Second Wave Nostalgia?

  It's no wonder why many of us collect cards today: Nostalgia! We may have collected as kids, and have come back to the hobby years later.   Let me explain. I walked away from collecting back in 1993-94ish, and came back about a decade later. It's like I had left right when the magic was starting. By that time, everything had changed. There were shiny cards, serial numbered cards (lower than 10,000...gasp!), autographed cards you could pull straight from packs, and even cards with pieces of game-used relics. Jeesh!   Over the past several years, I've found great joy

Jose Canseco’s FIRST EVER Pack Pulled Autograph!?

Any jersey serial # card collectors out there? I don't typically seek them out, but for this one, I made an exception - it is a MONSTER! For higher numbered cards, seeking out a specific serial number can be like searching for a needle in a haystack...a 25 year old haystack. Enter: the 1999 Fleer Mystique Fresh Ink /250. This card holds the distinction of being the very first pack pulled autograph of Jose Canseco! Though it is numbered to 250, they typically sell for significantly higher than other much rarer autographs of his, given that it is a monumental

36 Years of Collecting … TODAY!

A few years ago, I found an old journal entry from 1990 discussing how March 12th 1989 was when I started officially collecting baseball cards. What a wild ride it has been!I went from having no cards over $5, to a single player collection that received national attention, to selling off, to now having a better collection of Canseco cards than I've ever had before! (My collection is way smaller, but packs a much bigger punch!)I fell in love with vintage, and have been able to get some pieces I never thought in my wildest dreams I'd be able to

2002 Upper Deck Reverse Negative – Straight from 1989’s Playbook!

In 2002, Upper Deck treated us collectors to a special '89 retro design, which also yielded short printed Reverse Negatives - a call back to the famous '89 UD Dale Murphy. This card blends scarcity with nostalgia, and can go undetected if you don't know what to look for.

What card made your jaw drop most?

In 2017, I was minding my own business, when pictures of the 1/1 Leaf Q Jumbo patch Jose Canseco showed up online before it was even signed.  Though unlicensed, it was a card that made my jaw drop like no other.  I can't think of a single licensed card that captured my attention quite like this one when I first laid my eyes on it.   Thus began a long struggle in my mind trying to justify how I could love an unlicensed card so much - after all, I'm *supposed* to like licensed cards more ... right?   It didn't matter. 

A couple 1998 Beauties

What were you doing in 1998?   I was in my last year of high school, without a single thought in my head of what I was going to be doing in the future.  Previously, I had wanted to be a youth pastor or similar, but wasn't sure how to "get there."  I also thought about how college would look, and maybe I could get into some sort of graphic design courses. I heard about something called "desktop publishing" that I wanted to try.   None of that panned out for me, so after high school, I got a typing job in

What’s Black and White and Red All Over?

It is a time honored riddle that has stumped all of us as children.  A rite of passage, if you will.  "What's black and white, and re(a)d all over?" While some would giggle and say a zebra in a blender, the "official" answer is of course, a newspaper.  That is ... until now.   The 2024 Topps Black & White Red parallel! Yes, I picked up this card for that exact reason.  The fact that this card is a physical representation of the most famous riddle-turned-pun.  Jose even looks like he's reacting appropriately to this tom foolery.  One might say he

Barrels, Knobs, and Superfractors Galore! Jose Canseco Supercollector Eye Candy

It has been a while since I've shown my Jose Canseco collection since I sold out back in 2018.  I went at it hard for about five years trying to get everything, then sold out.  Since then, I've gotten back in, but have worked extremely hard at picking up cards that are super meaningful to me.  I've bought and sold some substantial collections, thinned down, bulked up, rinsed, and repeated.  2024 was a really great year for my collection, and I'm extremely happy & satisfied with where I'm at!  I wanted to show you all some of my favorites.  This

Jose Canseco Game Used Home Run Bat … In a Card!

In 2024, the Topps debut patch cards are all the rage. Imagine having something so iconic from a debut of a big player ... all inside of a baseball card ... and signed, to boot!   Donruss was ahead of the curve on this one. In 2003, their Timeless Treasures offering featured not just a game-used bat piece; the piece of bat came from a home run bat ... home run #311, to be precise - complete with a picture of the actual bat on the back! This is a first for Jose, if I recall.   I had this

Top 50ish Custom Cards I Created this Year!

I'm not quite sure where 2024 went, but here we are, at the cusp of a brand new year.  For me and my family, this year has had many ups, downs, super scary times, and everything in between.  2024 was definitely not boring, that's for sure! Many people have continued to send me scraps of paper they have had signed at some point (many certified) because they are like me: eye appeal is everything when it comes to pieces of our collection.  I'm grateful to have turned these scraps into what many have called true centerpieces of their collections.  I'd