14-15 ITG The Vault Larry Robinson Auto & Jersey 1/1 (Or when a 1/1 is manufactured)

Ok, the hobby does some strange things in order to make a dollar and some times I think it has gone a little too far. I am curious to know your thoughts on this one. ITG had a release in the past year called The Vault where a bunch of cards were bought back, labelled and redistributed with the idea that they were rare and unique (1/1). So here is one example of such card that I picked up this past summer. 

14-15 ITG The Vault Larry Robinson Auto Jersey 1/1

This card was originally from one of the Superlative releases and features a nice on the card auto and a small piece of a Montreal Canadiens sweater. If you look at the upper right you will see the card was defaced with a ruby foil job and the numbering of 1/1. There are 49 other cards out there just like this one but they don't have the ruby foiling. So the question is, does my Larry Robinson card deserve to be more expensive and highly regarded than the other 49 non-ruby foiled copies?

I personally am not sure if it is any more special than it's other brothers but thankfully I was able to purchase this for probably cheaper than the other 49 sold for so I might be inclined to think the foil job actually decreased the value of this card. While I personally don't consider this card a 1/1, I do consider it a nice auto game used card of a Hall of Famer who once coached the Devils to a couple cups and am proud to have it in my collection.  

08-09 SPx Winning Materials Hull and Hawerchuk

Normally I write something before the card, but not today. Check out that card. What are your thoughts? Anything surprising? Arguably two of the best players to ever wear the jersey (Selanne is in that discussion too). Swatches are small, but hey, these are two Hall of Famers here! Jersey swatches are different! Can you believe one is game used and the other is event used? Probably, UD loves doing that. But, it turns out the Hull is the game used and Hawerchuk is event used. As it stands, in my Hawerchuk collection, I now have 2 event used and 3 game used Hawerchuk swatches. But more importantly, I have my first game used Hull! Best part, you can't see this on the card but I paid 2 bucks! Never in a million years did I expect to get it but I did. Would you pay that price knowing one is essentially a fake? At the time I didn't know it was a fake but the swatch on the Hull looked very real to me and that is why I pulled the trigger. I know have Bobby Hull autos and a Bobby Hull game used. I do hope to get his rookie some day so I will hold off on the HOF post for now....but that will be a pretty tall order!

Complete Hall of Fame PC - Paul Coffey

Given this size and this scope of this PC. I want to try and formalize how I present it. This is my first attempt and I am hopeful that I get it right the first time and don't have to tinker with it too much. As some of you know, my plan is to get at least 2 out of 3 key cards in a HOF player's career. My plan is to try and own a rookie card, an autographed card and/or a game used card. In some cases a rookie card might be too far out of my reach so I will gladly settle for an auto and a game used. In other cases, an autograph might be nearly impossible so I will have to chase a game used and a rookie. 

With many of the modern players (1980 to present, I will do everything I can to try and go 3 of 3). 

While I have a number of these "done" I am planning on starting from scratch and sharing them in a common format.

What is complete: In the case of Paul Coffey I was able to go 3 for 3.

Card 1: 1981-82 OPC Rookie

This is a card I had for a while, mailed it away to be signed TTM and never saw it again. I was able to buy another to replace it and I just tried to get one in the same condition as the last. Some day I hope to get the set and then maybe get a copy in better shape but for now this is more than fine for me!

Card 2: 2012-13 Artifacts Paul Coffey Auto Black /5

Currently this is my first and only Paul Coffey auto. I do plan on getting his 97-98 BAP one someday since I am working on that set but this is definitely a nice card to have as part of his PC. I am a little sad Upper Deck put a sticker meant for an Oilers card (#7) instead of a Penguins card (#77) but I guess the sticker monkey wasn't too concerned. 

Card 3: 13-14 Upper Deck Game Jersey Paul Coffey

Here is a nice solitary jersey swatch in plain white. It could have been from his Pittsburgh days, at least that is what I am pretending. Just a cool shot of him playing from the 91-92 season which was a Cup winning season if memory serves me right.

