1934 Goudey Lou Gehrig – The Happiest Card Ever Made?

When I first started creating custom cards for my collection, it was mainly because Canseco wasn't found in some of the newer releases that I wished he had been included in.  While creating new cards were fun, I also wanted to try my hand at recreating my favorite player on one of the most iconic cards, ever:  1934 Goudey. About 7 years ago or so, I picked up some 2008 Goudey to draw inspiration from. I absolutely loved the bottom of this.  My wife suggested I create a card with me at the bottom instead! Using this picture ... and

I’ve Acquired the ENTIRE 1919-21 W514 Complete Set – Babe Ruth, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Black Sox Set & Customs!

The 1919-21 W514 issue is a set of cards that has always intrigued me.  There are a number of key cards, and fantastic stories!  Being that the set is now 100+ years old, it also feels like history. Created right after World War 1, the simplistic artwork and low quality card stock serve as reminders of America dealing with the aftermath of WW1. Due to their meteoric rise in price recently, I sold my W514 Shoeless Joe Jackson and Babe Ruth.  The money was great, but I was sad to see them go.  I caught wind of an auction house

1997 Ultra Platinum Medallion Jose Canseco – Mysteriously Elusive

MASSIVE mail day / grail day today for two reasons. #1 I completed my Ultra Platinum run (again), and #2 I GOT THE 97 ULTRA PLATINUM SERIES 2!!! For those of you who don't know, this card is impossible, in spite of the print run being reported as 200. I've only seen 2 others in decent condition, ever. Sales history shows 24 other 1997 Ultra Platinum Canseco cards having been sold. 23 of those were the S1 Red Sox version. PSA shows 83 S1 platinums of any player graded, whereas S2 platinums have a total of 8! I've got theories:

The Diamond Cutting Stage – Customs, Pickups, and More!

It has been a while since I've written, so I figured I'd write a little bit about what I've been up to!  First, here are some customs I created: This Back to the Future jumbo was created using a signed index card from Lea Thompson. Here is a video showing it (along with Footloose and Roberto Clemente customs). A Braves fan reached out to me with a number of signed baseballs from his collection that he wanted cards made out of. A UFC fan reached out to me with a fight glove from Chris "Lights Out" Lytle.  Here

My Vintage Collection

Raise your hand if you sold something too early this past year. If I were a betting man, I'd say that nearly every one of you reading this put your hand in the air while gritting your teeth.  Never in a million, billion, trillion years would I think cards would explode in the midst of a pandemic! I had a bunch of high graded PSA rookies from the 80s and 90s, as well as FASC wax, and even a ton of low grade vintage. And I sold nearly all of it. Before prices skyrocketed. Yes, everytime I see for forum

My Jose Canseco Collection – Updated for 2021 Video Series

In this four part video series, I show off my entire Jose Canseco baseball card collection updated for 2021!  I have done a LOT of consolidating, and here is what I am left with.  It was a blast going through them all :)  Grab some popcorn, and snuggle up with a loved one for two hours of Jose Canseco cardboard goodness!         And, as a bonus, I did a TOP 50 video showing some of my favorites:  

I Captured the King, and Lost the Queen, But Got the Babe

Let me start off by saying, I'm going to try super hard not to turn this article into a book.  A lot has been going on!  To kick it all off, I did a MASSIVE trade involving a boatload of Jose Canseco cards.  The boxes on the right are Canseco cards.  The box on the left?  An 1888 Allen & Ginter N28 baseball card set. I know what you are thinking:  How very Tanner of me to trade my 1888 Allen & Ginter set for Canseco cards.  PLOT TWIST:  The Canseco cards actually left my collection! I packed up a

Remember when buybacks were rare?

Remember when buybacks were rare? Take for instance, this - Canseco's most famous Topps card, ever. In 2004, Topps gave collectors Jose's first ever buyback auto, and hand numbered it to 99. (Super rare, considering the they probably produced millions of them.  The 1991 Donruss Elite is numbered to 10,000, so this buyback is less than 1% of those!)   In 2015, they upped the ante and released one numbered to /14.   In 2016, they released it again, but numbered to /97. The only real on card difference being the stamp is on the other side. Oh, and several

1986 Donruss Jose Canseco Rated Rookie Fun Facts and my latest Pickup (It’s SUPER rare!)

For a time period growing up in the late 80s/early 90s, there wasn't a bigger card than the 1986 Donruss Jose Canseco Rated Rookie.  It was the grail of grails.  I have heard reports of it selling for over $150 back then. It didn't matter to me, because anything over $20 might as well have been a million dollars.  It was the card that was so hot and so big, that I don't even think it entered my dreams. 1986 Donruss Jose Canseco Rated Rookie - the face of the hobby While I was preoccupied with 1988 Donruss and 1989 Score,

Showing off Customs & Cards While our AC is Busted

Greetings from mission control - where the lights are off, and game 2 of the ALCS is blaring so I can hear it above the 2 fans pointed at me.  The ALDS nearly killed me.  When you spend the first 12 years of your life as an A's fan in California, but have 28 years of Houston life under your belt, it is confusing who to root for.  This totally describes me last week. I was sad the A's lost, but it was a REALLY entertaining series.  The sheer amount of bombs hit makes me wonder if the playoff balls