The Best of the Rest

So I will attempt to put a bow on this past weekend's Concord Mall hobby show.  All that's left to discuss is my top ten dime box cards (at least those that I haven't already shown and/or mentioned in a previous post).

Originally I was just gonna list these irrespective of order.  But then that would make me seem lazy.  And even though I just completed a 13-hour day at the office, I don't want to be lazy.  At least not when it comes to baseball cards!

So, let's count 'em down, shall we?

#10 - 2011 Topps Marquee

These Marquee cards remind me of a thicker card stock version of Stadium Club.  Everyone of them that I've come across have been beauties, just like this one.  Does Topps even produce this product anymore?  If they do, I'm sure the packs are the price of a haircut and medium pan pizza.

#9 - 2006 UD Future Stars

So this is a numbered parallel version from the '06 Future Stars set -- a product whose name befuddles me. Future Stars?  Greg Maddux?  His star had kinda surpassed its zenith by 2006.  Oh well, it's still a nice card. And much more attractive in person.  But, aren't they all?

#8 - 2011 Heritage Chrome

A quad-panel of Joey Bats blasting his 50th (or least that's what they tell us).  Not much to dislike from Chrome Heritage, is there?  Aside from the cards' propensity to curl up, Chrome has always been a highly attractive product to my eyes.  This particular card is numbered 1502/1962.

#7 - 2010 Topps Chrome

Speaking of Chrome...  Godzilla!  I couldn't shovel this card onto my "buying" pile fast enough.  What a great shot!  Hideki will always have a place in my heart for his heroics in the 2009 Series.  I'm no lover of the Yankees, but living in Phillies land has driven me to drastic measures from time to time.  Let's just say the 2009 postseason is one that I wouldn't want to live through again.

#6 - 1994 Ultra Pro

I can only assume these cards were randomly inserted into packages of Ultra Pro sheets.  This one is No. 2 in a series of six cards.  I'm not sure if the other five cards were also Piazza or if Mike was just one of six players to get a card.  Also, the card back assures me that this is a limited edition card.  Limited to just 100,000.  Hey, whatever.  Kudos to Ultra Pro for making such a great card.

#5 - 2011 Triple Threads

This is the green version, numbered to just /249.  Totally awesome pic of Pudge with the Yankee Stadium facade in the background.  And it's just a dime?  Can't get much better than that..

#4 - 2011 Gypsy Queen

Every time I come across a great card like this I ask myself, "Self, why don't you collect Gypsy Queen again?" Tremendous portrait of Cal in action.  Nicely framed.  Just a beautiful card.  I'll be sure to buy some GQ this year, I can tell you that.

#3 - 1998 Skybox

Man, what can I really say about this duo?  One's a superhero and the other is Spiderman.  This is actually a pretty good pairing, don't you think?  Per the card back: "Climbing walls is no small skill, but one that both Junior and Spiderman have easily mastered."

#2 - 1981 Topps

Believe me, I had a hard time placing any card above the Spiderman/Griffey combo, but Mookie Wilson was kind of a superhero for me growing up.  Obviously, his name will always echo throughout history for his part in the infamous Buckner boner from the '86 Series.  And he was a pretty darn good player for his career.  Mookie + Rookie = Happiness.

And that leaves us with the following card for the top spot...

#1 - 2011 Topps Chrome Sepia

I had to do a double-take on this initially.  But, it's a sepia parallel, numbered 10/99.  A pretty good player to get, too.  I've never come across one of these sepia cards before, and I must say I'm quite impressed.  I'm not sure what these go for normally, but I feel confident that paying a dime for this was a pretty good deal!

So, that's that.

Well, actually, one last nugget to share.  When I was about ready to pony up my cash for my stack of cards, Mrs. K directed my attention to the following item that was wedged into the side of one of the dime boxes:

I asked the dealer what she wanted for it and her response was, "A dime.  Here, just take it."  And she plopped it onto of my already towering stack of cards!  If I'm not mistaken, these stamp cards were box toppers from the 2011 Heritage product.  No clue how to store this or where to put it, but it's a pretty neat item to put towards my '11 Heritage collection.

And with that, I'm officially running on empty.  Thanks for bearing with me through this countdown.  I have a couple of awesome trade packages to recap this week, so I'm excited to get to those in the next day or two.

Til then... Cheers!

MK