Card 4: Bonus! 10-11 ITG Decades 80's For Your Country Silver /30

The only card I actually pack pulled! This one is an Oilers swatch and an old one at that. Love the colour contrast with the other swatches on this one plus the low print run and the multiple HOF'ers. Safe to say this one card will be pulling more than double duty!

Paul's Career:

Paul had a fantastic NHL and International career which made him a shoo-in for the HOF. He has a number of NHL records and I like to think he was my era's Bobby Orr. He didn't change the game for defenseman because Bobby and others already did that but he did dominate his position and that was evident by his career totals, 3 Norris trophies and his many untouchable records for a defenseman. I like to think his 48 goals, 28 game point streak and 8 points in one game are probably records that will stand for a very long time or never be broken. 

Paul appeared in 7 Cup finals and won 4 times all with Edmonton. Paul also represented Canada a number of times as well and won 3 Canada Cups and was on the Silver medal winning World Cup team in 1996. 

Paul was inducted into the HOF in 2004 which I believe was his first ballot. Today Paul is coaching junior hockey in Ontario and running a car dealership. His cards are all relatively low priced and autos usually can be had for under 20 dollars. Game used cards due to the large number out there can be had for well under 10 dollars and his rookie card today books for 50 dollars with high graded ones often receiving a hefty premium. 

My thoughts:

I believe Paul is definitely one of the best offensive defenseman that I have ever seen play and when he was with the Oilers he did a lot of work for the forward and in many ways I like to think as dominant as Gretzky was, Paul did have an impact on the forward's offensive production thanks to his amazing skating and puck moving skills. Same could be true for the converse, Paul also benefitted from an amazing set of forwards. 

Career Regular Season Numbers:

Gm 1409 Goals 396 Assists 1135 Points 1531 Plus/Minus+294


Final Fact:

Currently Paul Coffey sits 5th in all-time playoff scoring with 196 points. The next nearest active player chasing him is Marian Hossa who is nearly 70 points behind.

12-13 ITG Superlative III Glenn Hall Jersey Auto /30

Well this is probably my last post for the year, but don't worry a new one should be a few days away! I do want to end the year on a great note so here is a nice card I added to my collection this year. 

12-13 ITG Superlative III Glenn Hall Jersey Auto /30

This isn't my first card from the set. I added a really nice Tretiak one a year or two ago which made getting this one much easier knowing it would be a quality product. This card gets two points in my HOF project because it features a game used swatch from his Blues days and a very nice on-card auto.  In case you aren't too familiar with Mr Hall, he is without a doubt one of the NHL greats and his consecutive games streak for a goalie will never be broken. Here is a great little bio on him that I would just be ripping off if I tried it myself.

It was a great year for my collection, made new friends and lots more trades. I have a great trade story for you in the new year which was an international one and I look forward to sharing that story! It was a sad year too as Panini lost its NHL rights for one reason or another. While their time was short, they weren't afraid to take chances and some were amazing and other were flops. I hope Upper Deck uses this to help inform them in the future for their releases because even though they have exclusive rights, we as collectors decide if we want to buy the product or not! I am curious to see what is coming out in the new year, I still haven't seen a product that speaks to me yet but I am hopeful for 2015. ITG will always be there I hope and at the very least we can see products like Superlative out there putting a tiny bit of pressure on UD to hold high standards and not get lazy!

I wish everyone out there a fantastic 2015 and I hope to have a chance to meet many of you someday!

13-14 The Cup Brilliance Mike Bossy Auto

The last of my three HI cards is this one. Like what a lot of people are taking about these autographs is true, they look WAY better in person than they do on the scan. These cards are like a shadow box with a The Cup foil underneath an acetate cover which features a signature in blue ink.

The card is as thick as I have ever seen, exceeding the standard 180 pt The Cup cards.  If I were to take a guess I am going to say 240 pt thickness but I only know it isn't 360. The card is pretty impressive in all and I definitely think if you have a chance to buy a player you like, do it. The prices on these are super reasonable and apart from being a little cumbersome to store it isn't too crazy.

