Checklist Update: 1990 Star Company

As I am trying to get the perfect Barry Larkin checklist, I am always finding oddball or cards I have missed.  The only versions I knew of was the 1990 base version out of 1989.  There is also a Barry Larkin/Bo Jackson series.  The set of 11 alternates between Barry Larkin and Bo "knows" Jackson.

Perusing through ebay I saw the 1999 ad card.  Which goes into a description for dealers what to expect from the Star Company.  I am not quite sure what the print run of these are.

I also knew about the Star Gold edition from a fellow collector but thought it was just a variation.  However, it is actually it's own nine card set which is out of 1500.  It still has the red border as the original version but "Star" is in a gold holofoil.

There is also another nine card set titled "Nova".  Another nine card set which goes away from the red and has a gold aspect at the bottom and Nova at the top instead of Star.  This set is out of 500

Each has it's own "Promo Card"   They have the normal front with a blank back.

Star Nova Promo out of 100

Star Gold Promo out of 300

Star Promo

I am still learning more about the set, so if anyone knows of any other Larkin sets from this company, please let me know.  I'll be happy to add them.

2017 Mail Day #3

The family and I were on vacation this past week in Atlanta.  It was a great time, but it was great to come home to an amazing pile of bubble mailers with all the new items that have come in while we were gone.

Since there are so many this time around I am only going to hit on the highlights of the packages.  So some will be left out.  To those of you who are curious what was in the largest one was the 2017 Topps Series 1, two box jumbo break I was in.  I had four teams, including the Reds.  Hit both Tigers relics, but not a single Larkin!  Please let me know if you have any series 1 needs, I have plenty of base to get rid of.

2016 Panini Pantheon Metropolis Monuments Relic /99

I saw this card on Facebook's Baseball Collectors-Keeping it Real page.  It has a bat relic of Barry Larkin and Ted Kluszewski, and a Jersey of Frank Robinson, and Ken Griffey Junior.  The price was really fair and was sitting there for almost two days, so I had to take it before a Jr. fan saw it.  I'm not a huge fan of the jersey cuts, but overall a sweet design!

1997 Pinnacle Inside Dueling Dugouts #11 Barry Larkin/ Derek Jeter

Found this on one of Facebook's card auction pages.  Must have been from a Jeter collector because he had several listings and all of them Jeter.  I always love finding Larkin and Jeter on the same card. I played shortstop when I was little and these were the two guys idolized.  Jeter especially as I got to watch him as a Columbus Clipper in 94 and 95 before being called up to the majors. This card is unique as you can flip through the stats!

1998 Topps Tek #57 Barry Larkin, Paterns 11, 55, and 71

Another successful week for the "Ultimate Want List"!  I found these on eBay on three separate listings under the same seller and was able to strike a deal.  He is constantly buying lots of Topps Tek and will keep me updated if he comes across anymore.  I am also currently working on a deal to get one more through another outlet online.

2017 Topps Series 1 Lot

I would not have made it through this week without going after some 2017 items.  I was able to get the Topps Salute and 87 Tribute base.  I also found a bronze buyback.  This is something I am torn about.  I don't like how the card industry is buying back cards and putting stamps on them.  Why would I want something I already have 50 of in the basement?  The other negative is there does not seem to be any sort of a checklist, so I have no idea how many years Barry Larkin is in (already counted four via ebay).  The only positive is I'm a supercollector and try to get as many as unique cards as I possible can.  In the end I boo the card companies for this.

Stay tuned for my next posting.  On the 15th of each month I am going to post a progress report on my 2017 goals.  So everyone please hold me accountable!

Throwing it Back!

Well I didn't get to post the mail day like I was hoping to.  Having a 9 month old can do this to you.  One thing I did learn is 2017 Topps Series 1 is coming out on February 1.  Guess what, Barry Larkin is in it.  He will have 14 unique cards in this series.  They will be honoring the 87 series in a subset.  I really wish they would have saved it for Heritage.

So in honor of the 87 series here is what I have in the 87 collection.

1987 Topps RC

My first Larkin RC and one of the first I had as a kid.  At the time I had no idea who he was and it was just in the stacks of cards I had in my collection that my brother and I played with.  Now I have a countless number of this card as it is one of my favorite Larkin cards of all time.

1987 Topps Tiffany RC

Being a novice collector I had no idea what a Tiffany card was until a few years ago. I figured I would look in my stack of Larkin rookies and sure enough there was one.   I just thought the white card stock were reprints from the 90's when I was a kid.

2010 Topps Cards Your Mom Through Out

The front of this card looks exactly like the original rookie card.  It really through me off when I got one in a break.  There is also a version that has the original back to that I am still looking for.  

In conclusion, I am really looking forward to the 2017 collecting year.  I am hoping that Topps and Panini take a small hiatus of having 100 plus Larkin cards this year, but who am I to tell the people what they want.

Midwest Sports Spectacular!

Went to my first Midwest Sports Spectacular at the Ohio Expo Center today.  I knew there was going to be various athletes there for autograph sessions throughout the day and a card show.   I was not going to pay the additional fees that were required for autographs, so I was going for the card show.

Unfortunately,  I was very disappointed.  Thinking with this being in the Expo Center that this would be a HUGE event, but instead it was in about half the building and only a handful of tables for the card show.  They did have some big names for the autograph sessions so I guess that was the main draw for the event.

I told myself I was going to stick to my 2017 goals and only go after cards I needed, or if I found a Chris Sabo bobble for my coworker. Here is my haul for the day.

