Sometimes you need to pick up a second copy of a card you already have...

Ok, maybe you don't need to, but have you ever done so? In the world of autographs, serial numbers and memorabilia swatches sometimes no two cards are alike and in this case that is definitely true which is why I went and picked up a second copy of this card:

13-14 Panini Prime Adam Henrique Prime Skates /25

So I guess of the print run of 25 I own 8%! My first one I picked up a few years ago when the product was first released and it featured just a black piece of his skate with no markings or writing. Then I saw this one a little while back and what a beauty. I love seeing the lace holes, my only complaint is the missing metal but what the hey, it's still very cool. Both cards are neat in their own way and together work very well in my collection if you ask me!

Thanks for stopping by and hope your NHL team is off the the start you were hoping for!

13-14 Prime Mark Arcobello Rookie /25 (Trade bait?)

Here is another twitter trade acquisition. I got this from someone in a pretty big blockbuster trade and I wanted the card initially because I like the kid and I have a soft spot for the Oilers as far as Canadian teams go. 

Check out the swatches. A two colour patch, a two colour jersey, a white jersey and a piece of the fight strap! Nice on card auto, but sadly a little chipping on the far side. I didn't notice the chipping when then scans were sent prior to trade but the swatches more than make up for it.

13-14 Prime Mark Arcobello Rookie /25

So what to do with this card now? Since the trade, Mark has been waived from Nashville and Edmonton and has landed in Pittsburgh. I like this landing spot because it means he could get a chance to just play offense which is his best trait. However, Pittsburgh also means that many teams passed on him during the waiver process and unless he starts performing he could be in his last NHL stop. I am hopeful things will work out and in the meantime I can enjoy this card. However, since he is out of Edmonton the draw to own this is a little less and I certainly can make it available to anyone who might be a die-hard Arco fan or Pittsburgh/Nashville fan.

13-14 Prime Jon Merrill Prime Time Rookies Jersey Auto /25

This was a simple twitter trade one for one. Jon I have posted about before is a part of the Devils youth movement on the back end. Younger goalie, younger d-men, now we just need to work on the forwards. Lots of talent in the minors but it will be a few more years before Lou believes in them (assuming he will be around).

I am pleased with the coaching changes and Stevens is the right man to be working with these kids. Let them go out and make mistakes so they can learn from them. We are pretty much toast this year anyway, why not get better through practice and game situations?

13-14 Prime Jon Merrill Prime Time Rookies Jersey Auto /25

Nothing super special about this card but then again there was nothing really special about the card I sent either. Just a simple 1 for 1 which are sometimes nice trades to make!

My other awesome Twitter trade over the summer

While my last trade post mentioned someone who wrote me up about trading, this post is about a trade I initiated myself. During the dog days of summer I had a chance to really be active on twitter which has pretty much ground to a halt now that school is back in session. However, during that time I saw a retweet by Upper Deck which involved a collector named Jeff who likes to break ultra high-end cards. He is chasing the Rookie Bookmark set from the 11/12 The Cup set so he bought some boxes and shared the results. In his break he hit a Devils rookie I had been trying to find on the cheap and I decided to contact him if he would be willing to trade it. 

He was more than willing and we were able to come up with a pretty good deal for both sides. Not long after he has hit more Devils cards and I was able to make a second trade with him as a result. Here are the cards I got from my two trades with Jeff.

 11/12 The Cup Adam Larsson Auto Patch Rookie /249

Sure it is a plain white patch but what do you expect from a Devils emblem! It features lots of white.


07/08 Upper Deck Sweet Shot Martin Brodeur Sweet Stiches /299

This was a throw in by Jeff to balance out our first trade. The card became much more significant when I traded a few of my Brodeur game-used away to Tom a few weeks after getting this card. I am now on the hunt for a Brodeur Auto Patch that I hope to land someday in the next year or so.

13/14 Panini Prime Prime Jon Merrill Prime Time Rookies /25

A little chipping on the card is a downer, but numbered to 25 and an on card auto are all awesome pluses! This isn't my first Merrill card and I doubt it will be my last either!


So a couple trades down already and maybe even more in the future with Jeff. Thanks for two great trades Jeff and I wish you the best of luck with your Rookie Bookmarks.