No TTM Today, Just Purchases

Despite not receiving any ttm returns today, my mailbox was full of purchases including unsigned cards to send out and some signed cards.

One of the unsigned cards was a SGC graded (5) 1968 Topps Juan Marichal.  I previously sent him one that had a little corner ding in the lower left corner which was significantly worse when I got it back. 

After looking for a better card online, I'm convinced the 1968 set was made from softer cardstock than other years because the corners on all the cards were pretty bad.  Maybe it's just a coincidence, but someone who collects the set could chime in and confirm or deny my guess.

Anyway, I received a couple more Dave Concepcion cards from two different buyers.  One was from CEI Sports, which appears to be a popular source of Reds autographs in Cincinnati.  The other was from a promoter who does a lot of signings with players, mostly outside of the U.S., and actually is promoting a signing with Concepcion in December.  I had started buying some Concepcion autographs just a couple weeks ago assuming he was done signing due to his health.  I'll probably send in a couple cards for my sets.

I also bought a Luis Aparicio signed Hall of Fame plaque postcard, and a couple 80's-signed cards from the same promoter running the Concepcion signing.

I upgraded my 1972 Topps Curt Motton, who was a reliable signer ttm but appears to have passed away before I started working on the 72 set.  I only paid a little over $3 for this one including shipping.

I previously bought one from Mickey's, who is no longer in business, but the pen used on that one was pretty poor.  It almost looks like crayon!

Tony Oliva 1972 Topps Purchase

After realizing that several of my Twins autographs on 1972 Topps cards, I bought an unsigned one to send to a Rod Carew signing, an unsigned one to send to Bert Blyleven, and since there is no Tony Oliva signing coming up that I'm aware of, I  bought this signed copy with JSA authentication.  

The card has some print marks but is reasonably centered.  It's at least a good filler until he has another signing that I can send to.

Here's the one I got signed at Twinsfest in 2011.  I have no idea why I didn't request blue.

I sent out a handful of ttm requests yesterday, and have been purchasing some Twins Buyback cards with the Topps 50th Anniversary logo on them so send out as well.

On Monday I showed off a 1971 Topps signed by Dave Concepcion since the signing I had last tried to send to was canceled due to his health.  Well, now there's another signing posted for him.  I'll probably send in something, I'm just not sure what yet.

Dick Calmus, Steve Hargan and Jose Tartabull TTM Returns - Plus Mayberry and Concepcion

I had a pretty full mailbox to kick off the week.  Three ttm returns, a mail-in signing return and a purchase from Mill Creek.

Dick Calmus signed his 1964 and 1968 Topps.

Steve Hargan signed his 1966, 1967, 1967 Leaders and 1970 Topps nicely in blue sharpie.

And Jose Tartabull kicked off my 1966 Athletics Yearbook project by signing the cover and his inside bio section, as well as his 1966 Topps.

He also wrote a little note on the backing board I used to mail the yearbook, but I can't quite make out what it says.  Perhaps, "Good memories" but I don't know the word that starts with a "B".  Book, maybe?

I received seven cards back from a John Mayberry signing with Tom Orr.  Mayberry signs ttm for $10, and I was able to get these signed for $8 each, filling some holes in my sets.

Finally, I bought a 1971 Topps Dave Concepcion slabbed by Beckett from Mill Creek Sports.  Earlier this year I had sent a couple cards into a signing with him which was canceled due to his health.  His signing days may be over so I decided to start buying some of his cards for my sets.  I have a 1972 Topps coming as well.

 

And Now For Something Completely Different...

I don't have any sports-related updates but thought I'd post anyway.  I am expecting some returns as early as tomorrow, including a 1966 Athletics Yearbook back from Jose Tartabull, and some John Mayberry cards back from a Tom Orr signing.

I'm also bundling up some Rod Carew cards to get signed, including his 1967 rookie card.

When I started this blog, I envisioned it including not only sports memorabilia, but also my comic and vintage toy collection.  I ended up creating separate blogs for the comics and toys, but gave up on those.  After collecting all of this for over 20 years, I found that my comics and toy collection really slowed down since I only collect vintage items and really don't buy that much anymore.  The few items I still want are very expensive and my purchases are few and far between.

My comic collection focuses on the Marvel Universe with a heavy concentration in Spider-Man.  I quit buying new comics in the early 90's when the prices and the variant cover scams made it obvious that they were more interested in making money than producing good comics.

My last significant comic purchase was back in 2018 when I bought Amazing Spider-Man #3.  

I have Amazing Spider-Man issues #2-425.  425 is when I quit buying new ones. 

My vintage toy collection is mostly Star Wars, with some 60's and 70's Superhero toys, such as the Mego line of toys.

I received a lot of the original Star Wars toys as Christmas and Birthday gifts when the movie originally came out in 1977 and 1978.  In the early 90's, when they released a new line of toys (Power of the Force 2), I got heavily into it again, buying not only the new toys, but also going back and buying more toys from the vintage Kenner line.

I have almost all of the loose Star Wars toys from 1977 - 1983, and some from the 1985 Power of the Force line.  I'm missing a few Ewoks and a few of the more expensive Power of the Force figures.  I also have several dozen carded figures.

