Three from the Random Box

Next to my desk in my office/card room I have a small two-row shoebox that I use for cards in transit.  One row contains cards that I've set aside for outgoing trade packages, broken out by destination, the other contains incoming cards from a variety of sources that I've yet to scan/inventory/post about.

The "incoming" side is getting a bit tight so I grabbed three top-loaded cards out of there to free up some space, and to provide a quick post here at the same time.  Let's see what I got...

First up is a really nice insert from 1997 Upper Deck; Amazing Greats.  I was drawn to this card because it has a texture and feel that is meant to resemble the wood grain of a bat.  Not only that, but the portrait photo that's inset within the baseball diamond is actually printed on an acetate material.  All in all it's a fine looking insert, and though it came from Upper Deck's flagship release it has the feel of a higher end card if you ask me.

I am fairly certain this came from the dollar box at my LCS, which seems like a good grab as these were relatively tough pulls at roughly 1 in 3 hobby boxes.  Certainly one of the nicer cheap Mo Vaughns in my collection to date.

Next up is one of my better Xander Bogaerts cards.  2012 Bowman contained some of the first Bogaerts cards to hit the market, and this Blue Wave Refractor was some kind of mail-in redemption if I'm not mistaken.

I'm a total sucker for Bowman Wave Refractors, and given that Xander Bogaerts has been my favorite player on the BoSox roster for a while now I was of course drawn to this one.  I paid $12.25 for this card on COMC over a year ago now (no wonder I'm out of room in this box!), which seems fair given that the cheapest copy up there today is going for $18.00.

Last but certainly not least, a beautiful Harry Howell from Topps' very first hockey effort in 1954-55.  I inherited this one from my Dad actually, which makes it extra special.  I believe this is the oldest piece of cardboard that he's passed down to me over the years.

For those who have never seen one in hand, these are slightly larger than a modern-day card, and in line with the oversized Topps baseball releases that were coming out in the mid-'50s.  This is either the third or fourth card I've managed to get my hands on from this release.  With just 60 cards in this set it's tempting to chase, but the Gordie Howe alone will set you back hundreds of dollars.

My favorite thing about this set is actually the card backs, Topps did a wonderful job with the layout here if you ask me.  I love the cartoon.  While I don't have time to research it right now, I wonder how modern goaltender equipment stacks up against stuff from the '50s as far as overall weight goes?

Alright, that's all I have time for today.  Thanks for reading!