LINDEN CARD(s) OF THE WEEK - A Three Card Mailday

An overflowing mailbox greeted me as I walked up to my condo this evening.  A rare site these days.  I had to do some quick thinking as to what might be inside each of the three envelopes.  I soon remembered.

With the newest In The Game release - Stickwork - now a couple weeks old, the prices have dropped enough where I decided to dip my toe into the pool.  I was quite happy with my first find.

2013/14 In The Game Stickwork

#GUS-93 Game-Used Stick Silver

The "least rare" of the Linden cards inserted into Stickwork will probably end up being the easiest (and cheapest) of the eight possible cards to chase.  Limited to just 19 copies, this was common enough to let a few copies pass, but rare enough to strike when the time was right.

A nice beefy piece of game-used stick covers half the card.  I like it!  I also like the fact that it's a different stick used than his UM10 stick card.  Love the contrast.

I also like the way the cards were inserted into the boxes.  At 3 cards per box, each were housed in a sturdy one-touch (unlike the Superlative toploaders....see below).  I could (and did) crack open the card and run my finger along the stick.  It's a real thin piece but is really cool.  There's something about game-used items in a card....it never gets old to me.

If I did have one criticism, it would be the text on the card.  It has the look of a faded photocopy as opposed to a punchy, brilliant design.  The scan looks nice, but in the light the card loses its lustre a bit (no pun intended).

Some players included in the set do not have their faces pictured on the cards (for various contractual reasons I'm assuming).  I'm thankful that my guy does have a head shot as it completes the card design for me.

2012/13 In The Game Decades 90s

#M-44 Franchises Black (w/ Bure, Messier & Odjick)

Patience paid off again with these Decades 90s cards.  I've been painstakingly slow at obtaining the 27.....yes, TWENTY-SEVEN different cards available in this release.  Sure, many of them are 1/1's and will never hit my doorstep, but there are a lot of low-numbered parallels too.

This black parallel is the most common of the Franchises cards available so I knew they would bottom out in price sooner than later.  While I would have loved to have traded for a card like this, picking it up for the price I did worked just as well.

Nothing much to the design or the jersey pieces (but what can you do...I'm sure there are a ton of solid white or solid black pieces in their arsenal), but a card is a card and it was on the list.  Finding it for the right price was the biggest challenge.

Again....patience paid off.

2012/13 In The Game Superlative III

#SCJ-08 Complete Jersey Silver

This card is a big one for me - for many reasons.  Limited to just 4 copies, this card is the final piece of the non-1/1 Superlative III puzzle.  Right now I own 16 of the 20 total cards available with two of the remaining four already spoken for.

This piece happened to catch my eye on the hobby boards as part of a show & tell.  The person who owned it wasn't looking to sell but would consider a trade.  Awesome!  I love trading.

Unfortunately, he was looking for something very specific - something that I did not have.

He wanted a similar Complete Jersey card, but of Steve Yzerman.  Hmmmm.  Where could I get one of those?  To ebay I went.  Day in and day out looking for an Yzerman Complete.  Eventually I did find one.

Before bidding on it, I decided to double check with the owner of the Linden that the card I'd be bidding on would be a worthy trade.  He agreed and I bid.  When I bid my maximum amount, it ended up being the final amount - I guessed basically exactly what I needed to win the card.

Great in the sense that I knew it would lead me to the Linden.  Crappy in that it was the top dollar amount I was willing to pay (it would've been fantastic to hit the Yzerman for a steal of a deal).  Regardless, the trade was made.

The card arrived in the mail and I'm thrilled.

I'm thrilled also because it finally softens the blow from one of the worst ebay transactions I've ever encountered.  The gold 1/1 version of this card is one that I do own, but under circumstances I would love to change.  But that's in the past.

I quickly and anxiously cracked open the seal on the toploader and freed the card from its plastic.  I'm on the record as one who will never keep his Linden cards sealed in those housings.  Too many bad memories.

Right.....that's in the past.

Today, it's three more great cards to add to the collection.  Gotta love that!