The Great Zo
Verified Trader,
Summer vacation is finally over, so it's time to get going on my first mail post in almost two months. Between July 24 and September 1, I was on the move for about five and a half weeks straight, spending less than three days at my apartment in that entire time span. I traveled thousands of miles, stretching from Long Island to Oklahoma City, from my home in Michigan to the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, and just about everywhere in between. After so many roller coasters, classic cars, weather experiments, and lighthouses, I can finally turn some of my focus back to hockey cards.
This mail post is almost entirely rookie-centric, as I try to catch up through a slew of products from Panini's final run in the NHL marketplace.
Mail Post #13 for 2014
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Select Black Prizms Nathan Gerbe (1 of 1)
First up is a card that, though not for a specific collection, I'll likely keep anyway. I like the look of these attractive Select Black Prizm 1/1 cards, and this one was very inexpensive. It's basically the same refractive pattern as the Black Prizm cards in Panini Prizm (I have the Brian Lashoff autograph) -- but the cleaner design of the Select base cards make the colors look even nicer.
The Tim Thomas parallel from this set was recently listed on ebay, but unfortunately, I did not acquire the card.
-------------------------------------------------------
12-13 Upper Deck Silver Skates Steven Stamkos
12-13 Upper Deck Steven Stamkos
12-13 Panini Rookie Anthology Steven Stamkos
I purchased a lot of four Steven Stamkos cards. Two of the cards here are unimpressive base cards, though the Silver Skates insert is nice. The fourth card, however, is the reason I made the purchase.
-------------------------------------------------------
12-13 Upper Deck Requisite Radiance Steven Stamkos
Requisite Radiance was the long-odds insert from 2012-13 Upper Deck -- found at a rate of 1:432 packs. That would make these tough enough to find, but add in the fact that it's a 60-card set, and suddenly the scarcity becomes even clearer. I don't know how many copies of each card are made, but it has to be a fairly low number.
I've seen the Stamkos card from this set sell for twice the cost of the lot I purchased. I just got lucky to find a high-end insert buried with a batch of low-end cards. I'll be keeping this card for my collection. Like the Gerbe above, I just like the design -- die-cut with flashes of holofoil.
-------------------------------------------------------
10-11 Zenith Sergei Bobrovsky RC (168/199)
Moving into the rookies, I'm glad to have one of Vezina-winner Sergei Bobrovsky's most scarce rookie cards. With only 199 copies, there's only one RC with a shorter print run -- his #/99 card from The Cup. He was also slated for a #/99 RC in Dominion, but I'm pretty sure that card was never made.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Upper Deck UD Canvas Alex Killorn (SP)
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Upper Deck UD Canvas Tyler Johnson (SP)
Although they're insert cards, I've always enjoyed the UD Canvas Young Guns. They're a nice complement to the regular Young Guns cards from the base set. With Killorn and Johnson in this post, and Boone Jenner already in my collection (from both the NHL and Program of Excellence subsets), my wantlist from 2013-14 UD Canvas is finished.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 SP Authentic Andrej Sustr RC (0758/1299)
13-14 SP Authentic Jonathan Marchessault RC (0413/1299)
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 SP Authentic Mark Barberio RC (0769/1299)
My first three RCs from 13-14 SP Authentic are all from the non-autographed subset. I wonder why the print run (1299 copies) is higher this season? With the huge rookie class and a large checklist, that would seem to be unnecessary, unless the product was produced in much larger quantities than before.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Panini Contenders Mark Barberio RC
The next part of the post will focus on Panini Contenders -- or is that Playoff Contenders? Either way, the set featured a gigantic rookie checklist, with several different classes of cards.
I'll start with the only two sticker autograph RCs that I needed. These cards were retail-exclusive, as far as I am aware. The Mark Barberio card is not listed as a short print.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Panini Contenders Sean Collins RC
This card, however, is indeed listed as a short print. Since there are no actual print runs listed for the autographed cards in Contenders, it's hard to say how many were actually produced. As these are retail-only cards, that also factors into how many make it to the market. For the record, I found both the Collins and Barberio RCs to be slightly tough to find, but not overly difficult. I wouldn't have guessed that one was a short print over the other.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Panini Contenders Cory Conacher RC (SP)
The regular RC autographs from the Contenders set look a little bit different than the retail sticker autos. The card thickness is the same, but the retail cards have a glossy finish, while the hard-signed cards are matte. Also, the hard-signed cards have silver foil to mark off the set name, player name, team name, and RC logo. The RC logos on the hard-signed cards are also color-coded by team, rather than just greyscale.
