Friday, September 28, 2012

Mike Bossy Auto

Buying online, unauthenticated autos can be dangerous and risky business. Not so much dangerous for you personally, but spending hard earned cash on a fake is equivalent to murdering your own money. I have seen countless autos on line that just seem far too fake or far too risky to chance my hard earned money on.

However, over a year ago I wrote Mike Bossy and thus far have had no response. I can't remember if I mentioned Wayne Gretzky in my letter or not, but if I did, rumour has it I will never see those cards again. Anyway, an auto that I did have some confidence in did pop up online from a seller I trust.

So for 99 cents plus shipping, I landed an auto I believe to be authentic of one of the best snipers the game has ever seen!


Oddly enough, there is an actual autographed insert from this set featuring Mike Bossy, but this isn't one of those cards. Those cards are numbered by hand on the front, where this card clearly isn't. I like the auto and you can see the stop points on the signature all make sense and the signature is very similar to most other Bossy autos I have seen online.

I am glad I bought this one and for what I paid it was worth the risk, but upon seeing it in person, I am very confident that it is a legit auto, although if it is a fake....it is a pretty good one!

Does anyone else take the occasional chance on an unauthenticated auto online? If so, what are your success stories?

Thursday, September 27, 2012

When a hit, isn't much of a hit - Lauri Tukonen

 A little while back, I saw a really neat repackage product at Toys R Us. In the packs (which cost 10 bucks), you got a variety of oversized cards, including a pack of 08-09 OPC Oversize and two packs of 07-08 Black Diamond. When you look at the package, you can see what one of the oversized cards were (all were from the 07-08 Victory set), so I picked one pack with John Cheechoo. Since I have met him, I figured it would be good luck!

I looked at all my oversize cards and there was one that was pretty exciting, an 07-08 OPC Oversize Sidney Crosby! Not a bad hit, books for 40 bucks and certainly is nice. But what this post is really about is what I found in the 07-08 Black Diamond packs. The first pack was boring, all single diamond base cards. The second pack had a card I have never seen before!

07-08 Black Diamond Gold Lauri Tukonen /10


This card is a hit right? It is numbered to 10, but really I guess it could be numbered to 1 still be as unattractive to me as a numbered card out of 10. Don't get me wrong, I am not hating, after all I do own his autographed future watch card too! However, he is a former 1 round bust who is as close to coming back to the NHL as I am to getting into the NHL. He has played exactly 1 more NHL game since this card came out and that was 5 seasons ago. 

So, would you rather pull this card, or a base card? I think in the end, I am a little happier with this card than a base card, but I would gladly have had an autograph of a nobody or a game used card of a New York Ranger than this card :(

Let me know what you think, would this be a hit to you? Would you have been elated to land Lauri?

However, as a side note, the card is a curiosity to some degree as I have never seen this parallel in person before, and maybe that is enough to satisfy me....but still this does make an interesting debate..

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Back Checking - 59/60 Topps Alex Delvecchio

I don't know if it is all the posts I am reading about other people's PC's or what, but I have caught a case of Delvecchio-itis and I am tracking down cards from his playing days with a little more effort. I don't think I am going to go too crazy with getting all these post-career cards that companies are putting out on a daily basis it seems, but I am trying to go after all his cards from 51-75 and maybe a few special inserts (relics and autos) from after his playing days.

This week, I am killing two birds with one stone by sharing another Delvecchio addition and a card back that is just down right cool.

59-60 Topps Alex Delvecchio #8
Condition wise, this card has seem some action, but is crease-free and not abused. The front is pretty simple, very retro looking and a little similar to what some companies are copying these days as a retro design.