1992 Kahn's Reds Team Set

I was not expecting to go after team sets today, but a seller had sets at $3 a pop, so I grabbed all the ones I didn't have, which was two.  My end goal with this PC is to collect a set from 1988-Present.  Once this goal is accomplished, I will start working backwards.  I know this will become a pricey endeavor.

1995 Kahn's Reds Team Set

Same as above. Does anyone else remember Davey Johnson being manager of the Reds? I had to do my research as I was not a big baseball fan in the early/mid 90's.  Apparently he won a World Series with the Mets.  He had a 204-172-1 record in three seasons with the Reds.  I sometimes forget how good we were back then after so much losing in the 2000's.

1992 Topps Gold Winners #465B Barry Larkin

I was surprised to find this in a $1 box as I was sorting through cards.  For starters, I did not realize they made a corrected version of this card.  465A  had Larkin playing for the Astros.  I actually had to add this card to my master list.  

In the end I was happy I was able to stick to my list and get a few cards I needed.  

Stay tuned tomorrow as I will be doing a week long mail day post.  I had a lot of fun items come to the mailbox this week.  

2017 Mail Day #2

This mail day actually should have been #1 but it was so large I just now finished processing it.  About six months ago I created a "Barry Larkin Collectors" page on Facebook.  It is not very large as we have only 6 members in it.

One of our newest members and I compared lists.  He has slightly over 1300 as I am closer 1200 cards.  So we did a massive trade of our duplicates and I got close to 50 cards!  Here are some of the highlights of the massive stack.

It is getting harder and harder to find cards I don't have.  So those rare inserts are always nice to see in a large stack all at once.

My friend Philip did manage to hit a couple of cards on the Ultimate Want List as well.

1998 Topps Tek #57, Patterns 14 and 26

It was nice to knock out two more cards from the set of 90 variations.  This is my first accomplishment on the UWL in 2017.  I think I'm closer to 75 cards remaining in the set.

Some of you are probably wondering if I'm just going to be talking about Larkin on this blog.  The answer is more often than not as it is my main focus.  However, I am excited to be watching my CBJ beating Carolina 4-1 in the second period. 

I am also going to the Midwest Sports Spectacular at the Ohio Expo Center this weekend.  Hoping to knock out a few more on my lists.  Hope to see some of you there!

2017 Mail Day # 1

Today came the very first mail day of 2017 for me (surprised it took me this long).  To no surprise it was a couple of Barry Larkin cards.

1992 Score 7-11 Coin

I was able to get this through a trade via Facebook.  This was the final card I needed to complete the Score series in 1992 so I was very excited when I came across this card.  I always liked the design of the older cards of his.

1997 Flair Showcase "Hot Gloves"

This was a purchase via eBay.  One of the cards I am sure I paid too much money for, but has been so elusive I just had to have it.  The late 90's die-cuts were always a favorite of mine growing.  I still have several non-Reds to this day I keep in the PC.  This is card #8 in a series of 15.  This specific sub-set has several HOF and probably a few more down in the future will see Cooperstown too.

1 Roberto Alomar
2 Barry Bonds
3 Juan Gonzalez
4 Ken Griffey, Jr.
5 Marquis Grissom
6 Derek Jeter
7 Chipper Jones
8 Barry Larkin
9 Kenny Lofton
10 Greg Maddux
11 Mike Piazza
12 Cal Ripken, Jr.
13 Alex Rodriguez
14 Ivan Rodriguez
15 Frank Thomas

The Ultimate Want List

As I am in the process making this an active blog I have created a page title the ULTIMATE WANT LIST!  This page is going to contain the parts of the collection I am actively striving to complete.  Yes I have my need list, but this is what I am actively seeking out. 

Keep an eye out for updates!

Welcome 2.0!

I am back!  After completely forgetting that I started this blog in hopes to expanding my collection and connecting with others in the hobby I am looking to upstart again.  A lot has happen both in my hobby and personal life since 2014.

I once again can call Central Ohio home.  We moved back from the Toledo area roughly two years ago to be closer with family.  During this span I happily have become a father of a baby girl.  She has truly changed my prospective on life.

From a hobby prospective my office has exploded with cards over the last few years.  I clearly lost focus on my main collecting goals trying to achieve several projects at once.  However, my Barry Larkin collection has grown exponentially to nearly 1,200 cards.  Due to the current problem of too many cards in the office I have decided that 2017 is going to be a downsizing year and to focus on the following goals:

Goal 1, Downsizing My Collection:  This may seem obvious, but I truly need to downsize.  Eventually my office is going to become a playroom, so having boxes and stacks of cards is not ideal.  I plan on selling/trading off a lot so if there is something specific you are looking for let me know!

Goal 2, Focusing on my Personal Collection:  I am going to make myself stay focused on what I collect and not go after every shiny object I see.  This will be one of my hardest aspects to achieve but I am up for the task.  Here is a listing of what I PC:

• Barry Larkin Cards
• Kahn's Red's Team Sets
• Topps NOW Reds Cards
• Joey Votto Topps Gold Border Cards
• Steelers Team Sets
• Blue Jackets Team Sets

Goal 3, Increasing my Barry Larkin Collection:  Seeing that I'm closing in the 1,200 unique Barry Larkin cards I think I should set a number of cards I would like to achieve by 2018.  As it is getting harder and more expensive to find cards I don't have I think 1,300 is a realistic goal. This will mean I will roughly need eight new cards per month.  My goal is to track my incoming cards via this blog.

Goal 4, This Blog:  Seeing that I have forgotten about this blog until recently my goal is to post at least one post per week.  I can't promise I will be writing a book each time, but I would like to post enough just to keep things interesting.  I am also going to change how I have it set up to be more user friendly.

In summary, here is to a great card collecting 2017!