Through The Mail Trade: The Cardboard and Me

Happy Halloween everyone; it's snowing in some parts of Newfoundland today apparently but at the moment here in St. John's it looks more like a torrential downpour.  The longer the weather gods decide to put off a snowstorm the better in my opinion.

A big thank you to Barrett over at The Cardboard and Me for the cards as part of a trade that we made about a month ago.  I received the package today in good standing and it surely took a chunk out of a couple of my sets that I've been recently collecting.

#22 Vincent Lecavalier   #36 Patrick Marleau   #65 Daniel Alfredsson

Barrett sent 22 2010-11 Pinnacle cards my way - all of which I needed towards putting this set together.  I decided to post a scan just of my three favorites from the lot.  I'm not sure how many cards I still need from this but the want list has been updated if anyone is interested.

#180 Dion Phaneuf     #122 Marian Gaborik   #137 Daniel Briere

Also included in the lot were 17 cards from the 2011-12 Victory series.  The want list for this set has been updated as well, link on the sidebar for anyone who cares.

#1 Wayne Gretzky   #23 Joe Sakic   #4 Paul Kariya  #10 Steve Yzerman

And he also sent over 32 cards from one of my all-time favorite sets, the 1997-98 Donruss Studio collection.  I've only recently picked up on attempting to complete this product so the 32 cards really help me out here.

Thanks again for the cards Barrett, I really enjoyed them and I hope you liked my half of the deal just as much.  Check out his blog.

Halloween 1989

Favorite Cards: 1997-98 Pacific Invincible #47 Vladimir Konstantinov

Just wanted to do a quick feature on another one of my favorite cards that I own; found this while filing through a random box of cards and it seems to be the only one I have around from the 1997-98 Pacific Invincible set, Vladimir Konstantinov.

As for a little personal history lesson on this specific card; I'm pretty sure that I picked this up as part of a trade deal I made way back in elementary school - can't remember what I gave away in return though.

The design of these cards made it one of the best collectible cards of it's day.  The circular "window" at the bottom containing Vladdies head and the gold foil background enhancements were a unique direction at the time.  Pacific made some nice products during their stint in the cardboard market and this set is a true testament to that in my opinion.

1997-98 Upper Deck Collector's Choice Box Breaks

Over the last two or three weeks I've randomly picked up a hobby box of 1997-98 Upper Deck Collector's Choice here and there - a combined total of maybe three.

As you would expect from three boxes I pulled a ton of cardboard; the majority were common doubles, several expired 'You Crash The Game' redemption cards and a few Stick'Ums.

At the risk of boring your pants off with every card that I added to my collection - I decided to just share my favorite cards from the breaks.

Pierre Turgeon / StarQuest Double Star #SQ56 - Two star tier cards come randomly inserted at approximately 1:58 packs.  I pulled this Turgeon inside the same pack as a quadruple star tier card, which you'll find out if you decide to keep reading.  I know, a two star tier card isn't much but after endlessly breaking one star cards anything above feels like a breath of fresh air.

Owen Nolan / StarQuest Triple Star #SQ78 -  1997 was the year when Nolan would dazzle the crowd in his own barn at the NHL All-Star Game by capping off a hat-trick with a 'called shot' on Dominik Hasek.  I remember watching it live on television, I was 13.

Brendan Shanahan / StarQuest Triple Star #SQ74 - I love these StarQuest cards, so much nostalgic value - I have never seen most of these before until I actually pull them so after more than 12 years there's still an "aww" factor when I so happen to find one.  Anyway Shanahan here is a triple star tier card, inserted 1:198 packs.

Keith Tkachuk / StarQuest Quadruple Star #SQ87 - The quad star tier cards are randomly inserted at a rate of 1:406 packs.  They have a special effect to them, as the backgrounds are darker and as well as the bottom borders.  The players seem to have a dark glow surrounding them as well, making them standout against the card.  Love these expansion era Coyotes jerseys; as a kid though I never knew what the logo actually was.  Pulled this Tkachuk card along with the Turgeon in the same pack.

Eric Lindros / StarQuest Quadruple Star #SQ88 - My favorite card from the box breaks was this Lindros quad star card.  Like the Tkachuk card, the effects and simple design make these cards eye candy worthy in my opinion.  Sadly during a quick visit to Indigo, I couldn't find Lindros worthy enough to be listed under this subset in the latest issue of Beckett.   Not just that card, but in general a lot of Lindros cards were missing their value.  Which got me thinking about the whole Lindros Hockey Hall of Fame debate.  One of the most dominating players of the 1990s will probably never gain the respect of the Hall due to his kicking and screaming entry into the league, his dramatic departure from Philadelphia and a career shortened by injuries.   Lindros was one of the most marketable players in hockey at one time and sometimes we forget just how good a player he was before he was robbed of his career by concussions.

