2009 TriStar Obak Box Break Part 3: Minis & Hits

Well, this box break is really coming together. There's only a few loose ends left to tie up, and this post should take care of that. I was going to spread this break out and milk 2 more posts out of it, but after getting zero comments on the last one, decided to just get it over with. This box was a ton of fun to bust, and if you're even the least bit intrigued, I suggest picking one up for yourself... or at least offering up a trade for what I pulled. As a casual collector, TriStar wasn't a brand that I thought very highly of, but Obak has gone a long way towards changing my opinion, and I suspect that it'll change the minds of other collectors as well.

And now on to the cards...

Each pack of Obak comes with the obligatory mini card, modeled after original tobacco cards. These cards basically mirror the base set, except they are scaled down to fit the mini size cardboard they're printed on. Since they are 1 per pack, I received 20 in my box. Here are some favorites. Click the image to view full sized scan.

From top left: Bing Crosby, Tim Beckham, The Dukes, Bo Jackson (hell yeah!)
From bottom left: Gordon Beckham, Dale Murphy, William Wrigley Jr.

Along with regular minis, Obak also offers up mini parallels, in the same color variations as regular base cards. I was lucky enough to receive one, and it was green.

#25 Tom Seaver mini green parallel #13/25

I was pretty happy with this card. It's the only mini parallel I received, and it's of a Hall of Fame player. Just like the base set, these minis are very nice looking. The way TriStar physically does their numbering is a little unorthodox, and I don't think it looks as nice as gold stamping.

About those green parallels, in my last post I showed you a scan of the Dummy Hoy card I pulled, but did not include a scan of the back. Well, there was one more in the box, and this time back hath been scanned, for anyone who is curious as to what they look like.

#69 Bill "Moose" Skowron green parallel #10/25

Pretty much looks the same as all the other card backs in this set... only green...

At this point, there isn't much left to show you except for the autographs I pulled. They are seeded 2 per box, and it seems like you get one prospect auto, along with an auto of a retired player. Looking over the checklist, I did ok on the autos. They're both signed on stickers, but it's not too obvious since it sort of blends in to the overall design.

#A6 Zach Collier autograph #'d/200

I didn't scan the back of this card, and am posting this from work, so I've got no idea what the specific numbering is on this card. What I do know is that Collier was a first round draft pick of the Phillies, and has a lot of potential. Can't complain about an autograph of a first rounder, can you? Well I certainly won't!

The second autograph is a pretty cool one. It's of none other than 1953 A.L. MVP Al Rosen, who played for the Cleveland Indians. It doesn't get much cooler than an auto of the "Hebrew Hammer", and this card is absolutely beautiful!

#A49 Al Rosen autograph #40/50

So there you have it people. I hope you enjoyed my Obak break, and were able to learn something about the product that you didn't know before. Overall, I say this is a pretty nice set, and if the price settles around $60/box, would be an entertaining set to build.

That is all for today. There should be some trades to post as well as a sweet new acquisition to the Orioles collection later this week.