It's not too often you can pick up a Parkhurst card for 50 cents

Once in a blue moon, while surfing eBay, I pull up a list of all the card auctions that are closing soon.  I figure that if I troll for long enough, I'll find a deal or two that I can snipe. 

I happened upon this card one day last week:

Outside of a couple of Leafs cards from the last half of the 50's and a handful from the 60's, Parkhurst cards are something that I've shied away from because of the price tag.

I saw this card and was intrigued, especially since the opening bid was 50 cents!  I figured that I would throw a bid out on a lark, expecting that I would be outbid later.

Unbelievably, the 50 cent bid held and today I received this card in the mail.

A little bit of paper loss on the back, but definitely something that I was willing to overlook at that price tag.

I was skeptical that I would even receive the card; you know how it is, a seller gets a bid or 2 on a card and it ends up selling for far less than they expected, so they hold on to it and refund your money.  That skepticism ended this morning.

Thankfully....

thanks for reading, Robert

Box break: 2012-13 In the Game Between the Pipes

If you take away two things about me from my time spent writing on the blogs, you should know that:

1.  My preference is licensed over un-licensed products
2.  I have a hard time turning down a good deal.

When it comes to hockey cards, these two things can sometimes lead to internal conflict.   That's how it was when I spotted a great deal on a hobby box of 2012-13 In the Game Between the Pipes on the Dave & Adam's website.  For less than half the normal cost, I decided to give this product a try.

I was pleasantly surprised.

For me, the junior goalie cards are OK.  I don't know most of the players, but sometimes that's what is good about cards, you get a bit of an education.

One of the more famous junior teams in Ontario is the London Knights, and I found a history of the team here.  I haven't followed junior hockey in Canada on a regular basis since I was a teenager.   Maybe it's time to get back into it a little more.  Some of the logos and jerseys are fabulous.

Being a part time goaltender myself when I was younger, some of the cards that feature vintage masks are great.

History lessons are always good, so these cards that feature goaltenders from the original six days are a treat for me as well.

Even today's stars are part of the mix:

There's also no shortage of goodies in the box.   One of the more popular inserts over the years has been the Masked Men cards, and I was fortunate enough to pull 3 of them out of the box.

Naturally, the Felix Potvin becomes an instant favorite for me.  These cards scanned tremendously; they are really beautiful in hand.

As far as hits, I received 6 total.  The 3 autographs consisted of one junior player, and two goalies who had careers that lasted just under a decade apiece.

The names on the jersey cards I pulled were a lot more notable.

The dual jersey was of Ed Belfour and Brandon Whitney.  Whitney is a BlackHawks prospect, drafted in the 7th round in 2012.

The other two cards feature a goalie that earned his 300th victory this season, Henrik Lundqvist.

A great way to finish up the box. 

At $47, this box was a great rip.  The original price was over $100, which for me would be a bit too steep for an unlicensed product.  If ITG BTP was priced in the $70-80 range, I might be more tempted to pick up a box when it first comes out. 

I now know what everyone has been raving about over the years.  ITG does a great job for a company without a NHL license.  With Upper Deck owning an exclusive license by the NHL, it appears that ITG will be limited in what it can do for the foreseeable future.

thanks for reading, Robert

5 down, 1 to go

Like many of the older baseball sets that I've completed since I started the habit blog almost 3 years ago, I want to start trying to complete a lot of the older hockey sets that I've left unfinished for years.  One of those is the 1999-00 Upper Deck MVP silver signature set.

Both of these guys were Leafs at one time or another during their great careers

This set is as basic as it gets.   Silver signatures were inserted one per pack, and with only 220 cards in the set, this was a very realistic set to complete, even back then.

There weren't even any big RCs in the set (Jochen Hecht was the priciest, listed at 75 cents), so this parallel set shouldn't have been that difficult to complete, right?

Even with a multiplier of 3x, the Gretzky cards (3 of them) were even affordable.  But over the years the set just got pushed to the side while the latest and greatest came out.

Now, it's finally here.   I'm at the pinnacle.  One card to go.   Mike Richter, #133.   I only see one on eBay right now, but it's in Canada, the shipping is $3.50, and the seller has a nearly 3 week delay before shipping.

I'll keep waiting....after all, I've gone this long, right?

Thanks for reading, Robert