Found another treasure...

Another Gregory Polanco National Treasure has hit the Treasure Room.

This was a cheap pickup.  Only $17 delivered for the acetate autograph and jersey swatch.

Reverse Boxin' Museum Collection

With the complete debacle that was 2015 Topps Tribute being recalled, I quickly decided that I wasn't going to reverse box Tribute this year like I have done in the past.  Instead I chose to do another reverse box of 2014 National Treasures and 2015 Topps Museum.

National Treasures, despite not having a license, has been my favorite set to reverse box (as you can tell by all the posts I've made about it).  Topps Museum has been one of my favorite sets to chase high end cards on the secondary market year after year.

Museum had a large selection of Pirates to choose from in their product this year.  Due to overspending on some other high end items from the line, I went for the cheap route for these three cards you see below.  I managed to win all three for $38 delivered in separate auctions.

And El Cofee was his name - o!!!! P-L-I-N-K-O addition...

I had doubts about only one of the Pirates bats hitting heading into the 2015 season. Historically Cutch, Walker, Marte, Alvarez, and Mercer have shown enough above average offense over their careers to trust that trend continuing. In small sample sizes Cervelli has shown a high average over his career. JHey showed signs of brilliance last year and I trusted him to be a .280 - .300 hitter with double digit HR/SB combo. Gregory Polanco had shown poor plate discipline last year and I felt his swing was too long. Thus far, he has been the Pirates lone bright spot on offense.

I had so much fun with my reverse box challenge of 2014 National Treasures that I decided to take another crack at it.  Same rules apply as the first time around.  Grab a minimum of 3 autos, 1 booklet, and 4 other cards for less than the price of a box ($425).

To start us off, I have a Notable Nicknames on card autograph of Gregory "el coffee" Polanco.  This card was originally a redemption only card and only a few have started showing up on the secondary market.

I am not sure how Gregory got the nickname El Coffee, but the way he plays is very energetic so maybe that had something to do with it.  The on card autograph ran me $38 so my total spending limit on the next 7 cards can not exceed $387.  That shouldn't be a problem.


To recap my last National Treasures reverse box, I have provided links and pics below.

2014 National Treasures

Cost of 1 Hobby Box: $425

Each box was to contain the following compared to what I received
1 booklet (numbered to 99 or less)  - I got 2 (both numbered to 10) including a cut HOF auto
3 relics (numbered to 99 or less) - I got 4 (all numbered to 25 copies or less)
4 autographs - I got 6 (2 by Hall of Famers)
0 guarantee gems - I got 1 of HOF numbered to 20

My reverse box had an extra 6 cards in it and almost all my cards were numbered to less than 50 copies.  

Roberto Clemente bat relic 6/25

Willie Stargell Cut AUTO and jumbo bat booklet 7/10

Gerrit Cole on card AUTO and jumbo jersey 32/49

Jameson Taillon Jersey Patch 2/25

Gregory Polanco Colossal Prime Jersey Patch 14/25

Bill Mazeroski On Card Autograph Hall of Fame 2/10

Paul Waner Diamond 12/20

Dave Parker Notable Nicknames 40/99

Gregory Polanco Silhoutte Jumbo Jersey Patch/AUTO 7/25

Gerrit Cole MLB Player's Choice Patch/AUTO 3/5 and Colossal Patch 6/25

Jose Bautista "Joey Bats" Bat Relic Booklet 8/10

Thor & Iron Man Team Up!!!! Autograph Style (for trade/sale) HOF MOJO

With Avengers getting ready to come out, it only makes sense to highlight baseball versions of the lead characters today.  I fell in love with the Notable Nicknames set from 2014 National Treasures.  After grabbing the 3 Pirates players (Parker, Polanco, Cole), I set my sights on other players that were affordable that I liked their nicknames.

Noah Syndergaard aka Thor, fit that bill perfectly.