This Cory Conacher RC is the base version -- however, he's also a part of two different variations. This card is listed as a short print, but it seems to be available in plentiful quantities.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Panini Contenders Boone Jenner RC (SP)
This Boone Jenner RC is similar to the Conacher above -- it's the base version (Jenner has one variation) and it's listed as a short print. It was also fairly easy to find, and inexpensive.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Panini Contenders Alex Killorn RC (SP)
This Alex Killorn RC is also listed as a short print. According to Panini, the short prints have a print run of between 200 and 400 copies. To be honest, they haven't seemed to be that tough to find.
This card shows Alex Killorn facing to the left.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Panini Contenders Alex Killorn (Variation)
The Alex Killorn variation card, seen here, shows him facing to the right. This card is definitely more difficult to find than the regular version, and according to one of the spreadsheet files Panini released, each variation card has a print run of 50 copies. Unfortunately, the autograph on this card is a little bit smudged, but I don't think it's a big deal.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Titanium Draft Parallel Jerry D'Amigo (053/100)
Titanium is the next focus, with five cards from another Panini set with a gigantic rookie checklist. This is my first card of Jerry D'Amigo, who was acquired by the Blue Jackets for Matt Frattin. D'Amigo will be fighting for a fourth-line spot with the big club, but will probably spend some time with Springfield of the AHL as well.
D'Amigo was selected by Toronto in the sixth round of the 2009 draft. He was #158 overall, so his gold-tinted draft parallel card is limited to 100 copies.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Titanium Draft Parallel Michael Kostka (077/100)
Mike Kostka, who played for three NHL teams in the 2013 and 2013-14 seasons, will be moving on to his fourth -- he signed with the New York Rangers. He's pictured here with Chicago, but Kostka -- a former Lightning farm-hand who was re-acquired by the organization -- played 19 games (and three playoff games) with Tampa Bay near the end of last season.
Kostka was undrafted, so he also gets a 100-copy print run.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Titanium Draft Parallel Michael Chaput (54/89)
Michael Chaput was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the third round (#89 overall) in 2010. He was traded to Columbus in exchange for Tom Sestito.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Titanium Michael Chaput (24/39)
One Chaput card isn't enough, so here's the silver-tinted base version, limited to his #39 jersey number. Chaput will be fighting for a spot with the Blue Jackets this season, but his battle may be easier if Ryan Johansen's continued absence leaves an opening for a skilled center.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Titanium Richard Panik (09/71)
I also acquired the base version of Richard Panik's Titanium card, which is limited to 71 copies. Panik may be on the fringe of the Lightning roster this season, but he's too skilled to give up on quite yet.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Panini Playbook Cory Conacher RC (029/199)
Next up -- two RCs from Panini Playbook. At first, I was a little hesitant about acquiring these cards, because they simply can't be stored in the way I usually like to store things. With the booklet folded up, they're about 3/8ths of an inch (~1 centimeter) thick.
However, after receiving these two cards, my mind was changed. They're among my favorite RCs in quite some time. I love the design -- two pieces of jersey, a cut-out picture of the player, and an autograph on acetate that casts a shadow on the cardboard below it. It's a really nice package overall, and looks great with the bright red jersey swatches on this Cory Conacher RC.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Panini Playbook Alex Killorn RC (021/199)
The Alex Killorn RC might be even nicer, containing two different colors of jersey -- blue and white.
It's too small to see in the pictures, but the printing on the outer spine of the card says "Rookies."
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Crown Royale Michael Kostka RC (18/99)
The final two RCs for this mail post are from yet another Panini set -- Crown Royale. The Silhouettes RCs look a little different this year, and while I preferred the centered-player approach to the last couple releases, these are still very nice cards.
This card may end up being one of Mike Kostka's best RCs. The prime jersey swatch has a large white seam, with blue jersey underneath. It's an event-worn swatch that was almost certainly worn during Mike's 2013 days with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Crown Royale Boone Jenner RC (14/99)
Even nicer than the Kostka is this rookie card of a player many people think could one day be the captain of the Blue Jackets. Boone Jenner quickly became a fan favorite at Nationwide Arena.
The swatch on this card has three huge layers -- a white seam, a red seam, and dark blue jersey underneath. This is about as nice as rookie cards get. How can I top this one to close out the mail post?
With a card of a player who simply does not exist!