13-14 The Cup Brilliance Mike Bossy Auto

I bought a Bossy auto ages ago but it wasn't authenticated so this time around I at least guarantee myself a legit auto. I am a fan of Mike Bossy, maybe not his biggest by any stretch but I do respect what he did and his accomplishments are legendary. I own a couple of his rookie cards too so landing this definitely completes my HOF PC on Bossy. 

12-13 The Cup Enshrinements Dale Hawerchuk Auto /50

Picked up three cards from one guy on HI and this is the second of three with the first being the Jagr booklet. 

The card is very much like Dale Hawerchuk's career in my opinion. It isn't very flashy but man it is beautiful. The more you look at it, the minor details jump out at you and you just are in awe. The foil front his just enough luster to draw your attention but it isn't over powering. The photos are great, you almost envision one is from his rookie/draft year and the other action shot is from the midpoint of his career when he was putting up HOF numbers. The autograph is featured in a nice spot with the signature being on card. Lastly, it is numbered to 50 which puts it well within most people's budget but still won't be found in the dollar bin someday. 

12-13 The Cup Enshrinements Dale Hawerchuk Auto /50

Most of my readers know Dale is definitely among one of my favourite players of all-time and while he didn't sign his number on the card (the only flaw I could find), it is a very nice auto and on par with the quality his signature usually can be found in.

I don't know if someone busted a tin of The Cup and was happy or sad to find this in there, but I personally am very pleased to add this to my other Hawerchuk cards!

Mr. Henri Richard Give Me More Than I Bargained For

For my birthday I got a box of 10-11 ITG Enshrined. Really happy to have had a chance to break the product. While I was pretty happy with the results, I was hoping to extend my enjoyment of the box by sending away a TTM request to HOF'er Henri Richard. In a very short period of time, Henri Richard was kind enough to sign my card and he included another card and a photo! 

To say I was pleased is an understatement. I was very happy to have my original card back and with the signature it looks very very sharp. The two thrown in autos are just icing on the cake. Check out the loot: 

The colour photo and the blue sharpie work so very well together!

Here is Mr Richard posing with the Stanley Cup. He managed to do that more times than any other player during their playing career and I never see this record being broken.

Here is the photo that was used with the above card, signed of course.

I really appreciated what Mr Richard did and I am so glad that I had a chance to write him and get back an amazing return. These three autos will always be appreciated in my collection, thank you Mr. Richard.

So When Is It Enough? I am not sure if it will be three.

So my regular readers might have remember when I got my first Dryden rookie a few years ago:

The front is rough, tape stains etc. The back is near-mint. What is this card worth? Who knows some would call it worthless and others would love to have it. I am more in the latter crowd but still, I wanted a better one.

Then a little over a year ago I got this gem:

Crease free, slight rounding of corners and off centered. However, it is also a Topps version but I was very pleased to get it and the price was super fair via auction.

Then that brings me to my latest Dryden acquisition:

Here it is, this one is an OPC one with fantastic centering. The back and front are no where near mint and arguably a little way away from VG. That being said, it still is a wonderful addition to my collection and cost me nothing out of my pocket because it was all trade with my LCS. I got rid of some modern cards I didn't care for anymore and got my third Dryden. In a perfect world I would like my last to be EX or better but I guess I will slowly climb the Dryden ladder and end up there someday.

I know I was supposed to unveil my Richard auto with this post but I don't have my act together in that department so please forgive me!

And for those that don't know, here is my auto from Ken Dryden which of course completes my HOF project on him a couple of times over.

05-06 ITG Ultimate Memorabilia - Double Auto/Memorabilia - Steve Yzerman/Ted Lindsay /34

I am going to try and get caught up on some posts for my blog as well as some of the others ones I write on in the coming month. With that being said, I have a small week long vacation with the family coming up this weekend so I guess there will be a little gap before I really get going so here are a couple posts on cards I picked up in the last couple months.

First off is an auto I gave up in trade and worked on replacing. My old Stevie Y was from the 09-10 UD Ice Set which was a very nice on card glacial graph. However, I wanted to try and get another because the first one I had I really liked and I felt I might luck into a deal if I didn't mind stickers or ITG.