Thor fits my reverse box challenge well as he is one of the 4 required autographs I need to reverse box 2014 National Treasures again.  The on card autograph with "Thor" inscription is for trade or sale if anyone is interested in the young Mets right hander.

While I would have liked to also grab "Captain America" David Wright from the same National Treasures set, that card went for much more than I was willing to pay.  However, I did manage to grab another Avenger.

The Invincible Iron Man....

 Cal Ripken Jr.

Both cards are available for trade if anyone is interested.
Just send me an email or leave a comment.
I'm off to watch the Avengers now....

MORE SICK MOJO GERRIT COLE!!!!

Yesterday I went to the Bucs home opener and IT WAS AWESOME!!! Gerrit Cole pitched an incredible game racking up 8ks thru 6IP. He ran into trouble in the 7th by loading the bases before recording an out, but groundball specialist, Jared Hughes came in to get a double play and pop out minimizing the damage to only 1 run. The Bucs offense was supplied by Buccos Blasts by Harrison, Alvarez, and a 2 run shot by Corey Hart. The bullpen's only struggle was by Mark Melancon in the 9th when he almost blew a non save 4 run lead. Overall though great pitching from Cole and the 3 round trippers is what gave the Bucs the win.


I've been adding more and more Gerrit Cole National Treasures cards over the past month.  The Notable Nicknames on card autograph continues to elude me, but I've added another sick On Card Auto and Patch of The Cole Train along with a Jumbo Jersey.

 Check out the beauty of that card!  On card autograph.  Sick patch!  Low numbering!

The Cole above is a lot like my Polanco I showed off in February.

As you may recall I was going to be adding as many National Treasures as possible until I ended up spending $425 on this product.  I've seen some people with sick boxes containing 1/1 bat barrels, but I have also seen some breaks that produced a lot of rookie autographs along with HOF jersey cards numbered /99.  I think I will get a lot more value out of my reverse box. Every card I have acquired is less than 50 copies.

McCutchen Mailday #26: 2014 National Treasures Franchise

I grabbed this Andrew McCutchen because it accomplished several goals.  It was one more card to add to the Cutch PC in my Quest for 100 new Andrew McCutchen cards and it was another card I could add to my 2014 National Treasures Reverse Box Challenge.

This beautiful game worn jersey features some staining and is numbered to only 99 copies and was won with a winning bid of $22.22.  That's an eBay 1/1 kind of bidding right there as 22 is Cutch's jersey number.

There's been a lot of heat on Panini lately with their relic authenticity verification, but quite honestly I buy cardboard because I like it.  The above logoless card is beautifully designed and despite the lack of P on Cutch's helmet or jersey, the company used an image that doesn't need a logo.  The color choice for the Franchise tag on top fits in perfectly with the Alternate Black jersey the Pirates wear in recent years.

And to prove the authenticity of the jersey, we have a statement on the back that this is a game used relic.

If you haven't checked out my Reverse Box Challenge for 2014 National Treasures, click here.

Joey Bats Booklet Numbered to 10!!!

Jose Bautista is my favorite non current Pirate.  When I saw this awesome low numbered booklet (only 10 copies) with Joey Bats spelled out, I knew I had to add it to my collection for $11.

I've been wanting to add more Joey Bats cards to my collection this year and this is my first booklet of the former Pirate and former HR Champ.

I also pulled this card in a Target pack recently

If anyone has any Jose Bautista cards they are looking to unload...please hit me up!

SICK ON CARD AUTO & PATCH OF POLANCO!!!!

My latest addition to the National Treasures bonus reverse box I grabbed is a stunning ON CARD autograph and HUGE 3 color patch of Gregory Polanco.

What I like the most about this card is the extension that Gregory did when signing the card.  It will likely cause BGS to grade the auto less than a 10 because it's out of the allowed box he was supposed to sign, but I like that kind of stuff.

Check out this sick patch!!!  And AUTO!!!