1997-98 Pinnacle Mint Collection Break

Hello all - during the mid-90s hockey coins showcasing your favorite players poorly inscribed faces replacing Queens, sailboats and dead Presidents were all the rage.  Pinnacle released a mint collection two years straight and if my memory serves me correctly McDonald's even released a Team Canada set during the Nagano Olympics.  But the concept faded away fairly quickly.

Another wax-junk break today from the 1997-98 Pinnacle Mint Collection series.  18 packs, 2 more than inside a hobby box (although the hobby boxes carry 2 coins per pack and a much better odds at hitting something); found all of these from a plastic bin at Toys r Us for a buck each.

So let's start with the commons; the set includes 30 cards and 30 coins, there are two commons, one die-cut card and one coin per pack.  There are 6 different coin variations, ranging from bronze to 24k gold solid coins.  Check out the entire break after the jump.

1997-98 Upper Deck Collector's Choice Box Break

I recently broke another box of this 1997-98 Upper Deck Collector's Choice; found it in the aisles of Wal-Mart marked with a discounted price tag.   It's always fun opening these boxes - even if it is considered pure wax-junk, the nostalgic value is worth the pocket change that I shelled out for it.

Besides I'm pretty close to finishing off the set and it's always a joy/bonus when you pull something other than a StarQuest single star card.  I wish I could find more of these boxes around town.

I decided to only post the base cards from the break that I needed for my set, along with the inserts that I pulled.  Check out some cards under the jump.

1997-98 Upper Deck Choice Hobby Box Break

I recorded this break yesterday as you can probably tell from the same clothes that I'm wearing and my battle cats in the background.

Picked up another box of 1997-98 Upper Deck Choice on the cheap ($8) that was floating around Wal-Mart ... I'm pretty close to filling out the set now so when I see a box of this wax junk around I'm pretty interested in the contents.

Anyway check out the break videos.

1997-98 Upper Deck Choice Hobby Box Break

I've decided to record videos of my breaks and additions to my collection instead of posting about them in blog form - scanning and uploading a  box of cards can be very time consuming.  I hope you all continue to follow and subscribe to the Youtube account.

Favorite Cards: 1997-98 Upper Deck Collector's Choice StarQuest

As I was flipping through my binders recently I came across my collection of 1997-98 Upper Deck Collector's Choice StarQuest sheets that I saved.  This 90-card, four-tier insert set features color photos of some of the top NHL Superstars printed using the hobby's top technology at the time.  The 45 cards in Tier One were randomly inserted one in every pack; the 20 cards in Tier Two were randomly inserted one in every 21 packs;  the 15 cards of Tier Three were randomly inserted one in every 71 packs; the 10 cards of Tier Four were randomly inserted one in every 145 packs.

I collected 35/45 Tier One cards, 2/20 cards from Tier Two and just 1/15 of the cards from Tier Three.  I never did pull a card from Tier Four.  I still enjoy these cards and like them much more than the StarQuest cards released in the 1998-99 Collector's Choice set and the parallel system used.

After I complete my 96-97 Score Sudden Death Project I think I'll start attempting to put this StarQuest set together.  If any of you guys have any of these for trade that aren't included in the scans, let me know!  I've included scans of all the cards I have in my collection under the cut.

1997-98 Donruss Studio

Stopped into a hobby shop that I've never been into before seeking penny sleeves earlier today and noticed a box of cards sitting on the shelf  behind the counter that I haven't seen in a very long time for sale - 1997-98 Donruss Studio.  I used to love the look of these cards as a kid and I still do; so for only $2 a pack I picked up two of them to rip to go along with my penny sleeves purchase.  Each pack comes with two portraits and five cards.

Championship Collection Trading Cards Mystery Box Break

I was very curious as to what these boxes held inside when I saw them lying in the card dump-in.  Had to pick one up and let's just say I paid a little more than I had expected when it was rung in at the checkout counter. 

The box promises 16 factory sealed packs and I was blessed by the hockey card gods to have received an extra pack.  Above in the photo is a sample of what was inside, read more to check out the rundown.