Back side

Here is where the gold lies! Look at this back, the red colouring is a nightmare to try and keep pristine and it is FULL of cool facts and tid-bits. Look at the first sentence, "Baby-faced cigar smoker, Alex won Lady Byng Trophy last season on strength of good start." You don't see that on cards these days! Can you imagine a card from the 80's talking about Mario enjoying a smoke after the game? Statistically, the 6 penalty minutes jumps out at me as being pretty low! Sure back then there weren't many goons really, but everyone took a few penalties here and there...obviously not Alex. Alex finished his 24 year career with only 383 penalty minutes, which when compared with a player like Wayne Gretzky had played less games and still had nearly 200 more minutes despite winning 5 Lady Byng Trophies!

 Even the trivia question on the card is just down right cool with the comic to go with it. In case you were wondering, my limited french skills tells me that there is no mention of the Cigar smoking which is interesting in itself. Instead, it goes into a tiny bit more detail on the position switching over the summer.

In all, another fun card and another card closer to completing my Alex Delvecchio collection. I hope to get a few more posts up on Alex and then I will put up a want list.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

1953-54 Parkhurst - Milt Schmidt

The 12th card I have added to my 53-54 Parkhurst set might be the nicest card I will ever land for the set in terms of condition. I have cropped the card to show what the corners look like and really they are the only flaw on an otherwise flawless card. Even the price I paid was excellent and I would do it again in a heart-beat. I am trying to make sure that most of my cards for this set are around VG or higher, but sometimes when you get the lot deals it is hard to pass up nailing several off the list while sacrificing some condition. Either way, this card will certainly improve my overall set average thus far and I have a few more to share in the coming weeks.

53-54 Parkhurst #92 Milt Schmidt
 As you can see from the front, nice colouring, an awesome card and the second card I have featuring a Bruins captain from that season. The corners have a tiny bit of wear when you look at them up close, but they are pretty sharp!

Back side
The back side is also clean, a little aging on the back, but that is pretty typical of a card from 60 years ago. This card is from Milt's third last season and if you look at his numbers from that year, he was still playing some good hockey at the age of 35.

I love this card and I really am getting into this set more and more! I am sure a few are getting sick and tired of hearing it, but I might even finish this set before the 51 set. Time will tell, but I am catching up with the other set 24 from the 51 set (1 new one to share) and 18 from the 53 set (6 more to share).

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this card as much as I did, it has also inspired me to try and track down a Milt Schmidt auto! Guys like him are true treasures and won't be around for much longer!

Friday, September 21, 2012

OPC/Topps Blank Back - OG Style

 Well a little while back I had a few moments to flip through some of my random mystery boxes and I found something I didn't even know existed.

Anyone collecting OPC in the last few years knows UD makes a blank back version of the base cards and makes them rather rare to pull, but what I didn't really know was that blank backs had been around long before that. Here is an example.
Front side, seems normal enough, condition is excellent-ish

Back side.....blank as my mind some days
So are these rare, are these done on purpose? Those are questions I don't have the answer to. I know that blank backs in modern cards are done on purpose to try and give those PC collectors more chase cards, but  was the purpose back in 1979 when these cards were made? Or was this card an error or misprint.

If you look on eBay, you will see many blank back cards from the 50's-present day and those seem much more plentiful that I could have ever imagined. Personally, I never pulled one of these from back in the day or in present-day products.

The questions I have are:

Are blank backs from the 90's and previous rare?
Were they made on purpose or are they an accident?
Are they valuable in any way?

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Dan Bouchard Auto - Everyone who likes hockey should own one!

Dan Bouchard in my opinion has one of the most enjoyable signatures out there of any pro athlete. He doesn't sign every card the same way too which is even better! Here is an example from the BTP release last season.



He begins with a bible passage from the book of Psalm and adds a nice little smiley face in his D and the script of the signature itself is clear and crisp. I have seen him use other quotes and almost had another signature from a different release, but the bidding got far too high for my taste.

Dan was a pretty solid goalie for the better part of the 70's and early 80's. In his career of 14 NHL seasons, Dan won 286 games and posted 27 shutouts which was pretty good for a period of time in which scoring was definitely up in the NHL. His 286 wins are good enough for 32nd on the all-time list and are more than HOF'ers like Bernie Parent, Gary Cheevers and Johnny Bower.