-------------------------------------------------------
10-11 Score Rookies and Traded Gold Taro Tsujimoto
It's hard to believe that it was over three years ago that the legend of Taro Tsujimoto took a fascinating turn -- the fake player would be featured on a trading card! I'll recap the history as I explain why this gold parallel is such an incredibly crucial part of my collection.
In April of 2011, Panini announced that their Score Rookie and Traded box set would contain a scarce card of a legendary hockey figure who had never before appeared on cardboard. Panini's NHL Brand Manager (and former Beckett Hockey editor) Al Muir didn't give away the name of the player, leaving it a mystery for collectors to figure out.
To drum up interest for the card, Hobby Insider's Matt P (chadsexington) ran a contest to guess the identity of the card, with cooperation of Al Muir at Panini. The winner of the contest was set to receive a copy of the mystery card as a prize. I placed a random "why not" guess of a famous fictional hockey player -- Taro Tsujimoto of the Tokyo Katanas, drafted by the Buffalo Sabres as part of a hilarious troll job by GM Punch Imlach.
As luck would have it, my off-the-wall guess ended up being correct. When the product hit ebay on June 30, 2011, Taro Tsujimoto made his first trading card appearance in history! A Panini blog post on July 1 confirmed the identity of the card.
From there, the story took a negative turn for me -- the Tsujimoto card was never delivered. I should emphasize that this has nothing to do with Matt or Hobby Insider. Matt made every effort and did an awesome job just putting the contest together in the first place. For whatever reason, Panini couldn't follow through on the Tsujimoto prize. I was upset more with the principle of the situation rather than with what I didn't receive -- though fairly tough to find, the Tsujimoto card wasn't going to cost me an arm and a leg for my collection anyway.
I attended the Toronto Fall Expo that same November. Naturally, I spent a lot of time at the Hobby Insider booth, located (quite conveniently) directly across from the Panini booth. There, I met Scott Prusha and Karvin Cheung -- Panini's two main staff members at the show. It should be said that Panini, now in their second year of the NHL license, was undergoing a little bit of an overhaul -- Clint Hall had recently been let go, and Al Muir (not in attendance at the expo) was soon to be replaced by Chris Barr. I talked with Scott and Karvin about a lot of hobby-related topics, and learned a lot about where Panini was headed. Eventually, the Tsujimoto contest came up, and their disappointment in the situation was genuine. To say that they made it up to me would be underselling it by a mile -- the expo-exclusive Tim Thomas stick/patch/autograph 1/1 that I received remains one of my favorite hockey cards I own.
I really put the issue to bed when I finally acquired a copy of the Taro Tsujimoto card for all of $15.50 on ebay on December 4, 2011...
...but it's been almost three years since then. The story doesn't end there, does it?
Observant collectors may have noticed that Panini's July 1, 2011 blog post also indicated that a gold parallel of the Tsujimoto card was created. With a print run of 25 copies, I figured that it would be tough to find, but not impossible. I figured incorrectly. A month after the product was released, I wondered if the card had even been produced. Realizing how light the break of this box set had been, I kept looking. I believe it was almost after a year after the product was released that I finally saw a copy of the gold parallel. To this date, I've only seen three copies in total.
In August of 2013, I was surprised to see an ebay user selling a copy of the Tsujimoto gold parallel for an opening bid of $50. The card was listed a couple times, and did not sell. I threw the seller an offer of $35, but was told that for that price, they'd rather keep the card.
A year later, my fortunes changed. The same seller had finally relented and re-listed the card for an opening bid of $19.99. I was one of only two bidders, easily winning the card for $20.49 plus shipping -- not much more than I paid for the base version, and far less than the $35 I had offered a year prior.
About a week later I was cleaning through my Paypal receipts, and as I reached the documentation for the Tsujimoto auction, I noticed something very peculiar.
My payment had been sent to Al Muir -- and that's how you bring a story full-circle!
Finally, both the base version and gold parallel of the legendary Taro Tsujimoto card have found their way to my collection. I hold no hard feelings -- I simply wanted to tell the story. Ultimately I'll choose to enjoy some of the quirky things that came out of Panini's first year with an NHL license, and I'm glad Al brought this awesome card to the marketplace.
The biggest question, though, still remains unanswered -- who is the mystery player in the picture?
-----------------
News and notes:
** I had hopes of attending the 2014 Fall Expo, but unfortunately, that will not be able to occur.
** Tim Thomas still appears to have no plans for the 2014-15 season. I, however, have plans to include a huge assortment of Tim Thomas cards in a future mail post.
