns
Subbed at the end of March 2021- entered by PSA end of April 2021

Also had some Brady pop on the same order- those I'll scan later on

Both the Illusions box and LRS box were freebie boxes a friend sent for me to break
He kept what he wanted and I got the balance. Subbed what looked interesting at the time
Mostly low pop stuff although the Herro and Burrow rookies have quite a few PSA 10
The Allen apparently is just a Pop 2 for some reason
The Dugger auto is #10/10 and cool in person. Being from MA- well was nice to pull from a box

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[jeffv96masters]

Been throwing on a few Clemens2004 Leaf Exhibit variations on some orders to knock off some registry variation holes
Still have = Oh, I don't know ,maybe 50-100 variations to slab. Slowly adding- they are just not priority
Too many variations to care much about how fast I finish slabbing the series
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[jeffv96masters]

Still looking for a whole bunch of missing slabs, but I will start my inventory on my 2004 ABSOLUTE MEMORABILIA Roger Clemens



One of the first products that I noticed sold out every time it hit the local stores where I was. Couldn't keep it in stock



I remember paying $50 a pack and not blinking an eyelash when retail was "supposed" to be $35. Tons of hits, very interesting inserts- had it all.  Even now I'd pay $60 a pack and not blink. This set was an 'absolute" hit, and frankly the brand was solidified with this sets production.  Seeing that Absolute still exists today, I'd say their formula worked



I started out just cracking boxes for fun, then started actively buying singles whenever I could. The market was super hot, so not everything could be won. You could bid high on what you "thought" was a nuclear snipe, only to see someone else just demolish it who wanted it more


Took years of just using patience to accumulate some stuff. Even now wish I had a few pieces I missed out on



First up is some of the base Spectrum items. I have not slabbed either of the two base cards ( the hobby and retail base #91 versions).  But I have slabbed the remaining 3, including a base 1/1 item. The Platinum has a nice bluish / silver tint to it



Hopefully the pics are clear enough to see the 3 differences in color


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Up after this is some of the Team Tandems / Team Trios / and Team Quads items I have slabbed
Still need to slab the base items as well. Somewhere I believe I have either a dupe Quad Spectrum or the missing dual Spectrum= Can't remember which
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Also have a dupe Tandem item slabbed



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[jeffv96masters]

OK so apparently inventory girl happened to notice I'd slowed down my Clemens inventory and asked for more pics
She was advised I was having trouble locating some 2004 inventory and to please wait
I then got an email asking about 5 cards from 2016 - which at first made me think twice because I don't collect Clemens post-career

Meaning I stopped with 2008 items, so why would I have stuff from 2015/2016 ??
It was then I realized she was referring to a rare exception I made with 2016 National Treasures
Word on the street had filtered out that some pieces of inventory had been purchased by Panini from the old DLP stock. Some were released in 2015 NT baseball and more apparently in 2016. After some calls and digging- decided to buy some select pieces


Below is what I purchased that I could confirm came from the old DLP stock
Think there is 2-3 more pieces out there I haven't seen yet I'll buy when I see them
I bought the 2015 Leather signature only because I liked it. It is NOT one of the confirmed older items


The button I think is #15 or 16 total. I believe I am down to just 2 buttons total to locate ( non 1/1) to own all the non 1/1 button variations that exist

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[jeffv96masters]

OK next up on the inventory list is 2004 ASTROS FANFEST Roger Clemens cards. Like I said I am missing slabs but I'll scan what I have for my inventory girl
Not only am I missing two slabs I know I have from this series, but a whole bunch of 2004 Absolute slabs as well
Will show them when I locate them. I did locate some cracked 2004 Absolute slabs I will need to re-slab soon

As part of a 5 day long series of events held during All-Star weekend, fans could participate in what was called the "Collectors Showcase".  Basically a convention of displays and dealers with sports items including cards. The also held several pimp auctions ( i.e. Auction House) events.  Think of a 5 day long kid infested series of events

I do have the list of what occurred during the 5 days, but won't list it here, should anyone need the Fanfest events that occurred for backup for their stuff

Part of one of the events as I said was the " Collectors Showcase" in the George Brown Convention Center
Just like any show, you could go to the manufacturer exhibit booths and buy their products
As part of the product purchases, they had what was called the "Wrapper Redemption program"
You could buy packs, boxes, or even cases, open and turn in wrappers for additional redemption's

The Redemption card set featured 12 current or former Astros players, and has four "supposed" game-worn jersey cards. Cards in the set include: Jeff Bagwell, Lance Berkman, Craig Biggio, Roger Clemens, Richard Hidalgo, Jeff Kent, Roy Oswalt, Andy Pettitte, and four different Nolan Ryan/Roger Clemens dual player cards

