I received a couple ttm returns today after getting shut out yesterday.
Dick Egan signed the 1963 Rookie Stars card. This is Gaylord Perry's rookie card, so this one has a pretty big crease in it to keep the cost down, especially since Mr. Perry has passed away and won't be signing this one.
And Wayne Schurr signed his 1964 and 1965 Topps as well as the 1965 Cubs team card.
I also received a 2009 Allen & Ginter certified Denard Span card that I bought on Ebay.
It's been a little slow lately, but I received two ttm returns today.
Bernie Allen signed the 1963 and 1965 Twins team cards, his 1969 Topps buy back card, and the 1971 Senators team card. It took three months to get this one back. I was getting a little worried. I have a 1962 Topps Rookie Parade card I'd like to send to him, but I'll send it to Rich Rollins first.
And Larry Bowa signed his 1970, 1972, 1973 and 1987 Topps.
I received just one ttm return today. The returns have slowed down a bit because the number of requests I send out has also slowed down.
Bill Mazeroski signed the 1957 Topps Pirates team card as well as his 1964 Topps. I don't intend to have other players sign this team card. The 57 Topps team cards are about as bad as the 1971 team cards. They both have dark backgrounds so there aren't good spots to sign.
I've got more than my share of Bill Mazeroski autographs, but at $10 per, I have a hard time resisting. I have to decide what's next to send to him.
I also received a 1975 Topps signed by Billy Williams, authenticated by PSA. I had bought an unauthenticated one very recently, but this one has a much stronger autograph.
I would have sent in this card to a Billy Williams signing, but it seems like his fee has jumped up considerable from the $40 I used to pay. The last few signings have charged $89 for him to sign a baseball card.
I bought this PSA/DNA authenticated and encapsulated 1971 Topps on Ebay for about $20 less than I would have paid to send in a card to a signing.
I also have a couple 1975 Topps signed by Mr. Williams coming in the mail. Why a couple? Because I forgot I had already bought one when I ordered the second. I've been moving a bit too fast on my purchases, I guess!
I'm also waiting on a handful of signed 1952 Topps cards I bought on Ebay from a very reputable SCN member and am now looking at a few more from him.
I made a couple eBay purchases from an SCN member, with more on the way.
Today I received the first two: Carlton Fisk and Harmon Killebrew signed and Beckett authenticated 1975 Topps.
The sase that appeared in my Informed Delivery email yesterday but not my mailbox actually showed up today.
It happened to be Manny Mota, who signed his 1965, 1967 and 1969 Topps as well as the 1965 Pirates team card.
Just one ttm return today, despite my Informed Delivery telling me there'd be two. It's odd that the only thing in my Informed Delivery emails that is wrong is my ttm returns.
Bill Wakefield signed his 1965 and 1966 Topps, as well as a 1965 Mets team card. This is the beginning of the second copy of a 1965 Mets team card because the first one got full.
My Bobby Shantz sase showed up in my Saturday Informed Delivery email, but the sase didn't show up in the mailbox. But, it did show up today.
He signed his 1952 and 1953 Redman cards, as well as a beat up 57 Topps. I was too cheap to buy a nice 57. The Redmans were expensive enough.
He signed them all very nicely and included a signed index card thanking me for my kindness, which must refer to the $20 I included.
I also received a great Twins return, as post season stand out Royce Lewis signed his 2022 Topps Heritage that I sent to spring training. It was post marked from Texas.
Doug Rau signed his 1978 Topps, as well as a few Dodgers team cards.
Max Alvis signed his 1965, 1967 and 1969 Topps as well as the 1963 Indians team card, which is looking pretty nice by now.
Former-Twin Ed Bane signed his 1974 and 1977 Topps, as well as the 1974 and 1975 Twins team cards.
Great signer Jim Marshall signed his 1959 Topps, the 1963 Mets team card, the 1975 Cubs team card, showing him as manager, and the 1974 Cubs coaches card.
I was out of town for the weekend and came back to a bunch of autographs in my mailbox. Mostly purchases, but a couple ttm returns too. My Informed Delivery showed a return from Bobby Shantz that I'm really anxious to get back, but I was very disappointed that it wasn't actually in my mailbox. One time when that happened recently, I ended up getting the empty envelope ripped open and inside a USPS "body bag" because it got destroyed in the sorting machine. I will be VERY disappointed if that happens with this return.
My ttm returns included Masanori Murakami, who lives in Japan. He signed his 1965 Topps for me. I didn't think I'd ever get this card signed, even though I knew he was a reliable signer. I assumed the process was too hard and unreliable, but it was actually quite easy, and cheap!
I used a Global Forever stamp to send to him, which cost about $1.60. I enclosed $10 with my request, to help cover the return postage as well as some extra for him. I enclosed my usual sase, but added "U.S.A. to my address, as well as the additional 4 digits to my zip code. I'm really happy to add another card to my 1965 Topps set.
My other ttm return was from Ted Kazanski, who signed his 1957 and 1959 Topps, as well as the 1957 Topps Phillies team card. He personalized the 1957 Topps. He wrote a very nice and thoughtful answer to a question in my letter, and also wrote a short note thanking me for being a baseball fan, which is a great game. I really appreciate the personal notes in return.
I bought a 1983 Topps Tim Raines signed card, which is authenticated by JSA. It was a bargain I thought, so I picked it up on Ebay. I don't intend to pay a lot for the 1983 set autographs but bought the set to include when I send out cards from the 1985 and 1987 Topps sets, which I prioritize over the 83 set.
I made another Ebay purchase too. This time it was a Josh Donaldson 2022 Topps Heritage Real One autographed card. Josh is a character and was a bit of a distraction for the Twins, as well as other teams when he made some unpopular comments or actions. I never got the chance to see him at a signing, so I'll have to buy his autographs, I guess. I have a cool bobblehead of him I'd really like to get signed, but I'll have to wait for a mail-in signing.
I bought a couple 2018 Bowman Twins card from an SCN member, including Royce Lewis and Brent Rooker. Royce Lewis has lot of potential and got a lot of attention this post season with a few home runs. Not bad for a rookie.
The rest of my purchases were from Tom Orr auctions on Ebay that ended last Sunday. I got a bunch of bargains, I think, and added a couple more Jim Kaat autographs for less than sending into him for his $25 per card fee. I also added a couple cards signed by Mark Prior and Kerry Wood, who were big prospects when I started collecting autographs. I got them both ttm, which was amazing to me back in 2003. I added their 2003 Topps cards, which was the current set when I started collecting, and a Heritage card of each of them. I added three Gorman Thomas signed cards, for about the same or less than his fee, especially when you consider postage back and forth. And I was assured of a nice blue sharpie signature. He seems to sign with a nice blue pen according to the comments on SCN, but you never know. I might also send some late 80's cards to him ttm as well. Finally, I bought a Matt Adams signed 2014 Topps Heritage, mainly because of the Topps Rookie trophy.
