LINDEN CARD(s) OF THE WEEK - Some Superlative For Show

Wow.  That was a quick week.  I can't believe it's been 7 days since my last post.

Over the past week I've been happy to see some bubble mailers sitting in the mailbox.  Some new Superlative III cards for my Linden collection have shown up.

I've been pursuing these cards much more actively than Artifacts or The Cup.  I've noticed the price point for some of these cards to be lower than expected.  Too bad I jumped on a couple of these offerings too soon and didn't fully realize the savings.

Still, some nice cards to show off.....so let's get going.

2012/13 ITG Superlative III

Auto & Jersey

#AJ-TL silver version

This was a bit of a miss on my part.  I have two copies of this card now.  With 40 copies of it out there you'd think that would be ok.  Unfortunately this is the most common card in the product.

I had picked one up at the local card show a couple weeks ago in a trade and was cringing that I made a cash & trade deal for this one.

See......it's completely identical.  Ugh.  Oh well, this one's a trader.

It's tough to determine what to chase and what to try and pick up at the local shows.  With cards numbered to less than 50....odds are it won't show up.  In this instance I was wrong.

2012/13 ITG Superlative III

Autograph

#A-TL gold version

This was a nice surprise.  With only 10 copies of this card out there I had visions of the Captain C gold auto (also out of 10).  It was going for some pretty solid coin.

I managed to land this one for half the price I was originally expecting.

It's a pretty simple card....but it's a hard signed signature.  Can't complain there.

2012/13 ITG Superlative III

Superlative Patch

#SP-30 gold version

From 10 to 9.  This card is a nice solid patch piece.  The yellow and orange always draw me in and this offering is no exception.  

Another one that I grabbed early on and I'm kicking myself at the price I paid.  What I thought was good at the time has turned into about a $20-30 overpay.

But you can't be too picky when there's this few in circulation.

2012/13 ITG Superlative III

Auto plus Number

#SAP-TL silver version

Another card numbered to just 9, this has four very distinct and solid colors in it.  A very solid piece.  

This card, as well as the next one, has got me in a bit of a dilemma (you'll see where I'm going with this in a moment).

2012/13 ITG Superlative III

Raised To The Rafters

#RTR-36 silver version

One final card numbered to just 9 copies.  It showed up as a Buy It Now on ebay and the price was more than right.  This would definitely be the one card that has tilted the savings pendulum to my side for once.

Now....here's my issue.  Superlative III cards come in the packs already in penny sleeves and toploaders.  One additional thing In The Game did though was seal them.  You can see the ITG sticker at the top of each toploader.

The first couple cards I received were nicely sealed.  Just as they would have been coming out of the card producer's plant.

Unfortunately, the last couple has had the seal broken on them....allowing me to do this...

Free as a bird!!!

Now I've heard from Dr. Price (head guy for In The Game) that the sealed toploaders were only supposed to be for packaging and shipping in order to ensure a flawless card upon arrival.  Once in the hands of the collector the card is to be taken out of the case.

Me being one who likes to have things as pristine as possible am a little torn as to what to do with the cards that have popped seals.

Part of me wants to release them all so I can enjoy them and put them in one touch holders (like the rest of my memorabilia pieces) while the other part of me wants to find a replacement for each broken seal and "upgrade" so to speak.

But with the cards in question limited to just 9 copies, that might be easier said than done....especially if the next few arrived in that condition too.

Drama in my card collecting...what will I ever do?  Stay tuned to this dramatic soap opera.  I'm sure it'll be a cliff hangar.