Making the Best of a So-So Archives Blaster

Still need to put in a bit of time on the big hockey post I have coming...in the meantime why not squeeze one more post into the month of May here. 

A week or so ago I did something I don't normally do; I purchased a blaster.  A 2012 Topps Archives blaster to be exact.  This was only the second blaster purchased this year (2012 Heritage being the first).  I'm starting to learn that buying new wax isn't for me, as I seem to get a case of buyer's remorse nearly every time.  The excitement of ripping packs is outweighed by a feeling that I spent $20 on a bunch of cards I don't really care about and don't intend to collect.  I have a tendency to look at my eBay want list afterwards and think of all the other things I would have been better off dropping $20 on.  Anyway, enough dwelling on the negative.  I decided that if I wasn't happy with my 2012 Archives blaster then why not do something about it?

One card in particular came to mind:

I was "fortunate" enough to land this Sandberg/Castro insert, and upon consulting a wrapper I found that these '58 Classic Combos inserts are actually somewhat rare, 1:32 packs in retail I believe.  I figured there might be a Cubs fan out there with an interest in it, so I listed it on eBay.  The card ended up fetching $6.73, plus my shipping charge.  Not too bad, I recovered over 30% of my blaster cost right there!

The best part is, I was able to use the funds from that sale to purchase this card (with a few pennies left over even), which just arrived in the mail today:

This is a Bill Lee Fan Favorites Auto from the 2012 Archives set.  Now that is an Archives card I can get behind!  Although he played before my time, Lee is without question one of the most interesting and quirky personalities in the long history of the Boston Red Sox.  This on-card certified auto is my first signed card of the Spaceman.  Bill's got a great looking signature, too.

While the front of the card uses a totally different photo than the '74 Topps release, the back of the card stays true to the original (except for all of the legal-speak along the bottom of course).

This card will be a key component in both my autograph and Red Sox collections for years to come.  No offense to any Cubs fans out there, but I think flipping the Cubs insert for this auto was an absolute steal.