My latest Star Wars purchases were a boxed B-Wing Fighter from Galaxy Toys in Duluth, MN (a great store for old toys!) and this loose Luke in Stormtooper Disguise figure from the 1985 Power of the Force line back in January of this year.

Over the last few years I've also been buying a few more Mego superhero action figures.  I've acquired quite a few in the last 2-3 years.  These can be tough to find in good condition, and I've decided to try to repair a few for my collection and potentially to resell.  I have a handful of figures with loose limbs and clothing in various stages of repair, but of course, haven't gotten around to fixing them yet!

Here are most of the Mego figures I have so far. 

I also have some board games, playsets and vehicles from the same time period.

I almost forgot about what prompted me to make this post.  I just received most (missing just one) of the 1966 Topps Batman card sets.  There were three series, differentiated by the color of the bat logo, with black being the first series, with 55 cards, followed by the red and blue series which each had 44 cards.

The only cards that have significant value, are cards 1 and 2 from the black set, which feature Batman and Robin separately.  I bought them all from a seller on eBay which started as me selecting some individual cards, but then our conversation led to me buying the complete red and blue sets, and all but #15 from the black set, which is on its way from a separate ebay purchase.

I scanned them all and have a web page that just dumps the images of them all here on my website.

Roy White TTM Return

I received one ttm return today.  Roy White signed his 1966 Topps, already signed by Rich Beck, as well as the 1966 Topps Yankees team card, already signed by Beck, as well as Jack Cullen, Bobby Richardson, and Ross Moschitto.

I've been receiving a bunch of unsigned cards from eBay.  Mainly 1972 Topps Twins cards, to upgrade the black sharpie signatures I have from Tony Oliva, Bert Blyleven and Rod Carew, but also a few other players that I'd like better signatures of.

I also bought a bunch of Topps Heritage Buy Back cards of Twins players on 1960's and 1970's cards.

Six TTM Returns Including Molitor's Grand Slam Print

Yesterday I forgot to post about my lone return, which was from Nelson Mathews, maybe because I was kind of frustrated with it.  I know these guys don't owe me anything and are not obligated to sign or even respond to my requests, but I still reserve the right to be disappointed with returns that aren't as expected. 

Mr. Mathews doesn't normally charge, but since I sent six cards in a bubble mailer along with a pen, I included $20 in cash.

He signed his three Topps cards, but he used a ballpoint pen instead of the Staedtler I had enclosed.  No big deal, but sending to him was largely intended to upgrade some previous cards and get a nice 1965 Topps in blue for my set.

Worse, he did not return the three team cards I had enclosed.  One of the cards didn't have any signatures on it yet, but one had three signatures, and one had seven.

Mr. Mathews is 84 years old, so it's possible he simply confused my cards with another request.  According to his history on SCN, he has mixed up cards before, but not on a regular basis.  I posted about not receiving these cards back on SCN and offered a reward for their return if someone there happens to get them back   It's a long shot, but it's worked for me before.

Today, I received several ttm returns, including this nice grand Slam print from Paul Molitor, who signed it in about a month.  I had included $30 with my request.

Ron Guidry, who enforces a strict one card per request, but doesn't charge, signed a 1972 Topps Commissioners Award card in about a month.  The Commissioners Award was in place for only a couple years before it was renamed as The Roberto Clemente Award following his passing.

Former-Twin and generous ttm signer Tom Hall signed his 1972 Topps as well as the 1970 - 19723 Twins team cards.  Somehow, these cards made their way to California, were signed by Mr. Hall, and returned to Minnesota in just seven days.  The team cards I sent him are all second copies since I've filled up versions of them already and Mr. Hall had signed those.

Joe Moeller signed his 1965 and 1966 Topps and included a signed religious pamphlet as well, which includes an image of his 1963 Topps.

And the final ttm return for today was from Vern Law, who has taken to adding a lot of inscriptions to almost everything he signs.  It's very cool and must take him a long time to sign.  He even added an inscription to the two team cards he signed for me.  

The 1965 Topps I included was yet another attempt to upgrade the previous ones I've sent him, which always seem to be signed with a fading pen.  I'm sure he goes through pens quickly since he adds so many inscriptions, and I've just been unlucky enough to have my cards signed when his pen was running low.  This one looks quite good though, so I am finally satisfied.  

This one was sent in 2008.  The ink is strong, but it's in black.

This was from 2023, and as you can see, the ink was quite weak.

And this one was from 2024.  It's better, but the ink was still pretty weak.

His eyes must still be quite good at 95 years old to be able to write as small as he does.  His writing is also very neat, especially for his age.  I have a few more team cards I'd like hi to sign, and since he collects a fee, I don't feel bad about sending them shortly after receiving this return.  If I were sending him a more expensive card, like his 1952 Topps, I would probably include my own pen and ask him to use it just in case.

I also received another Bill Pleis purchase to attempt to gather some nice, blue sharpie-signed cards, even though this is a 1965 Topps reprint from the 2014 Topps Heritage set.

I sent him his 1965 Topps in 2004 which he signed nicely, but in black.  I don't know why I didn't take the time to upgrade it over the last 20 years.