I think just about any hockey collector can appreciate both the skill he had on the ice and the effort that he appears to throw into his signatures and to me, this is a must own. This auto set me back around 6 dollars with shipping on eBay, but it was totally worth it!


For those interested, here is the passage Dan references, sure it isn't what Julius from Pulp Fiction, but it is still pretty cool:


O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.

For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.

Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.

Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God!
Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men.
For they speak against You wickedly;
Your enemies take Your name in vain.
Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.

-This was taken from Biblegateway.com





A Huge Thanks to '67ers

As some of you know, my LCS shop bought someone's collection and began liquidating everything as fast as they cool. Stuff was priced to sell and often unsorted to some degree. As I shared my experience with a 79-80 Topps box, '67ers from Diamond Cuts and Wax Stains was curious if there were other boxes that might contain similar treasures. He contacted me and asked if I could look, so I did and reported back what the cost would be and cost to ship and he was more than willing to pay those prices so the deal was done. I wasn't interested in cutting myself in on handling fees or anything like that, I just wanted to help out my LCS and '67ers wanted to have the same fun I had. Well as they say, no good deed goes unpunished, here is what arrived in my mailbox a week or two later...

Pure Vintage Goodness!!!
65-66 Topps Bill Gadsby
 An amazing defenseman who was ranked 99th all-time by the original The Hockey News top 100 players of all-time in 1998. He didn't post offensive numbers like Orr, but gave 100% every shift and could punish you both on the scoresheet and on the ice. According to Legends of Hockey, he had an insurance policy which paid him 5 dollars for each stitch he took playing hockey and with over 600 stitches in the face, he had two incomes!

70-71 OPC J.P Parise
 Another awesome card, this one of Zach's father. Shame he departed for the land of 10 000 lakes, but J.P will best be remember by me for what he did at the '72 Summit Series and for having grown up two towns over from where I lived in High School.

68-69 OPC Jacques Lemaire
Maybe the best coach in Devils history, this card is from VERY early in Lemaire's career. I believe this is his second year card, with his rookie coming from the lone set the year before 67-68 Topps.

71-72 OPC Jacques Lemaire
Here is a slightly older Lemaire from the Iconic 71/72 OPC set.


65-66 Topps Elmer Vasko
Here is another card from the 65-66 Topps set and MAN O MAN, is it in amazing shape. This card has corners that can put an eye out and the centering isn't too shabby either. Vasko was a beast and even though he didn't put up the same offensive numbers as Gadsby, he was a two-time NHL second-team all-star.

What an amazing selection of cards and all cards I didn't own! The condition and selection of cards '67ers sent me was awesome and I really really appreciate the gesture! Thank you very much and I still am enjoying them!

Monday, September 17, 2012

Marcus Kruger Autos

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have actually gone out trying to get a few more Rookie Treasures rookies because I do like the design and they can be had for pretty reasonable prices considering what you get, player worn, /499 and autographed. I actually doubled-down on a pair of Marcus Kruger Rookie Treasure cards and an additional Kruger auto. 

Here is the Rookie Treasure. I don't need to scan both of them because both swatches and autos look very similar. If anyone is interested in one of them, I am sure I can part with one.


This auto is way more bad-ass! I love the photo, the auto is on card and it is numbered out of 50. The more and more I look at this one, it is by far a superior card and since I won't likely be buying any boxes of Prime, I think buying singles of cards like this one above are the way to go! Just a great card in terms of feel, photography and design.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Sakic Patch

Just when it seems like I have uncovered every good deal and gem at my LCS, I end up turning over another rock and find myself another. 

09-10 Artifacts Joe Sakic Frozen Artifacts Blue Patch/Jersey /25
 
I have always liked Artifacts and when I have bought packs I generally have done OK, but never pulled a card like this one! My LCS had this baby in the display case with a price of just 15 bucks! Talk about priced to move, with packs generally running in the 10 dollar range, this is a steal. The card is the blue version of the Frozen Artifacts insert set which includes a patch piece and a jersey piece and is just numbered to 25.

