Card of the Day: Brian Gray 2012 Leaf Legends of Sport Inscriptions Preview Auto

Card of the Day: Erik Kramer 1996 Pinnacle Laserview Inscriptions Auto

2015 Upper Deck Inscriptions Football Box Break

Alright, the first box I busted while attending the 36th Ephrata Lions Club Sports Card Show was a box of 2015 Upper Deck Inscriptions Football.  I bought it from VSM Sports Card Outlet.  This product looks very nice.  Upper Deck did a great job.  Here are the “hits”:

Autos

• Garrett Grayson
• Andre Davis
• Devin Gardner
• Michael Dyer Red Parallel #’ed/149

The 36th Ephrata Lions Club Sports Card Show

One of the longest running sports card shows in my area is held once a year by the Ephrata Lions Club.  Its held for one day at the Ephrata Rec Center, and they always have an autograph guest.  This was their 36th annual show, and the signer was former Phillies HOF pitcher Steve Carlton.  About 40-50 dealers were setup, and they had many items for their live auction.

The show opened to the public at 8:30 am.  I left around 6:15 am in the middle of a minor unexpected snowstorm.  On the way I passed six car accidents due to the snow.  Luckily none of them slowed down traffic when I was going by.  I arrived at 8:15 am and quickly got in line.  Once the show opened the line moved very quickly.  Inside the show you needed to purchase autograph tickets for Steve Carlton.  The Ephrata Lions Club was only selling 300 tickets, and they went like hotcakes.  After the autograph tickets were obtained, it was time to dive into the show.

During this particular show I was on the lookout for Harry Kalas stuff, bobbleheads, pins, and some 2015 wax to bust.  At first glance I didn’t see too much wax.  The only boxes I saw were some 2015 Topps Series 1, 2015 Topps Opening Day, and 2015 Topps Heritage.  Those products are great, but have way too many base cards for my taste.  My usual wax dealer wasn’t there, but then I came across VSM Sports Card Outlet.  This was the second time I’ve seen VSM Sports Card Outlet at this show.  I purchased a Harry Kalas UD Sweet Spot Auto from them last year.  In addition to some very high-end singles, they also had boxes just fit for me.  I ended up buying three boxes from them – (2) 2015 Leaf Metal Draft Football, and (1) 2015 Upper Deck Inscriptions Football.  I’ll be posting what I pulled from those boxes later, but lets just say I got some fantastic cards 🙂

While walking around a little more I found a 2009 World Series Phillies vs. Yankees pin, and a Reading Phillies Crazy Hot Dog Vendor bobblehead.  I ran into a lot of people I knew too.  That includes the owner of the first card shop I ever went to back in 1997.  I hadn’t seen him in over twelve years.

Overall, it was a great show.  I can see why its been around for thirty-six years.  Now check out the photos.

Phillies HOF pitcher Steve Carlton

Reading Phillies Crazy Hot Dog Vendor bobblehead.  He has to be one of the coolest mascots in all of sports.  Its a hot dog vendor riding an ostrich.  These all came unpainted as you’re suppose to paint them yourself.  I’m leaving mine like this.

THE SHOW!!!

THE SHOW!!!

Card of the Day: Bryce Petty 2015 Upper Deck Inscriptions Gold Parallel Auto

2015 UD Inscriptions – Its Topps Chrome Without The Meaningless Base Cards

Over the last year or so, I’ve become very picky when it comes to opening boxes.  There are certain products I like, but I have to enjoy them from a distance because I don’t want the excess base cards that come along with it.  Let me get one thing clear.  I DON’T like base cards.  They’re meaningless, take up space, and will never be worth anything because they made so many.  The money that is put into printing base cards should be used for something else.  Late last year, I cleaned up my room by throwing away boxes of base cards that have been building up over time.  If I can’t sell it, use it as a contest, or display it on my shelf, that product really isn’t for me.  The only exception to this new rule of mine is if I’m attending the National.  There I will bend the rule a little in order to participate in the promo programs.

One of those products I’ve been watching from a distance is Topps Chrome.  Especially the football version.  Baseball Topps Chrome shouldn’t even exist, and doesn’t carry the impact football does.  I never bought a box of Topps Chrome Football because of all the pointless base.  It looks great, but it just comes with too much stuff I don’t need.

Next month Upper Deck will introduce a new pre-draft product called 2015 Upper Deck Inscriptions.  Each box will have (4) autographs and NO base cards.  Look for a lot of inscriptions with this product.  Three of the cards are considered Silver level autographs, and the fourth is the parallel.  Parallels include Red #’ed/149, Black #’ed/25, and Gold #’ed/10.  To me, this product looks like Topps Chrome but without all the base.  Its actually more of a competitor to Leaf Metal Draft, but it has college logos.  I’m sorry to say that this is probably one of the last CLC licensed products Upper Deck will issue.  Panini is slowly taking over college stuff, in addition to everything else.

Based on what we’ve seen so far, 2015 Upper Deck Inscriptions looks pretty darn good.  Like I said before, I’m picky on what and how often I open products.  There is such little innovation nowadays, product similarity is at and all time high.  This is suppose to be out on March 11, so I might buy a box online or wait until I go to a show near the end of next month.  The box price is around $130.00.

Card of the Day: Geno Smith 2013 Elite Rookie Inscriptions Auto

Card of the Day: Heath Shular 1996 Pinnacle Laserview Inscriptions Auto

Press Pass 2010 Legends Racing Inscriptions

Press Pass Legends is one of the most popular racing products of the year.  The inscriptions are some of the most sought after cards.  Here is a little preview.

Card of the Day: Dan Marino 1997 Pinnacle Inscriptions Auto