Well, I managed to spend less on this than I did the last. I also managed to get much for my money, check it out!

05-06 ITG Ultimate Memorabilia - Double Auto/Memorabilia - Steve Yzerman/Ted Lindsay /34

Two HOF'ers for the price of one. Included are game worn swatches from Terrible Ted and Stevie Wonder. I love the bulging piece of "Sweater" you get with Ted Lindsay and the dreaded white swatch from Steve Yzerman actually looks really nice on this card. I was able to land it for less than what I paid for my original and while it has two sticker autos, I really don't card because everything else about this card including scarcity is amazing.

Here is a close up of the card. I sometimes am tempted to crack it out if its coffin but I know that will ruin some value if I ever decide to try and flip it so for the meantime it will stay safe in its case. So with this card I now have a swatch, auto and rookie(s) of Steve Yzerman completing the trifecta of him and I have two of three for Ted Lindsay with the most important rookie missing still.  

10-11 ITG Enshrined Box Break

10-11 ITG Enshrined is a product that I was been wanted and itching to break for a very long time. But things would get in the way or money would be spent elsewhere and sadly it never happened. With that being said, two posts ago I did pick up a Laprade auto from the set which turns out I bought not long after he passed. With that being said, I finally got my chance on my birthday to break a box of Enshrined. 

Like most recent ITG products, they are without an NHL license so the focus is all on the player and not their club. But with that being said, this is a very very nice product. You get 5 premium base cards numbered to 175 and you get one hit which is an auto /49 or /1 or a game used card /9. Worst case is you can a HOF auto and best case is you have a super rare /1 cut auto of a player like Art Ross. So, how did I fare....

First base was Cyclone Taylor who is without a doubt one of my favourites from the first half century of hockey. The pictures on these cards are in colour and very classy.

The backs are extremely well done with an embossed number job which ITG doesn't do very often. Look at that career. I would be curious to see what those numbers might have been like in a 50 game season. Very good start to the box.

Tom Johnson is another great card. I have his rookie and his auto so landing this card was very fun. While it isn't anything special as far as my HOF PC goes, I do like having a HOF card like this to go with the rookie and auto.

Now this was one of the cards I was hoping for. When I first saw these cards I thought they would be great cards to send off as TTM requests. The first two player I got are deceased but Mr. Richard is still alive so I sent this one off immediately in the hopes he may sign it. I will keep you posted on that one.

Sadly another player who has left us far too soon. This is a pretty nice card and you get a glimpse of his A on the jersey. Bill Quackenbush was a 5-time first or second team all-star for the Wings and Bruins.

 This one was a bit of a surprise because I knew nothing of Mr. Drillon. Turns out he was a pretty awesome player with a very short career. He did finish top 10 in the league in each of his 6 NHL seasons and then became part of the war and never returned again. He only has one card from his playing day and that is in the 37-38 OPC set and then one in the 55-56 Parkhurst Set as an Old Time Great.


So those were my base cards. There isn't load of value to them, book prices range from 5 dollars to 25 dollars a piece for the base cards and most can be had on eBay for under 10 bucks with shipping. But the reason you buy this isn't for the base cards (even though I really like them), the reason is for your lone hit.


Here is my hit:

Scotty Bowman auto silver /49. I was pretty pleased to pull this card. I would have been a bit sad to have pulled someone I already had but in this case I needed a Bowman auto to complete my HOF trifecta. I already had his OPC rookie and I have this "game used " piece of Scotty and now an auto completes everything I could want or need for my HOF PC. For those interested in the product, that is an on-card auto and unlike the base cards the photos are black and white for the auto set. Very pleased with the box and I might consider another one in the future some day. However, in the meantime the itch to check out this product is gone and hopefully Richard will come back to me someday signed.

10-11 ITG Enshrined Edgar Laprade Auto Silver /49

Not the start to the summer vacation I was hoping for. Little to no time to post anything to start and then I have seemed to develop some numbness in my one hand that has lasted for over 2 weeks. Typing and writing certainly add to the numbness so I am sadly not going to be able to make a post a day like I had originally hoped at the beginning of the summer. In addition I have to push off my thank you post to Shane for another day or so because I just finished a TTM letter and I seriously can't feel much in a few fingers.