#tbt: There's a Cobra in the Mailbox

It's been a long time since I added a piece of cardboard signed by the Cobra.  You'll have to go all the way back to October 2013 to see that post.  I was able to meet Dave at this past year's PiratesFest and got a program signed by him.

My latest addition is a card that I aggressively tried to win on nearly a dozen chances and I kept losing it.  I finally bit the bullet and bought one for $29 which is about $5 more than what I was willing to spend on it.

Notable Nicknames might be my favorite group of autographs from the National Treasures release.

Dave Parker may never make it into the Hall of Fame despite having similar numbers to Hall of Famer, Jim Rice.  A great article was written in 2013 about the very similar career accomplishments by both.  You can read the article on 30 year old cardboard's blog here.

McCutchen Mailday #22: National Treasures Jersey Relic

When I was doing my 2014 National Treasures Reverse Box challenge, I was naturally looking for some nice Pirates cards to add to my collection.  By adding autographs of HOF players Willie Stargell and Bill Mazeroski along with bat relics of Roberto Clemente and Stargell, a diamond, and some sick autos/patches of the Bucs young core (Cole, Polanco, Taillon) I was very pleased with my results.  Fortunately I finished the reverse box challenge under budget by almost $150.  What did I do with it?

Well, I am still adding cards...

Like this Cutch I picked up for $12 delivered.
It's my 22nd new Cutch card I have added to my Cutch PC since January 1st as I am pursuing the Quest for 100 new Cutch cards by year's end.

I liked this card because it has Andrew's full name on the card.  Even though it's not numbered to less than 50 copies I am still going to count this in my Reverse Box Challenge results when I show everything off in the future.

The 2 for 1 Reverse Box Challenge continues...

With only $37 left to complete my hotbox of Pirates from 2014 Triple Threads I happened to grab another Jumbo Relic/Auto.  It's not nearly as awesome as the patch/auto of Grilli numbered to /10, but it features a 5+ WAR outfielder who is on the cusp of having a breakout season soon.

I grabbed this emerald beauty for $13 last year and have been waiting until my Go Green month to show it off.

The 2 for 1 Reverse Box Challenge for 2014 Topps Triple Threads is complete.

Base Cards
Alvarez, Cole, McCutchen, Polanco, Piazza (ok technically I didn't complete the base card challenge, but I'm sure I can find some cheap base cards to say I did it if I really wanted to spend the money just for trade bait.)

Parallels:
McCutchen (emerald /250)
Clemente (emerald /250)
Polanco (gold /99)
McCutchen (Gold /99)
Alvarez (Gold /99)
Alvarez (Amethyst /325)
*Cole (gold /99)
*Cole (amethyst /325)
*The Gerrit Coles will be shown off in a future post after "Go Green" month is complete

Rookie Autograph
Polanco (/100) 

Triple Relic:
Beltre/Alvarez/Sandoval "Hot Corner" /36
Cutch/Bautista/Cespedes "Pure" /27

Triple Auto/Relic:
Lambo (Emerald /50)

Autographed Jumbo Relic
Marte (this post)
Grilli (prime patch /10)

Unity Jumbo Relic:
Cole /27 & /36

McCutchen Monday: Going Green, well...emerald to be specific

Last year I showed off a bunch of cards when I was doing a 2 for 1 reverse box challenge of 2014 Triple Threads.  I successfully put together 2 boxes of Triple Threads of only Pirates for the price of 1 box.  I even got some low numbered parallels which I was super excited about.  There were 3 cards that I have been waiting to show off from that reverse box challenge, but due to my plans for an All Green month of March I have had them on the backburner.

Wait no longer as this Andrew McCutchen joins the Roberto Clemente from yesterday to finish off my parallels in the reverse box challenge.

The Final Card to the Reverse Box

I had committed $279 towards my 2014 National Treasures Reverse Box approaching my final card.  Each box of National Treasures features 8 cards for $425 with the guarantee of 4 autographs and 1 booklet.

I set out to do something incredible by not only adding some of the Pirates young future, but also remembering the history of the Bucs with Hall of Famers while keeping every card to less than 50 copies.

