Wednesday, December 1, 2021

gone fishin'

several months ago, i read a post on fuji's blog about si for kids cards and how some were selling for a decent amount of money. i went looking for some sheets i had from 2008 and 2009, back when i had a subscription for my son. 

sure enough, i still had the sheets and so i put them up for sale. mind you, i had tried to sell these before back in 2010 or so with no takers. this time, i sold three or four of the sheets. one had a lewis hamilton card, one had a usain bolt card, and one had a steph curry (college) card. between those three sheets and a 2000 topps update miguel cabrera dupe i found in one of my monster boxes, i had flipped just about enough bait to pick up a card that i should have already owned. 

i went fishin' and reeled in a big one:
yes, i went out and bought a 2011 topps update mike trout card at just about the worst time possible. i did wait until he was on the injured list, and i "settled" for a psa 6 version, but still.  i don't think i bought any packs of 2011 update as i was on a "no more packs" kick for a little bit back then. i did buy a bunch of the dee gordon rookies, as well as the brandon crawford rookie from that set because dodgers and double plays. if only trout had been shown sliding in to second trying to break up a double play on his card, too.

i am happy to add this card to my collection, which i am trying to get to its proper configuration.  let's see it again:
that's a big fish!

10 comments:

  1. Nice flip! I'm blind as a bat, but that sure looks nice for a 6. Modern cards must be help to a higher standard than vintage. I have a 55 Clemente graded 6.5 that doesn't look anywhere near that clean.

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    1. i haven't looked at it too closely to be honest, but i wouldn't be surprised that what you suggest is the case. grading of cards is a crapshoot in my opinion, subject to all sorts of whims.

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  2. I think the best illustration of how normal collectors were compared with how bat-shit crazy they are now is the fact that SI For Kids cards used to not sell at all but now can turn into a card worth hundreds or more.

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    1. yes it is a good indicator of the status of our hobby.

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  3. Anytime you can get an iconic card for some SI Kids cards, it's probably a good deal.

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  4. I always enjoy hearing about people selling unwanted items in order to obtain a much more wanted item, so congratulations on your success in doing so! I would imagine too that with all of the fakes on eBay, this is one that you pretty much have to buy graded, whether you like slabbed cards or not, yes?

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    1. absolutely. there are two cards in my collection that i would never buy in an unslabbed state - my 1952 jackie robinson and this trout card. my 1963 topps pete rose rookie is unslabbed and i doubt its authenticity even though it doesn't have the known fake print marks.

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  5. Nice pickup! No way that card is just a 6!

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    1. i've no plans to have it regraded but if you ever work for PSA let me know!

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