What I like most about the card is the beautiful three colour patch you get. The silver glimmers in the light, the blue pops nicely and the white has a pretty neat texture to it. This baby was easily worth three times what I paid for it to me and the card easily is one of the better patch cards in my collection. Having not owned any game-used Joe Sakic memorabilia to this point, I sort of think this card was a long over-due purchase.

Friday, September 14, 2012

11/12 Rookie Anthology Box Break - The Rookies

With the big hits all out of the way, there was still 6 other packs with rookies in them. Here they are in no particular order. 

Each box usually has one of these rookies from the Contenders release. 
Not sure if Harry Z was a big threat for the Calder trophy, but he did make it to the NHL and suited up for half a season so that is saying something. Harry also got himself into a little hot water a few years back with a video camera and a young lady. I guess the past is behind him and he could have an NHL future if the league ever resumes.


Each box usually has like 4 of these Pinnacle rookies featuring their Nufex technology.
True these cards are much nicer than a decoy or a 10 cent off coupon, but fact of the matter is, there really isn't much value in these cards which makes shelling out 12 bucks a pack and ending up with this as your hit a bit depressing. But at the same time, getting 4 in a box in addition to the other hits does feel a little more like icing on the cake. Nilsson joins a long line of Islander goaltenders to have played since DiPietro was drafted.


Dylan Olsen is not a household name yet and may never score more NHL goals than he has fingers in a season, but he is dependable and as a former first round pick will have expectations of being a steady defenseman who can chew up some NHL minutes. So far in 28 NHL games he does have an assist, and there are likely more of those to come.


Cody was a former member of team Canada at the 2011 WJHC and I just loved seeing him play. He does a little bit of everything on the ice and even though he may not put up the same offensive numbers he did in junior, I think he could be a solid top-6 NHL'er some day.



Speaking of the Canadian World Juniors, here is another! As far as rookies go, these last two were fun additions to an already cool box.


Crown Royale update rookies fall around 1 per box as well and I think I landed one of the better ones.
Andrew Shaw only played about half the season, but still managed a great rookie campaign. Andrew actually had the 4th highest ppg average among rookies who played at least 30 games. Only the three Calder finalists had higher ppg averages.



Wednesday, September 12, 2012

11/12 Rookie Anthology Box Break - Hit by Hit 5

The last hit of the box was one I was expecting. Not necessarily Colin Greening, but I was expecting a Rookie Treasures. I am a fan of the cards, they look neat and they utilize both Relic and Sticker technology which are actually arranged in a eye pleasing format. I have since also picked up a few other Rookie Treasures, but that is for another day.


11/12 Rookie Anthology Rookie Treasures #122 Colin Greening /499
As far as the card goes, I like it a lot. As far as the player goes, there certainly are much worse rookies to be had in the 11/12 crop. Colin was a bit of a late bloomer and played his first full NHL season at the tender age of 25. He did put up some nice numbers 17 goals and 37 points and I think he could be a 20 goal, 50 point guy in the NHL. Given his age, he may only play 8-10 years but that too is a pretty decent number and no reason why he can't carve out a solid career. I already have one auto Greening rookie so landing a second wasn't as exciting as it might have been, but I think Panini did a pretty solid job with this set which was why I bought a second box and grabbed a few more Rookie Treasures cards.

Well that is it for hits, I have one more post to go where I will share my other rookie hits and then I will just do the second box in one post because it wasn't anywhere near as cool as this one was.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

11/12 Rookie Anthology Box Break - Hit by Hit 4

The second last "hit" turned a pretty good box into an amazing box. Not necessarily a card that will make many jealous, but a card that I personally love and will hold onto no matter what. I ended up with this gem:

11/12 Pinnacle Starting Six Oilers /200
This card isn't officially numbered, but according to the Beckett magazine it is limited to 200 copies. Anyone who reads the occasional post on here knows I am a big Eberle fan, but not only did I get Eberle, I got The Nuge, and Teubert. I love every aspect of this card, I like that they crammed 6 swatches on here, I like that my six swatches are all unique in texture and colour and the best part I think I have all the different colours that appear on an Oilers jersey minus that patch. I love that I have Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins together and apart from being a Devils starting 6, I don't think this card could have been meant for anyone else but me. Truly a perfect hit for the right person! Still one more hit to go and the rest of the rookies, stay tuned!

