Quarter Box Quartet - Rusty Trumbo

Been a while since I did one of these, apologies for the juvenile post title.  Let's take a quick look at four cards plucked from the quarter box at my local hobby shop...

Quite frankly I was shocked to find this one in a quarter box in the condition it's in.  I wouldn't say it's mint but I'd say it's certainly near mint, and in better shape than the majority of my cards from the '60s.  Rusty may not be a HOFer, but he carved out a pretty impressive 23-year career.  More than happy to add this one to my vintage collection for a mere quarter.

Obviously I had no idea when I picked this one up that Mark Trumbo would be leading the league in home runs at this point in the season.  What a year he's putting together for the red hot Orioles so far.  20 home runs through 65 games is quite a feat.

My reasoning here was obvious.  What hockey fan wouldn't want this shot of one of John Davidson's legendary masks in their collection?

We'll finish it off today with a nice Gold Sparkle parallel of a future HOFer.  So many people collect Vlad that I could see this ending up in a trade package sometime down the line, but I've hung onto it so far because I like the photograph, and because the Gold Sparkle parallels work so well with Orioles cards.

Well, that's all I've got time for today.  I'll be back this weekend though.  Happy Friday and thanks for reading as always...

Quarter Box Quartet - All-Time Greats

While I put the finishing touches on a trade post that I don't want to rush, today you get to experience my inability to stay focused in the form of a quarter box quartet.  As is generally the case, all of these came from the miscellaneous quarter bins at my local card shop.

Pretty timely that I randomly pulled this one from my backlog stack just a couple of weeks after Monte passed away.  I grabbed this one, and any other retired players I could find from this Topps rip-off set during a quarter box dig a long time ago now.  An excellent, classic baseball photo.

There was no way this card was not coming home with me.  For a fan of '90s cardboard, what's not to like here?  One of my all-time favorite players in an obnoxious Mighty Ducks sweater against a backdrop that looks like a bad acid trip.  Oh, and it's shiny.  I really need to get back to this card shop soon, it's been too long.

I dubbed this quartet/post "All-Time Greats", but that wasn't entirely honest as this is the one card of the four that doesn't pass that litmus test with me.  Still, I couldn't pass up a rookie card of a very good pitcher from a set that I love for a quarter.

No questioning this guy's place in the history of his sport.  Is there a hockey collector in existence that wouldn't have grabbed this card if they didn't have a copy already?  For me, the gloves are the highlight.  I really wish Panini would get a hockey license again.  Topps too for that matter.  Two hockey cards in this post, neither of them from Upper Deck.  Just sayin'.

Quarter Box Quartet - I'll Never Be Focused

Happy Holidays everyone!  Like many, I'm entirely preoccupied with holiday preparations (Christmas for me), and don't have much time for cards this week.  So, in lieu of something more thought out or time consuming, here's yet another quartet of cards plucked from the quarter boxes at my LCS

This batch of four is the perfect example of why I'm never able to focus on, and rarely able to complete, anything when it comes to collecting.  I just find enjoyment from too many cards, too many sports, too many players and too many sets.  There's not a single Red Sox card, or card from a set I'm working on, among this quartet, but I find them all interesting regardless...

What a photo!  I can't believe I'd never seen this Larry Walker Collector's Choice card before.  I would assume this is a Spring Training shot given the wire fence covered in blue tarp.  Either way, an interesting card that I couldn't pass up.

Jeff Skinner seems to have cooled off a bit since his rookie year, and I know he's dealt with some concussions too.  Nonetheless, winning the Calder Trophy for Rookie of the Year at age 18 is nothing to scoff at.  Plus, I'm a sucker for the early '90s Fleer Ultra sets that this card (from 2012-13 Fleer Retro) honors.

I long ago collected all of the Stadium Club Finest inserts that Topps produced on the hockey side of the charts in the '90s, but I either didn't know or had forgotten that they made them for baseball as well.  This one was simply too shiny for someone like me to leave behind.  The rays radiating out from one central point sort of remind me of the excellent Pinnacle Museum Collection parallels.

Closing it out today is an appropriately green card from the great Upper Deck Decade 1970's set.  So many gems in this set.  This is the second card I've shown this month featuring Reggie Jackson from his days with the Athletics.

Well, that's all I've got time for at the moment.  I hope everyone who reads this blog, and all the great folks I've interacted with here in the past year, have a safe and happy holiday season!  I'm off on vacation starting later today through the new year, so I'll have plenty of great cardboard content in the coming days.

Quarter Box Quartet - Dukes, Teemu, Ainge & Mr. Met!

Just a quick one today, a quartet of cards plucked from the quarter boxes at Central Sports Cards in Pawtucket, RI...

Since I've been on a minor league kick the past few months, I snapped up this Ramon Martinez card from the 1989 ProCards set.  I'm fairly certain this is the first Albuquerque Dukes card to enter my collection.

I've always been a fan of newspaper-themed cards, and when you combine that with one of my favorite hockey players of all-time sporting an obnoxious Mighty Ducks sweater I'm sold!  I got the Fedorov card from this set in a trade and have been on the lookout for others ever since, so I was very happy to land Teemu here for just 25 cents.

A Danny Ainge rookie card for a quarter?  I'm not sure how I went so long without picking up this iconic card of the current President of Basketball Operations for the Boston Celtics.  Not that I've ever chased after one specifically, but I always figured it would set me back at least a buck if and when I did find a copy.

Lastly, perhaps my favorite of this small bunch, an awesome Upper Deck flagship card from 2004 featuring Ichiro and Mr. Met.  I wasn't collecting at all in 2004, so had no idea this card existed, but it was one of those were the photograph is interesting enough that I happily threw it into my stack.

If I had to choose between these four cards and a candy bar, which is about comparable in price, I'd take the cards any day!  You can keep your Snickers bar, give me Mr. Met!