Clemens and Ryan were both on Fleer, Topps, Upper Deck, and Playoff cards together
Most everyone lists the four. Clemens also appeared on a 5th card solely by himself which was a jersey card for case buys

Below is my slabbed items I can find. I will show off the Playoff and Fleer when I can locate the slabs. I have a dupe slabbed jersey and 2-3 raw jersey pieces

I also included my Clemens "Collectors Showcase" badge I snagged. Had to wear it while inside but hey least it was my player. Think I also have the Biggio, Kent, Oswalt and Ryan badges somewhere

While I do not collect such things, these badges should you decide you want "everything of your player" have NINE levels ==> All-Access , Collectors Showcase, Exhibitor ( plus MVP Exhibitor), Facility, Media, Performer , Staff, and Special Guest

You can also find pins, a bunch of special limited edition artworks, hats, t-shirts, etc etc etc- get the picture? They pimped everything
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AND THE PRIOR MENTIONED FANFEST ROGER CLEMENS BADGE I WORE
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[jeffv96masters]

OK found 6 of the 20+ slabs missing from 2004 Absolute, and wasn't too thrilled a bunch were cracked, but hey lots of travel on them

In the case of Tools of The Trade you will find the upper level numbered items ( 150,200 and 250) all have a nice dark Blue hue to them. The lower numbers ( 100 and below) will be more of a Greenish Blue tint. Be it game used or base, all were printed in similar time frames.  I immediately noticed this years ago when I compared my items pulled direct from my packs and stuff I bought online. Became obvious that they decided not to change color levels for obvious reasons ( labor intensive and cost consuming to do this)

Considering I graded many of these April 2006 I remember being fairy certain of authenticity and speaking to a printing expert back then convinced me. The slabs I'm missing are all Spectrum's and Game used. Pretty sure I'll come across them eventually as always just takes time to sort the mess

Like I said about 20+ are missing so another 14 or so should be located eventually

I did locate one of my 1/1 from the series also

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[jeffv96masters]

While I try locating the rest of the 2004 missing Absolute slabs I'm going to catch up scans for both eBay and inventory. 

In 2003, Upper Deck decided to go out online and purchase some of their own product, then began inserting them in various 2003 UD products. I purchased very little UD product at that time ( maybe Ultimate and a few other series) so I have zero recollection of the various sets these supposedly got inserted into. Many catalogs indicated they were inserted into "UD Series 2" product at the rate of about 1 card per 288 packs or so ( roughly 1 a case in other words).

These items were labeled as " 2003 Upper Deck Bonus " cards. I've seen 2 of Clemens 3 cards at various times. Bypassed the # to 117 one figuring I'll see it again . Of course never went back and searched for my missing items because new stuff appeared, then more new stuff- you get the picture.  If you own one of the # to 117 items ( or the other to 12) see me I'll be more than happy to make a generous offer to knock a checklist item off

I did pluck one of the items, so I'll show the source piece they would have repurchased,  and then the UD Bonus item
In this case, its a piece of a World Series Base from the 1999 Yankees World Series inserted into 2000 UD HoloGrFx product

I'll word this next statement carefully. UD had 'sourcing issues" since shown to be - um- "dubious" ( i.e. eventually convicted of crimes) . You'll need to forgive me on doubting either piece I own is an actual " game used" World Series item. I base this on the fact that microscope checking of the two items in my possession puts in doubt both came from the same source.  That's all I'll say about that subject. I state facts- not circumstantial stuff. They do NOT match. Plain and simply one piece "might" be OK but the other certainly isn't
I'd need an actual GU base from that series to compare both my items to to tell which is which.  Since I never bothered contacting anyone with access to an actual 1999 World Series GU piece no way of researching today
To convince me would require the same type of chain of command handling they use nowadays for "actual" items anyways

ORIGINAL PIECE IN 2000 UPPER DECK HOLOGRPFX PACKS
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2003 UPPER DECK BUYBACK 2003 UD BONUS ITEM
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[jeffv96masters]

Some recent PSA returns. Was a little caught off guard on the Fence Busters until I turned it then realized what caused the 9
The Monty and Freddy Autos were pack pulls from boxes 3-4 years ago that were lying around in sub piles forever
Glad I sent them in during cheaper days
Tek surfaces are tough Topps usual crap QC. Gems are hard to come by
Doubt the Pedro will be topped grade wise but we shall see
Helton OC was a major surprise I knew it was good but expected a 9. It survived two cross country trips as well !!
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