Monday, September 10, 2012

11/12 Rookie Anthology Box Break - Hit by Hit 3

Hit three was as exciting as it was disappointing. It appears this season, I have the curse of the Canadiens as any of my cool rookie hits appear to be Habs. This marks my SECOND Certified Rookie to play in Quebec and joining Aaron Palushaj  is Raphael Diaz. I absolutely love the design of the Certified rookies, but I am not even close to the biggest Canadiens fan on the planet. 

The only extra perk from this hit is it is /99. I guess in the Rookie Anthology release they made a few of the Certified rookies SSP and this counts as one of them. I don't know why Diaz stickers would be hard to come by, but at least there is a little more "value" in this hit than some of the other Certified rookies. With that being said, I certainly would consider trading this hit!


Sunday, September 9, 2012

11/12 Rookie Anthology Box Break - Hit by Hit 2

Here is my second hit from the box, a rookie rivalry card featuring two decent prospects Cody Hodgson and Marcus Kruger. I like the concept of the dual rookie cards and we all know that Vancouver and Chicago have had some run-ins in the last few years. I think the concept is cool because this could be a marquee match-up in coming seasons, but Cody is now in Buffalo and some other "Rivalry" combinations are a little lame. I guess it was a case of Panini taking a good idea, and running too far with it. 

Anyway, I think the concept does work well here and I am very pleased to have these two youngsters as my second hit in the box.


11/12 Rookie Anthology Box Break - Hit by Hit 1

When it was announced that Rookie Anthology was going to be released and the idea of a one-hit per pack approach was going to be used I was intrigued. After seeing a few breaks online, I decided I needed a box for myself. I really enjoy the concept of a rookie focus release as well as an update for many other releases. The base set isn't too shabby either, anyway lets take a look.

Base card design
Here is the front side. Nice glossy photo with a smart use of gold foil. The cards look premium and feel that way too. 100 card base set makes this attempt-able, but after two boxes and some help, I am still a little away from finishing it.

Back side
Here is the back of the card, they have 11-12 statistical information on an 11-12 product. I don't know if the traditionalist in me likes this or not, but the design is decent with lots of information and a certain "Certified" feel to go along with it.

Each box boasts 4 hits plus a bonus hit. In addition to those hits you should also walk away with another 6 rookie cards from products like Pinnacle, Playoff Contenders, Crown Royale etc.

I began my break with my bonus pack and wow did I ever like how it began:

11-12 Limited Banner Season Brad Marchand /25
 This is an on-card, game-used auto of a player who is both hated and loved in Nova Scotia. I like the design and layout of this card and the fact that it is really rare at just 25 copies increases its appeal to me. Not a bad start to this box!

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Bribe - Anze Kopitar Spx Rookie

In my household, my wife sometimes likes to exploit my addiction by offering me bribes. For instance, if there is a job she really really doesn't want to do, but it is her responsibility to do it, she will offer up cash to avoid doing it. Funny I know, but it works for our relationship. The other day, there was a circumstance where she really really wanted out of her responsibilities and offered up some cash and that is what this post is all about

We are currently at the stage where we have outgrown the home we are currently living in, so we are in the process of selling our home. With all that being said, we have lots of little jobs that need attending to and one of them was getting a Real Estate agent. We called a few Agents in and made our selection based on the interviews. However, in the process, my wife had spent more time than usual talking to one agent prior to our decision and it was her job to break up with this agent. Well, she wanted nothing to do with that job and immediately offered up 20 bucks if I would do it for her. 

