Some of the more established bloggers do away with little trades and focus on the yearly trade. For the last few years, I've had a standing yearly trade with Cliff, of Capewood's Collections fame. Cliff would gather White Sox cards that he obtained over the past year and I would round up Phillies and Astros for him.
There always seems to be a unique array of interesting cards. There are a lot of doubles, to be sure, but the ones that hit the mark are outstanding. Sometimes the doubles are pretty cool too.
First off, there was the usual smattering of eighties cards. A lone 1980 Topps card of Rich Wortham was the oldest card in the lot. Long ago, I completed the 1980 White Sox Topps set, but finding one of these relics from before the current onslaught of multiple card companies is always welcome.
The rest of the cards from the eighties range from 1986 until 1989. I didn't collect cards in 1988 or 1989, but I have enough of them to wallpaper my house five times over using only doubles from the main sets. Despite this fact, I still lack cards from this era. Go figure.
The nineties cards are next. The 1990 Topps Traded card of Jack McDowell is great to see. I think I'm the only one who has a soft spot for the 1990 design. It's not the greatest Topps ever produced, but it is unique and it was my reintroduction into my second wave of card collecting.
There are plenty of overproduced cards in this section, but I could find room for more 1990 Fleer and 1991 Donruss. A 1992 Upper Deck card shows Lance Johnson immersed in the National Anthem. That's something you don't see too often on a card.
A 1994 Ron Santo card lists him on the White Sox and shows him in both a White Sox and Cubs uniform. It's a card that I've always assumed was a Cubs card, from the head shot in the lower right hand corner, but it's not. I guess what I always say is true... if you assume you make an ass out of Uma Thurman.
As to be expected, the largest cache of cards is from the past ten years, with the bulk of it coming from 2010 to 2011. This is where the gamble finally pays off.
I have collected a good chunk of the 2011 sets, but my purchasing has been down this year, due to financial limitations. That has put a bit of a cramp in my collecting mojo, but with less sets, it actually hasn't been too bad.
There were a lot of cards in this section that I needed. It filled out a bunch of pesky holes in my 201 collection. But perhaps the biggest surprise was...
A Derek Jeter flip book!
I had mentioned how cool these were and that I hadn't seen any in a long time. Out of the woodwork came news of a set from the past decade that had completely escaped my radar. Cliff was kind enough to include a "surprise" flip book in the package. It has to be one of the coolest things I've seen in awhile.
Thanks, Cliff! It was a great trade, as usual. I can't wait for next year's trade!
Nice pickups... I have a flipbook of A-Rod. Just looked at it recently and really enjoyed it.
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I actually had two of the Jeter Flipp Book. Glad you liked it.
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