My latest on card addition is of future ace Gerrit Cole.  It's my 29th unique autograph of the former UCLA #1 overall pick.  It's my second Cole auto used in the reverse box so I kind of feel like I cheated a little, but my rules were simple.
1)Keep the box under $425 while following the standard National Treasures ratio
2)Every card must be a member of the Pittsburgh Baseball Club
3)Every card must be under 50 copies

Using those rules, I fully complied with what I set out to do and kept under budget by $131.

I will now use my $131 savings to see what else I can come up with.

EVERYTHING I HAVE ACQUIRED SO FAR CAN BE SEEN BELOW

Roberto Clemente bat relic 6/25

Willie Stargell Cut AUTO and jumbo bat booklet 7/10

Gerrit Cole on card AUTO and jumbo jersey 32/49

Jameson Taillon Jersey Patch 2/25

Gregory Polanco Colossal Prime Jersey Patch 14/25

Bill Mazeroski On Card Autograph Hall of Fame 2/10

Paul Waner Diamond 12/20

A Real Diamond Gem in my Reverse Box

I've been showing off some incredible cards for my 2014 National Treasures Reverse Box.  The card I'm going to show off today is a true gem though (pun intended).

Randomly inserted in packs of 2014 National Treasures are gem cards of some of the game's greatest ball players of All-Time.  Each card features an actual diamond or emerald inside the card.

For $45 I grabbed a Paul Waner diamond numbered 12/20.

The back of the card authenticates the diamond as real so I may have gotten a major savings on that.  LOL!

This marks my 7th card of the reverse box and brings my box total to $279.  That leaves $146 for the remaining autograph of my reverse box. HINT: I'M WAAAAYYYY UNDER THE AMOUNT.


Other cards I have shown already in my reverse box of /50 copies and all Pirates include
2 Hall of Famer autographs (Stargell and Mazeroski)
1 Hall of Famer bat relic (Clemente)
1 Hall of Fame jumbo bat relic (Stargell)
2 patches of the Pirates youth movement (Taillon & Polanco)
1 Jumbo Jersey Relic and On Card Autograph of one of baseball's top young pitchers (Gerrit Cole)
EVERYTHING CAN BE SEEN BELOW

Roberto Clemente bat relic 6/25

Willie Stargell Cut AUTO and jumbo bat booklet 7/10

Gerrit Cole on card AUTO and jumbo jersey 32/49

Jameson Taillon Jersey Patch 2/25

Gregory Polanco Colossal Prime Jersey Patch 14/25

Bill Mazeroski On Card Autograph Hall of Fame 2/10

On Card HOF AUTO: National Treasures Reverse Box Update #6

For the past month I have been showing off my reverse box of 2014 National Treasures and I have already shown some incredible cards.  I will recap them all at the end of this post.

My latest addition of National Treasures is an on card autograph numbered to 10 of Hall of Fame Second Baseman and the only player to ever have a walk off Home Run in Game 7 of a World Series, Bill Mazeroski.

I've shown a handful of Maz autographs on this blog before with my most recent being a sketch card autograph last November.  The last On Card Auto I showed of Maz was from way back in 2013.

The back of the card talks about his dramatic World Series Home Run.

The above low numbered logoless on card autograph ran me $42 delivered which was under budget and brings my total to $234 for the $425 box.  I need 1 more autograph and 1 more auto/relic/or gem hit to complete my 8 card reverse box.  As previously stated once I complete the reverse box, I will just pick up cards I like until I reach the $425 limit.

Other cards I have shown already in my reverse box of /50 copies and all Pirates include

Roberto Clemente bat relic 6/25

Willie Stargell Cut AUTO and jumbo bat booklet 7/10

Gerrit Cole on card AUTO and jumbo jersey 32/49

Jameson Taillon Jersey Patch 2/25

Gregory Polanco Colossal Prime Jersey Patch 14/25