This is a post of hope, hope because I hope it gets better soon and hope because I beat out two snipers on eBay to land this card!

One of a couple certified Laprade autos out there and I missed out on this a couple times so I wanted to make sure I won. Well, fact is you can always win your card if you are willing to pay the most! Bidding on this card was at 99 cents for a very very long time (until about 6 seconds to go) then the prices jumped and in the end, my max was still enough to take it home. But looking at the bidding history there was one bid with 6 seconds to go and another with 1 second to go. Certainly glad I set my max long enough ago that I ended up with this gem and it goes well with some of my other Edgar autos (1 and 2) and his rookie thus cementing my HOF PC collection for him.

So next post my long over due thanks and then I have some birthday breaks to share including a couple boxes of 11/12 Contenders and a box of 10/11 ITG Enshrined!

Cardboard Conundrum Group Break Loot 1

When this group break was announced I totally wanted in and I lucked out getting Colorado. While Colorado didn't yield much in content, my hits were a plenty with the random teams I was assigned (Buffalo and Washington). Here is what I landed:

13/14 Totally Certified Patch Dave Andreychuk /25

This break started fabulous for me with this gem! A (future) HOF, game used patch. The patch appears to be part of his name on a "Home" jersey. This card immediately becomes a part of my (future) HOF project PC ( I already have his rookie a couple times over) and to have a cool patch from a former New Jersey Devil just adds to the coolness! Next post will be more from the break and I have a few thank you posts on their way too!

Dirt Cheap Game Used Post 2

Here is another quick and simple post. This is another cheap pick up from my LCS. Same price as Joe and should be in the HOF like Joe.

What is amazing about this card is it's Eric Lindros! What isn't amazing about this card is how badly its a franken-card. For start, he is wearing a Rangers uniform. Second, it says he is on the Maple Leafs. Third if you are really keen, you would recognize that white swatch is Philadelphia Flyers white. Ok, maybe that is a stretch, but on the back of the card it does say it is from a Flyers jersey so there are three different teams all on one card. 

But it is still a Lindros game used card and that trumps all its flaws! Once he makes it into the Hall, I will have all three I need because I already have an auto rookie.  

Dirt Cheap Game Used Post 1

Does anyone care about Game Used Cards anymore? If you go to my LCS the answer is no. They are practically giving them away now which is fine by me because I love them! Here is one of HOF member Joe Mullen. 

13-14 UD Series 1 Joe Mullen Game Jersey (Group F)

I have his auto and his rookie many times over. Finally I have the third piece of the puzzle and that is a piece of game used memorabilia. I still have yet to post my list of the HOF project but when I can grab all three I will especially for how cheap this one was ($1.50).

Casey of House of Oglethorpe Gives Me More Than I Bargained For

Casey of Drop The Gloves House of Oglethorpe had struck a deal with me for a card that he offered up from his collection. I agreed to an awesome deal and when it arrived,  it arrived with some extra coolness. The card which which was the focus of the deal,  I will share at a later date. Here are extras that arrived with it and I can't thank Casey enough for his kindness and generosity.

08-09 UD Masterpieces Alex Delvecchio Brushstrokes Brown Auto

This is the set that sparked the canvas craze in current UD products. Originally Masterpieces was product done all in the style of canvas (base and inserts). Alex has a great on card auto here with a photo that UD has over used but the design of the card more than makes up for it. If you notice Alex's stick, there were clearly rations on hockey tape back in the late 60s and early 70s.


2001-02 BAP Signature Series Igor Larionov

Here is another gift from Casey. NHL HOF'er all round winner Igor Larionov.
Check out this resume:
2 time WJHC Gold medalist
4 time World Champion
1 time Canada Cup Champ
2 time Olympic Gold Medalist
Olympic Bronze Medalist
and 3 time Stanley Cup Champion.

