Card of the Month - March 2010

Well it's about time I got on track with the Card of the Month in 2010. I missed out on January and February, but March's card more than makes up for it. I mentioned in my last post that I'm not a big fan of relic cards, but like most collectors I do make exceptions:

2009-10 Upper Deck Trilogy Classic Confrontations - #CC-HABO

This recent eBay win just arrived in the mail yesterday, and instantly becomes one of my favorite Whalers cards. I am starting to see some Whalers cards in current sets, like the Gordie Howe from last year's Champs set. This particular card came from a set I would never even think about purchasing, 2009-10 Upper Deck Trilogy. This is one of those high end sets where nobody builds the base and it's all about the hits, at least as far as I can tell. A "hobby box" will run you over $150 and you'll get less than 50 cards altogether. The only reason I even knew about this card was that I stumbled across it while searching the term Whalers on eBay.

Those of you who are extra perceptive may have noticed the card number, CC-HABO. Well the HA obviously signifies Hartford. The BO? I think you know where I'm heading with this. Here's the back of the card:

Pretty sweet huh? Apparently the Classic Confrontations inserts pay homage to great rivalries from the NHL's past with one team per side and three jersey swatches per team. I can't think of a concept that's better suited for my collection. I grew up a die-hard Whalers fan and used to hate the Bruins, so the rivalry that this card represents is perfect. Then, when the Whalers moved to Carolina, I (reluctantly at first) adopted the Bruins as my new local team.

I paid $13 for this card, which seems pretty reasonable. It's definitely the most swatches I have on any one card in my collection and considering some of the big names on here I didn't think it was too unreasonable. Besides, this card so uniquely fits my collecting interests that I probably would've paid twice that for it. So there you have it, March's Card of the Month!