Clearing out Some Duplicates

Like most collectors, I do not collect duplicates.  I cannot think of anyone who enjoys opening a box of cards and getting a bunch of doubles.  I have seen quite a few collectors opening 2026 Topps hobby boxes and getting two or three packs worth.  That is one of the big reasons I do not opening packs anymore, besides the value not being there most of the time.

Being a team collector, I have accumulated my my share of duplicates.  Over 20% of my trade list is Cardinals cards that I already have.  Any time I can send out a small chunk of those, I jump on it.  In early February I sent a trade proposal to TCDB member cchstove involving six Cardinals going each direction.  After a little back and forth, the trade was expanded to me sending out 18 cards and receiving 19 new Cardinals.  Perfect trade in my book.  

Starting off with a 1989 Cadaco game disc.  I love oddball, even if they look a little bland.  

The base cards included a nice 2024 Finest Arenado and a 2022 Topps Archives Snapshots Nootbaar.

Some recent inserts and parallels.  The A&G mini Masyn Winn is a rookie design variation.

Plenty of retired players including some Hall of Famers.  If you look closely at the 1993 Topps Gold Winner card, you will see Cardinals Lee Smith and Ozzie Smith on it.

Finishing things up with two cards of recent Cardinals Hall of Fame inductee Edgar Renteria.  Fans elect one or two players each year.  Renteria was voted in over Steve Carlton. Renteria had a nice career as a Cardinal, but nothing compared to Carlton.  Since voting is done online, the results usually favor those who played most recently.  This year's ballot includes George Hendrick, Brian Jordan, Yadier Molina, and Albert Pujols.  Not much guessing on who will get in.

    

TCDB 2 for Tuesday #136

It has been great to wake up to my news feed the last few mornings and find box scores for the Cardinals spring training games.  Even though the games do not count, it is one step closer to opening day.  A lot of Cardinals fans are predicting a bad year.  I am too, but I do not think their record will be much worse than 2025.  Problem is the other four teams in the division appear to have gotten better.  I am still a fan, and will continue to collect Cardinals.  My fandom is like a marriage, in good times and in bad times.  Maybe with the rough times it will be easier to trade for some of the cards.  

Today's first package came from member brando7288.

1976 SSPC is a very simple set featuring mostly posed photos.  I like it because you find cards of obscure players like Dick Billings on the top left and Ken Reynolds on the bottom left.  Ted Sizemore and Jerry Mumphrey have plenty of cards.  

After finding a 2018 High Tek Edmonds at the Saturday card show, here is another version.  This one is pattern 4.

I love trading for premium brands like 2019 Topps Inception.  Along with Triple Threads and Tribute, these brands do not show up often in trade or bargain boxes.

The second trade came from member stephen54scc.

These are 11 of the 17 cards in the Cardinals 2025 Topps team set.  You can see the number difference on the Graceffo card.  Ivan Herrera is the only card with a different photo than the base Topps card.  

    

2026 Card Show #2 Recap

One of the things I do to earn a little extra spending money is to keep the basketball game clock at the junior high where my wife teaches at.  She does the book while I am on the clock.  It works out well, as we both get paid $35 cash per night for about 2.5 hours worth of work.  The junior high games are very laid back compared to the high school games.  Out of the 12 nights we worked, I can only recall one issue with a coach or fan.  It makes the games so much more enjoyable.

The season wrapped up last week, so we came home with a nice stack of cash.  Since weather this past weekend was still cold and dreary, we decided to take a trip to a card show in St. Louis and spend a little bit of the cash.  It is a show that I have been to before that offers a nice blend of current and vintage cards.  Best of all, very few gaming dealers though this time there were a handful more.  Not a big deal, as there were still over 80 dealers with sports cards.  We arrived about an hour after the doors opened to find the parking lot was full.  We had to park at a nearby Target and walk.  As you would expect, the show was packed.  We spent close to two hours there and $80.

My first purchase was  ten Cardinals for $2.  The top three 2003 Flair Greats are from the Home Team boxes that are not easy to find.  I had to do a double take to make sure the price was correct.  I picked up the two blue GQ cards to make an even ten.

The other five cards include three 1992 Pacific McDonalds cards I hope to use for autographs, a Hrabosky card I needed after I had my first copy signed, and a LaRussa regional card for trade bait.

The next dealer had showcase full of 1960s cards sorted by year.  I was lucky to find this 1960 Crowe gray back variation I needed to knock my team set down to the Stan Musial card to finish it.  $1 very well spent.

I have boughten from the next vintage dealer a few times.  He has a great set up of commons sorted by number in monster boxes, the showcases full of high dollar cards and short prints.  The two 1959 cards are not in the best shape, but good enough for place holders.  The three 1964 cards include two high number short prints and the batting leaders card.  The last 1964 card I need is the Bob Uecker high number.  Price tag on the lot was $68, but he gave them to me for $50.  I love getting a deal without even asking.  