I am no expert on break ups, in fact I have broken up with very few individuals in my life, primarily because I usually like being the nice guy and I will take the fall rather than cause the fall if you know what I mean. However, I am a pretty good teacher and I have lots of parent-teacher experience and I know how to deliver both good and bad news so I guess this comes a little more naturally for me than my wife. With a twenty for incentive, I told her, Deal! Turns out it wasn't that easy of a break up because I had to do it through a voice mail message and then she called back wondering why and then I had to call her back etc., but in the end it was pretty harmless and our reasons for going with someone else were very valid and not personal. Now armed with twenty bucks, I headed to my LCS and nabbed this beauty which has been taunting me for a little while:


06/07 SPX #179 Anze Kopitar Rookie /1299
The photo of Anze is horrible, but it is a relatively limited rookie (compared to UD Base or Victory) and is autographed. The price was 30 on the card so with the twenty and a ten of my own I purchased this baby! I have mentioned in previous posts I am a big fan and this card was on my to-do list for sometime so having to do a little dirty work paid off and now I can enjoy this card for years to come!

As an aside, there was a new mystery box at the LCS which I nabbed for 10 bucks and there was some pretty sweet treasures in that box. But, I guess I will share that another day!


Wednesday, September 5, 2012

One Card Challenge - Puck Junk

Sal over at puckjunk.com has an amazing contest offer where everybody wins! Basically you can help other collectors by finishing off that one card they are missing from there set (a Karma win), you can list cards you are missing and collectors can help you with that one card you are missing (collection win) and finally Sal is generously giving away awesome prizes (bonus win!). 

Click the card below to see more about the contest and go and complete those sets!


Right-click and save this image

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Eric Lindros Patch - Deal of the Summer

With all the new additions to my collection, this is likely the biggest in terms of "value" and also the best deal of the summer. Upon first inspection, the card seems like millions of other patch cards out there from the last 12 years of production.

What makes this card special on closer inspection are the fine details. First off, this features a nice patch that actually is 4 colours. Blue, Silver, Red and Grey. The upper left looks greyish in the scan, but is actually silver. This patch apparently came from the 01-02 season  when Eric was wearing one of New York's third jerseys. That season was the last of Eric's strong seasons (37 goals and 73 points) before his unfortunate decline in production.

The second feature is the gold foil and the card is numbered out of 88. What makes this significant, is this is from the 02-03 Prism McDonald's Hockey set. Patches in this set were produced based on the numbers 250 and the players number. For example, 250 Eric Lindros patch cards were produced, 88 being of the gold variety (his playing number) and 162 silver versions were also made.

What was the biggest surprise to me when I bought this card for 9 dollars was the book value when I brought it home and checked the Beckett Bible was 200 dollars. That was a very pleasant surprise, however, I just loved this card when I saw it and the price was more than fair regardless of BV. But, I would be lying if I said that little bonus didn't just make it that much more sweet.

Of course if a hardcore Lindros fan came along and offered be equivalent BV in trade, I would take it, but all the same I would have definitely paid more than 9 bucks for this card without knowing its BV.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Panini NPN - People actually do win something

When it comes to NPN ( No purchase necessary) entries, I have literally no luck. For years I have entered countless ones with UD and for years I received nothing in return. At least with UD, they don't require any postage or cost to enter, they are just literally an online entry and that is that. To be honest, I don't even know if UD does these any more as I have long given up hope.

However, this past fall, I bought a blaster of 11-12 Pinnacle. The results were very under-whelming as my hit was a dude and I got no rookies that interested me. But upon reading the package of the cards, I could see that they offer a mail-in offer for free cards NPN. So I did get a chance to try and improve my poor box by entering the draw for additional cards. Of course, there is a limit of 2 per household so I sent in my two and waited.

I figured since it had been many months that there was no way I had won, but sure enough in July a little treat arrived!

11-12 Panini Pinnacle Game Night Stephane Da Costa Prime /50 

Not a bad card from an upcoming player and arguably already one of the better players to ever come from France. This card is a prime swatch which features a nice seam of black and white that bulges from the card!