Forgotten Treasures

Found these cards the other day, whilst organizing my collection (finally). The first 3 are graded, and were hanging out in a drawer somewhere, collecting dust.

Why would someone send in a regular ol' xfractor to be graded? I have no earthly idea, but it was a PSA 10 Markakis for $1, so it seemed like a good pickup at the time. I've got a few copies of this card now, but this is the only one that is graded.

I got this card, and the Adam Jones auto below, as payment for a business card design I did for Mike Smeth, of The Cardboard Connection. The money would have just gone towards buying more cards anyway, and I like to cut corners. This was the perfect solution.

This is the only Adam Jones auto currently in my collection. He only has a few that are certified, and most of them sell for decent coin. It's only a matter of time before his autographs are flooding the market just like everyone else's. In the meantime, I will enjoy the one I've got. Thanks Mike!

This next little gem was mixed in with my Orioles cards for some reason, and obviously shouldn't have been. It's always nice to stumble upon a Hall of Famer autograph you forgot you had.

2005 Leaf Century Collection Red Schoendienst stamp auto

If the signature wasn't half cut off, this would be one of the sweetest cards I've ever seen. This card made me excited for the 2009 Century Collection release that ended up not happening. Now, instead of using awesome, old vintage stamps, Donini resorts to Stamps.com for it's newer incarnations of this design. Total cop-out if you ask me.

2008 Allen & Ginter #363 Tris Speaker extended mini

Not long before starting this blog, I was fortunate enough to pull an Alex Rios rip card from some loose hobby packs of 2008 Allen & Ginter. When I ripped it this mini was tucked inside. At the time I was disappointed that it wasn't a wood parallel or red ink auto, and mindlessly tossed it into a stack with the rest of my minis. Obviously, I was being a total Joe Collector, and failed to appreciate the true beauty of this card.

Normally, this is where I would remind you to vote for me in the 2009 Gummie Awards, but my once large lead has turned into a sizable deficit. It's not looking like I'm going to win, so I won't bother telling you to get your arse in gear and go vote right now. Did you see what I did there? Did it work?