That'll be it. Thanks everyone!
--Andy
http://www.thegreatzo.com/cards/
-------------------------------------------------------
This mail post is almost entirely rookie-centric, as I try to catch up through a slew of products from Panini's final run in the NHL marketplace.
Mail Post #13 for 2014
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Select Black Prizms Nathan Gerbe (1 of 1)
First up is a card that, though not for a specific collection, I'll likely keep anyway. I like the look of these attractive Select Black Prizm 1/1 cards, and this one was very inexpensive. It's basically the same refractive pattern as the Black Prizm cards in Panini Prizm (I have the Brian Lashoff autograph) -- but the cleaner design of the Select base cards make the colors look even nicer.
The Tim Thomas parallel from this set was recently listed on ebay, but unfortunately, I did not acquire the card.
-------------------------------------------------------
12-13 Upper Deck Silver Skates Steven Stamkos
12-13 Upper Deck Steven Stamkos
12-13 Panini Rookie Anthology Steven Stamkos
I purchased a lot of four Steven Stamkos cards. Two of the cards here are unimpressive base cards, though the Silver Skates insert is nice. The fourth card, however, is the reason I made the purchase.
-------------------------------------------------------
12-13 Upper Deck Requisite Radiance Steven Stamkos
Requisite Radiance was the long-odds insert from 2012-13 Upper Deck -- found at a rate of 1:432 packs. That would make these tough enough to find, but add in the fact that it's a 60-card set, and suddenly the scarcity becomes even clearer. I don't know how many copies of each card are made, but it has to be a fairly low number.
I've seen the Stamkos card from this set sell for twice the cost of the lot I purchased. I just got lucky to find a high-end insert buried with a batch of low-end cards. I'll be keeping this card for my collection. Like the Gerbe above, I just like the design -- die-cut with flashes of holofoil.
-------------------------------------------------------
10-11 Zenith Sergei Bobrovsky RC (168/199)
Moving into the rookies, I'm glad to have one of Vezina-winner Sergei Bobrovsky's most scarce rookie cards. With only 199 copies, there's only one RC with a shorter print run -- his #/99 card from The Cup. He was also slated for a #/99 RC in Dominion, but I'm pretty sure that card was never made.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Upper Deck UD Canvas Alex Killorn (SP)
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Upper Deck UD Canvas Tyler Johnson (SP)
Although they're insert cards, I've always enjoyed the UD Canvas Young Guns. They're a nice complement to the regular Young Guns cards from the base set. With Killorn and Johnson in this post, and Boone Jenner already in my collection (from both the NHL and Program of Excellence subsets), my wantlist from 2013-14 UD Canvas is finished.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 SP Authentic Andrej Sustr RC (0758/1299)
13-14 SP Authentic Jonathan Marchessault RC (0413/1299)
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 SP Authentic Mark Barberio RC (0769/1299)
My first three RCs from 13-14 SP Authentic are all from the non-autographed subset. I wonder why the print run (1299 copies) is higher this season? With the huge rookie class and a large checklist, that would seem to be unnecessary, unless the product was produced in much larger quantities than before.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Panini Contenders Mark Barberio RC
The next part of the post will focus on Panini Contenders -- or is that Playoff Contenders? Either way, the set featured a gigantic rookie checklist, with several different classes of cards.
I'll start with the only two sticker autograph RCs that I needed. These cards were retail-exclusive, as far as I am aware. The Mark Barberio card is not listed as a short print.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Panini Contenders Sean Collins RC
This card, however, is indeed listed as a short print. Since there are no actual print runs listed for the autographed cards in Contenders, it's hard to say how many were actually produced. As these are retail-only cards, that also factors into how many make it to the market. For the record, I found both the Collins and Barberio RCs to be slightly tough to find, but not overly difficult. I wouldn't have guessed that one was a short print over the other.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Panini Contenders Cory Conacher RC (SP)
The regular RC autographs from the Contenders set look a little bit different than the retail sticker autos. The card thickness is the same, but the retail cards have a glossy finish, while the hard-signed cards are matte. Also, the hard-signed cards have silver foil to mark off the set name, player name, team name, and RC logo. The RC logos on the hard-signed cards are also color-coded by team, rather than just greyscale.
