Adrian Gonzalez, We Hardly Knew Ye - A Giant and a Mini

Today I'm featuring two new additions to my budding Adrian Gonzalez Red Sox collection, one is a giant and one is a mini...

First up is the giant.  This oversized card is a 1964 Topps Giants box-topper from the 2011 Lineage set.  Lineage had the potential to be a really great product, but the atrocious card backs scared me away and I never opened so much as a pack of the stuff.  That being said there were still some really nice elements to the set, including the autographed 1952 Topps reprints, the Topps 3D inserts, and these large box-toppers.  I have a few of the original '64 Topps Giants cards, although I've only shown the Brooks Robinson so far, and they are some of my favorite oddball cards from the '60s.

Here's a look at the back, which like the originals is done in a newspaper type style.  This is certainly a unique addition to my Gonzalez Red Sox collection, my biggest card yet in terms of shear physical size.  I snagged it from the dollar box at my local hobby shop a few weeks ago.  There is a relic version of this card as well that I'd love to pick up some day, although I haven't seen one in person yet.

Here's the mini.  This arrived just this past week in the mail from my newest card-blogging friend, Kevin of The Diamond King.  This is obviously from the 2011 Gypsy Queen set, but it's not your standard mini.  I knew from the emails that we had exchanged that it was serial numbered to 10 copies, but when I got the card in hand I was unsure as to what exactly I had.  Thanks to the great site BaseballCardPedia, within a few minutes I knew I had a leather mini in my possession.  It may be hard to tell from the scan, but while the back of the card is your standard fare, the material on the front sure does feel like leather.  

Kevin is looking to amass as many shiny refractors as possible this year, from any set, or even any sport for that matter.  If you've got any lying around that need a home I couldn't think of a better place to send them to!

So there you have it, my largest and smallest Gonzalez cards all in one post.  The leather mini is my lowest numbered Gonzalez so far aside from my 1/1s.  Thanks for a great trade Kevin, I've just packaged up your refractors this morning and should have them in the mail early this week.

Adrian Gonzalez Red Sox Cards - Count
Total Cards - 34
#'d /2011 - 1
#'d /999 - 1
#'d/199 - 1
#'d/100 - 1
#'d/75 - 1
#'d /60 - 1
#'d/50 - 1
#'d/25 - 1
#'d/10 - 1
1/1 - 5
Relics - 0
Silk - 0
Autographs - 0
Printing Plates - 4