Another vintage dealer I have purchased from had similar setup, but he also had a box of just Cardinals.  This 1965 Topps high number looks great on the front despite a little bit of water damage on the back.  For $4, I will take it.

The next vintage dealer had three display cases full of stars.  I grabbed this 1966 Topps card for $20.  It is in almost perfect condition, just one minor corner ding.  Only two more high number cards to finish this set.

My last purchase was a dealer with over 30 dime boxes sorted by sport.  The tables were so packed, I had to wait over an hour for a spot to open up.  I ended up with 30 cards included these five Cardinals I did not have.

Here is a sample of the other 25 cards I pulled for trade bait.  Hard to pass up Hall of Famers, refractors, short prints, and numbered cards for a dime.

As I said in the beginning, the show was very busy.  This is one of the few shows I attend where the ungraded vintage outnumbers the graded.  If my budget allows, I will make another trip or two back sometime this year, as this show is held monthly.

  

TCDB 2 for Tuesday #135

Very short post today with only five cards to show off.  First three came from member Pumastrikes.

My 2025 Topps Archives team set is almost complete.

In fact is it complete thanks to this card from member CraigM.

Craig also sent a nice 2025 Topps Holiday insert.  I look for Helsley to have a bounce back season for Baltimore this year.  I am not sure the New York environment was a good fit for him last year.  

Vintage Lot from TCDB

I do not buy very many cards online, not even from EBAY.  I prefer the old fashion way of seeing a card at a show before I buy it.  Don't get me wrong, I will always pay for a needed Ray Lankford card or a nice Cardinals lot/card online, but I can count on one hand how many times I do that a month.

Last week TCDB member bpaul14 mad a forum posting about buying a large Cardinals vintage lot.  After upgrading some cards and adding a few to his collection, he had quite a few for trade.  We exchanged a few messages and settled on a price of $30 for 5 Cardinals that arrived yesterday.

I will be a long time before I finish the 1959 Topps team set.  The 43 card team set includes some back variations, 2 Stan Musial cards, and Bob Gibson's rookie card.  I will settle on grabbing low dollar commons like Lee Tate for the near future.  

I am a lot closer to completing my 1960 team set after adding this white back variation Leon Wagner.  I only need one more back variation, and the Stan Musial card.

My 1961 Topps set is inching closer to completion.  Only six more to go, but four of those are from the high number series.  Good thing the most expensive one is a Ken Boyer All Star card.

The big draw for me were these two 1967 cards.  The Rickets is a high number short print from Series 7, while the McCarver is from Series 6.  Both of these are in great condition, almost mint.  I need three more cards to finish this set.  The member did have the Mike Shannon short print I need that was also in great condition, but I decided my card budget had been met for awhile.  Maybe in a month or two if he still has it you might see it on the blog.

  

TCDB 2 for Tuesday #134

Last night while I was scanning cards for today's post, I had some Youtube videos playing.  A number of them were people breaking 2026 Topps boxes.  I thought Wednesday was release day, but apparently some boxes were shipped early.  It was nice to see some of the insert designs along with the base cards.  I did notice some silver pack foil cards have sticker autographs.  Those look very bad.  As always, I will be sticking to the trading route to get my Cardinals team set.  Maybe in a one or two I will have some to show off.  Until then, you will have to enjoy some older cards.  First is a four pack of Cardinals from member JDHorns70.

Hard to believe this 1995 Panini Sticker is 31 years old.  Ozzie #829 in my collection finished this team set.

Maybe I will be able to finish 2025 Archives before starting 2026 Topps.  These three help that cause.

The second trade package came from member ShowMeYourBalboni.   Take a guess what player he collects.

Another three cards from 2025 Archives.  It is hard for me to pick out a favorite design from the set, but I will have to go with 2005 Topps.  I remember 20 years ago chasing after the Colby Rasmus rookie card from the Update set.  Glad I did not follow the hype and overspend on his cards.

Start of a Good Week

I hope everyone has recovered from Super Bowl Sunday.  I did not really care who won.  Even though the Seahawks beat my 49ers, I like the Sam Darnold story line.  I also like Drake Maye.  Tough night for him.  I did come away with a little money thanks to winning the 4th quarter of my work Super Bowl squares pool.   So glad that last touchdown was called back by a penalty.  I already spent most of it on a nice vintage lot that should arrive later this week.

Now that football is over, it is time to think about baseball.  Pitchers and catchers report later this week.  2026 Topps Series 1 is also hitting stores in a couple of days.  Even though the Cardinals are most likely in for a long season, you cannot help but feel a little optimistic this week.  

What better way to celebrate the start of baseball then to show off a nice card that arrived Saturday from TCDB member bdhrbob.

My first Saggese game used card is from 2025 Allen & Ginter.  It is nice to see the back of the card notes the piece of memorabilia was actually worn in a game.  Saggese will most likely be a bench bat who can play second and third base, with a little of shortstop and outfield if need be.  I will root for him just because he is one of the few old school type players who does not wear batting gloves.