This Cory Conacher RC is the base version -- however, he's also a part of two different variations. This card is listed as a short print, but it seems to be available in plentiful quantities.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Panini Contenders Boone Jenner RC (SP)
This Boone Jenner RC is similar to the Conacher above -- it's the base version (Jenner has one variation) and it's listed as a short print. It was also fairly easy to find, and inexpensive.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Panini Contenders Alex Killorn RC (SP)
This Alex Killorn RC is also listed as a short print. According to Panini, the short prints have a print run of between 200 and 400 copies. To be honest, they haven't seemed to be that tough to find.
This card shows Alex Killorn facing to the left.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Panini Contenders Alex Killorn (Variation)
The Alex Killorn variation card, seen here, shows him facing to the right. This card is definitely more difficult to find than the regular version, and according to one of the spreadsheet files Panini released, each variation card has a print run of 50 copies. Unfortunately, the autograph on this card is a little bit smudged, but I don't think it's a big deal.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Titanium Draft Parallel Jerry D'Amigo (053/100)
Titanium is the next focus, with five cards from another Panini set with a gigantic rookie checklist. This is my first card of Jerry D'Amigo, who was acquired by the Blue Jackets for Matt Frattin. D'Amigo will be fighting for a fourth-line spot with the big club, but will probably spend some time with Springfield of the AHL as well.
D'Amigo was selected by Toronto in the sixth round of the 2009 draft. He was #158 overall, so his gold-tinted draft parallel card is limited to 100 copies.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Titanium Draft Parallel Michael Kostka (077/100)
Mike Kostka, who played for three NHL teams in the 2013 and 2013-14 seasons, will be moving on to his fourth -- he signed with the New York Rangers. He's pictured here with Chicago, but Kostka -- a former Lightning farm-hand who was re-acquired by the organization -- played 19 games (and three playoff games) with Tampa Bay near the end of last season.
Kostka was undrafted, so he also gets a 100-copy print run.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Titanium Draft Parallel Michael Chaput (54/89)
Michael Chaput was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the third round (#89 overall) in 2010. He was traded to Columbus in exchange for Tom Sestito.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Titanium Michael Chaput (24/39)
One Chaput card isn't enough, so here's the silver-tinted base version, limited to his #39 jersey number. Chaput will be fighting for a spot with the Blue Jackets this season, but his battle may be easier if Ryan Johansen's continued absence leaves an opening for a skilled center.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Titanium Richard Panik (09/71)
I also acquired the base version of Richard Panik's Titanium card, which is limited to 71 copies. Panik may be on the fringe of the Lightning roster this season, but he's too skilled to give up on quite yet.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Panini Playbook Cory Conacher RC (029/199)
Next up -- two RCs from Panini Playbook. At first, I was a little hesitant about acquiring these cards, because they simply can't be stored in the way I usually like to store things. With the booklet folded up, they're about 3/8ths of an inch (~1 centimeter) thick.
However, after receiving these two cards, my mind was changed. They're among my favorite RCs in quite some time. I love the design -- two pieces of jersey, a cut-out picture of the player, and an autograph on acetate that casts a shadow on the cardboard below it. It's a really nice package overall, and looks great with the bright red jersey swatches on this Cory Conacher RC.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Panini Playbook Alex Killorn RC (021/199)
The Alex Killorn RC might be even nicer, containing two different colors of jersey -- blue and white.
It's too small to see in the pictures, but the printing on the outer spine of the card says "Rookies."
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Crown Royale Michael Kostka RC (18/99)
The final two RCs for this mail post are from yet another Panini set -- Crown Royale. The Silhouettes RCs look a little different this year, and while I preferred the centered-player approach to the last couple releases, these are still very nice cards.
This card may end up being one of Mike Kostka's best RCs. The prime jersey swatch has a large white seam, with blue jersey underneath. It's an event-worn swatch that was almost certainly worn during Mike's 2013 days with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Crown Royale Boone Jenner RC (14/99)
Even nicer than the Kostka is this rookie card of a player many people think could one day be the captain of the Blue Jackets. Boone Jenner quickly became a fan favorite at Nationwide Arena.
The swatch on this card has three huge layers -- a white seam, a red seam, and dark blue jersey underneath. This is about as nice as rookie cards get. How can I top this one to close out the mail post?
With a card of a player who simply does not exist!
-------------------------------------------------------
10-11 Score Rookies and Traded Gold Taro Tsujimoto
It's hard to believe that it was over three years ago that the legend of Taro Tsujimoto took a fascinating turn -- the fake player would be featured on a trading card! I'll recap the history as I explain why this gold parallel is such an incredibly crucial part of my collection.