For a player who spent most of his prime playing in Russia, he came over to Canada at the age of 29 and rattled off 14 pretty impressive NHL seasons. This also completes another HOF'er off my RC/Memorabilia list. Like most collectors I have dozens of Larionov rookies it was much harded to land the auto than the rookie here.

Thank you very very much Casey for the beautiful additions and I will soon share the center piece of our deal.

So here is what I bought with my Brendan Gallagher Loot - Part 3

One thing I wanted for sure with my Gallagher loot was a HOF auto. Given my new project I had planned on starting I decided to try and get an autograph of a HOF player whose rookie was already in my collection. Gerry Cheevers had this sweet auto pop up online:

11-12 ITG Canada vs The World Gerry Cheevers Auto

Cheevers has a few autos out on the market but this one just spoke to me. Team Canada jersey with his iconic mask and a nice a large auto are a trifecta that makes this one a winner in my eyes. The card itself doesn't carry much in the way of a book value and in the end I nearly paid full book value anyway. Book value on this is about 15 dollar and I think I had 10-12 into this one once you factor in shipping. Totally worth it for the card and factor in that Gerry is a HOF goalie and I know its a gem for me. 

Gerry Cheevers:

Inducted: NHL 1985 and WHA 2010

Claim to fame: 2 time Stanley Cup Winner, Key WHA defector, Successful NHL Coach

1965-66 Topps Gerry Cheevers Rookie

This rookie is one of my favourites in my collection. Boys at the LCS set this aside for me some time ago and I was able to get it for a pretty fair deal. Hard to believe that Gerry would dress that way to stop Bobby Hull slapshot, in fact I don't even know if he has his chest protector on or not! Maybe he could have used some of J.S Giguere's Michelin Man equipment. 

Here is the back side of my Cheevers rookie. Like the front, it is in pretty good shape, my four corners are the only blemishes on an other wise great card. I am not too sure what this would grade as, the surface is amazing and the back is clean and crease free. The answer to the riddle on the back is No One. Gerry was the only goalie to play all 72 games in the 64-65 AHL season which is pretty impressive given the time period.

My largest PC undertaking ever. The HOF Rookie and Auto/Memorabilia Project. Tom Johnson

There are loads of different PCs out there and I have respect for all of them. A couple of my favourite blogs out there have ones that involve HOF'ers. They gave me the idea to try and get a rookie card and an autograph/game-used card of each one. The plan is to get the rookie and one of the other two. For example, Terry Sawchuk has not been with us for a very long time so when I got his game-used glove, that would count as the memorabilia piece and now I just need his RC. Alex Delvecchio on the other hand, I have his RC, game-used and auto so I have all three which is fine too. I will strive to do one rookie and one memorabilia/auto but if all three can be had, that would just be amazing. I am going to share them as they are completed and eventually get a checklist of missing ones up along with a checklist of missing Delvecchios. It will all take time, but this should be a fun PC that will never end. So the kick things off, here is one I complete this past summer.

Player: Tom Johnson
Inducted: 1970
Claim to fame: Won 1959 Norris and 8 Stanley Cups

Rookie:
1951-52 Parkhurst # 7
BV: $125 for a NrMt Version

Some of you might remember this card from a few years back. It is in great shape and one of my better Parkies from the set in terms of condition. 

Autograph:

This auto is NOT a certified auto, but from what I can tell and given the reputation of the seller, I am more than willing to say it is legit. Pauses in the auto and how smooth everything is are all characteristic of a few legit ones I saw. I actually won this with a Best Offer at the same time I was winning another auction. My auction got cancelled with about 12 hours to go because the price was too low for the seller. I was winning with just a two dollar bid at the time and I brought this one home for 7 dollars with shipping. Tom is not only a HOF'er but he also has been deceased for about 6 years so getting autos for him are challenging. This is an example of the 56-57 Parkhurst " Missing Link" set that was released in the mid 90's which someone got signed by Tom.

Very happy to have a completed pair of HOF'er Tom Johnson who was not only amazing defenseman during his years in the league but he was an excellent NHL Coach with a Cup in 1972 and the NHL record for highest career winning percentage at 0.738. Shame I couldn't score this myself via TTM, but having one anyway is still pretty awesome.