Pickups for my Collection Archives - Tan Man Baseball Fan

Capturing the True Essence of a Baseball Card

Capturing the true essence of a card through photographs can elevate certain cards from want list to grail status. For me, this is the ultimate example: 1998 E-X2001 Essential Credentials NOW & FUTURE parallels. These two had been on my want list for forever. The scanned pics at the bottom were on a collector's website, and I didn't think much of them. Until I saw a Ripken that was properly photographed. My jaw DROPPED. They went from my want list straight to my dream list. Seeing a properly photographed exemplar instantly elevated them in my mind to some of the

A Grail of Grails – the 1998 Bowman Chrome Golden Anniversary Refractor

I know you've felt this before, too. You secure a big card for your collection, and you wait. and wait. and wait. You check the tracking more times than you care to admit. If the card seems stuck somewhere in transit, and there is finally movement again, it feels like a small victory. But then you wonder ... if/when the card does come in, what if there is a problem with it? All of that describes me perfectly this past week. When the package finally arrived all the way from Tokyo via the original owner's grandson who pulled this from

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.

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

The Ultra Rare 1989 Topps Heads up Test Issue

What if I told you 1989 Topps was rare and valuable? Would you believe me? What if I told you a PSA 4 1989 Topps Greg Jefferies sold for $65, and that it just might have been a great deal for the buyer? You'd probably think I was off my rocker. I'm not talking about this card that we all know and love (though it is one of my favorites in the set!) I'm talking about this ... What you see is a 1989 Topps Heads Up Test Gregg Jefferies. Back in 1989, as far as I have researched, Topps

The Last Trade of 2023!

The last trade of 2023 was a super fun one, and it capped off a phenomenal year for my Canseco PC. For a little bit of a back story, the first card I remember ever pulling is a 1987 Topps Jose Canseco. While it isn't his true rookie, it is his most popular Topps card, and perhaps his second most popular card ever, behind his Rated Rookie. In 2017, Topps came out with a set called "Clearly Authentic". In it was a 1986 Topps Canseco Rookie Reprint - and a 1/1 parallel. I thought it was the coolest thing -

You might have GOLD in your relic cards!

Goodness, has it really been 6 months since I've last written an article? That's a good tell for how busy I've been. I guess it also speaks to the fact that I haven't really had anything all that interesting to say ... until now. While the catalyst of the discovery I'm about to tell you is going to zero in on my latest card acquisition, it is my hope that it will cause you to dig into your collection as well, and see if you can uncover gold. It'll be a fun exercise, I promise! So, where to begin? Ahh

Happy Birthday to Me! The 1996 Select Certified Mirror Gold is Back!!!

Cardboard grails are a weird thing, man. They make you do strange and irrational things, like keep you up at night, trying to figure out where to search, and even post things like this ... or this ... or even this! When I walked away from supercollecting, not a single card in the above graphic had surfaced the entire time I was searching. It should be noted that the first card shown, the 1996 Select Certified Mirror Gold was my main grail I never found, and was one of three that were my favorites. I dreamt about this card.

Orange you glad you collect baseball cards?

When it comes to Canseco cards, some of my biggest and best trades have come after I decided to call it quits on supercollecting. In fact, (to my knowledge) I hold the record for selling the highest dollar amount for a single Canseco card. More on that later, but that's where today's story starts. Back in March of 2021, I was "in a selling mood" - the dealer and collector in me often compete. Well, the dealer in me won on this particular day, and I moved some incredible pieces. One of which was this Dynasty beauty: This is a

1932 Sanella Babe Ruth – Did Hitler Collect Baseball Cards?

Happy Babe Ruth Day! On Feb. 6th, 1895, the Sultan of Swat was born. Ironically enough, I JUST landed this Babe Ruth card! My friend Enrique came over yesterday, and we had a great time talking. BTW, Enrique is now a part of the T206 Wagner Flip Quest! But anyway, onto the card...it is a SUPER fascinating one ... Babe Ruth's 1932 Sanella offering pre-dates his Goudey cards, and has, perhaps, sinister implications, as it was produced in Germany during a very dark time. While the Nazi party was reportedly fringe in years prior, by

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