In April of 2011, Panini announced that their Score Rookie and Traded box set would contain a scarce card of a legendary hockey figure who had never before appeared on cardboard. Panini's NHL Brand Manager (and former Beckett Hockey editor) Al Muir didn't give away the name of the player, leaving it a mystery for collectors to figure out.
To drum up interest for the card, Hobby Insider's Matt P (chadsexington) ran a contest to guess the identity of the card, with cooperation of Al Muir at Panini. The winner of the contest was set to receive a copy of the mystery card as a prize. I placed a random "why not" guess of a famous fictional hockey player -- Taro Tsujimoto of the Tokyo Katanas, drafted by the Buffalo Sabres as part of a hilarious troll job by GM Punch Imlach.
As luck would have it, my off-the-wall guess ended up being correct. When the product hit ebay on June 30, 2011, Taro Tsujimoto made his first trading card appearance in history! A Panini blog post on July 1 confirmed the identity of the card.
From there, the story took a negative turn for me -- the Tsujimoto card was never delivered. I should emphasize that this has nothing to do with Matt or Hobby Insider. Matt made every effort and did an awesome job just putting the contest together in the first place. For whatever reason, Panini couldn't follow through on the Tsujimoto prize. I was upset more with the principle of the situation rather than with what I didn't receive -- though fairly tough to find, the Tsujimoto card wasn't going to cost me an arm and a leg for my collection anyway.
I attended the Toronto Fall Expo that same November. Naturally, I spent a lot of time at the Hobby Insider booth, located (quite conveniently) directly across from the Panini booth. There, I met Scott Prusha and Karvin Cheung -- Panini's two main staff members at the show. It should be said that Panini, now in their second year of the NHL license, was undergoing a little bit of an overhaul -- Clint Hall had recently been let go, and Al Muir (not in attendance at the expo) was soon to be replaced by Chris Barr. I talked with Scott and Karvin about a lot of hobby-related topics, and learned a lot about where Panini was headed. Eventually, the Tsujimoto contest came up, and their disappointment in the situation was genuine. To say that they made it up to me would be underselling it by a mile -- the expo-exclusive Tim Thomas stick/patch/autograph 1/1 that I received remains one of my favorite hockey cards I own.
I really put the issue to bed when I finally acquired a copy of the Taro Tsujimoto card for all of $15.50 on ebay on December 4, 2011...
...but it's been almost three years since then. The story doesn't end there, does it?
Observant collectors may have noticed that Panini's July 1, 2011 blog post also indicated that a gold parallel of the Tsujimoto card was created. With a print run of 25 copies, I figured that it would be tough to find, but not impossible. I figured incorrectly. A month after the product was released, I wondered if the card had even been produced. Realizing how light the break of this box set had been, I kept looking. I believe it was almost after a year after the product was released that I finally saw a copy of the gold parallel. To this date, I've only seen three copies in total.
In August of 2013, I was surprised to see an ebay user selling a copy of the Tsujimoto gold parallel for an opening bid of $50. The card was listed a couple times, and did not sell. I threw the seller an offer of $35, but was told that for that price, they'd rather keep the card.
A year later, my fortunes changed. The same seller had finally relented and re-listed the card for an opening bid of $19.99. I was one of only two bidders, easily winning the card for $20.49 plus shipping -- not much more than I paid for the base version, and far less than the $35 I had offered a year prior.
About a week later I was cleaning through my Paypal receipts, and as I reached the documentation for the Tsujimoto auction, I noticed something very peculiar.
My payment had been sent to Al Muir -- and that's how you bring a story full-circle!
Finally, both the base version and gold parallel of the legendary Taro Tsujimoto card have found their way to my collection. I hold no hard feelings -- I simply wanted to tell the story. Ultimately I'll choose to enjoy some of the quirky things that came out of Panini's first year with an NHL license, and I'm glad Al brought this awesome card to the marketplace.
The biggest question, though, still remains unanswered -- who is the mystery player in the picture?
-----------------
News and notes:
** I had hopes of attending the 2014 Fall Expo, but unfortunately, that will not be able to occur.
** Tim Thomas still appears to have no plans for the 2014-15 season. I, however, have plans to include a huge assortment of Tim Thomas cards in a future mail post.
That'll be it. Thanks everyone!
--Andy
http://www.thegreatzo.com/cards/
-------------------------------------------------------
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