LINDEN CARD OF THE WEEK - A Fine Leather Finish

I made a remark in my previous post about going almost a full year since my last ebay purchase. Well, wouldn't you know it...I ended up spending some dough just a few days later - and the card arrived today.

It's an item for the Linden PC that I didn't honestly think I'd ever track down. It's been eluding me for almost 30 years.

I won't bury the lede...here is the newest acquisition to the Trevor Linden collection...

1996/97 Leaf

#12 Leather & Laces  PROMO/5000

I knew that this promo card existed (it'd been on the wantlist for many years) and I've even seen a copy or two pop up...but the opportunity to buy one has never crossed my path. That is, until a couple weeks ago.

I was doing my daily (sometimes hourly) ebay search for new Linden cards and was gobsmacked to see a listing for this Linden promo. After picking my jaw up off the floor, I quickly messaged the seller asking if the card he was posting was actually the promo copy (as there was no picture of the back side of the card).

He said it was. 

I asked if he could fire off a photo of the back side.

You see, there is the PROMO version and then there is also a XXXX promo version. Two different cards - I only needed one of them.

While waiting for the seller to get back to me, I decided to just buy the thing. I knew it was priced to go and if I didn't buy it now...I'd surely miss out on it.

When the card arrived today, I was so thrilled to see what the back side of the card looked like.

That is indeed the promo copy that I've been looking for. I still can't believe my eyes.

These are the kinds of cards that make me love player collecting. Rare birds that are flying amongst the other, more common cards. They don't see the light of day too often - I'm talking decades. Elusive and often ignored by most, but of massive importance to my collection. 

I couldn't be happier.

What makes a pickup like this even better is that the price I paid was a fraction of what I thought the card could go for. Again, I felt that if I didn't pull the trigger quick...it'd be gone.

1996/97 Leaf

#12 Leather & Laces  /5000

That promo got me digging out my regular copy of the card - the one that's been sitting in my collection for almost 30 years. It got me thinking about the time when I picked it up and added it to my Linden pc.

It's hard to believe how long ago that was.

It was early on in my Linden collecting and the mid-90's were pumping out some really fun insert sets. This Leather & Laces design from Leaf was one at the top of my list.

FOr a while, I actually tried to put the set together...and landed the Gretzky (in his St. Louis Blues uniform) for probably $50 at the time - crazy money in my eyes.

I managed to pick up the Linden from a local shop. Actually, scratch that....it was a shop that was here in town, but I wouldn't call it "local". It was a guy who lived in Edmonton that would travel down to Calgary each weekend and open up a space at a mall to sell cards. It was wild to think...but I loved driving out there each weekend to check out all the new singles he had.

This Trev was a big find at the time. For a while it was even considered the centrepiece fo my Linden collection. He only had a couple hundred cards at that point (compared to the almost 3000 unique cards now). I thought this was one of the nicer looking ones.

A shop like that just doesn't exist these days. I've been thinking a lot about the stores and shows I went to decades ago. Real important times in shaping the type of collector that I am today. I value that a lot.

1998/97 Leaf

#12 Leather & Laces  XXXX/5000

To finish off the trifecta, I obtained this copy of the XXXX/5000 promo about a decade ago. At the time, it was a huge find as some of those mid-90's promo cards were popping up. 

Yet another card I never thought I'd own.

As I'm crossing off the latest add from my master list, I'm looking at all the cards that really make me excited to be a player collector - and a completionist. These promo cards are an important representation of that.

And I think they look best as a little mini collection. Great stories for each...great conversations.

To this day, still a fantastic design...super photo choice, and the texture on the card just adds to the allure of the Leather & Laces insert.

What can I say....seeing these three together in my collection brings a massive smile to my face.

I am so fortunate to have found the collecting lane that resonates with me the most.

Cheers!

LINDEN CARD OF THE WEEK - The Cup Baroque

Good day all....and Happy New Year. LOL :)

What can I say...it's been a while. Not for lack of hobby enthusiasm or limited show & tell options, I think I just wanted to keep the last few months quiet in terms of getting in front of the keyboard and sharing. There are times when I can't help but be loud and proud of new cardboard, but there are also stretches when I enjoy collecting as a solo gig - really leaning into the calm oasis of an environment that I control and navigate. The last few months have been just that.

So where are things at when it comes to my collecting?

Well, I'm just a few weeks away from turning the calendar on a full year without a single ebay purchase. If you'd have asked me a decade ago if that'd be possible, I'd have laughed. But the online world of purchasing (and more importantly - shipping) has evolved considerably. And I'm a far more patient guy than I was before. Add to that some financial stink eyes and you've got a cocktail of "slow and steady".

That all said, I recently received a package from COMC with a few cards for various collections. I neglected to snap photos and share. I just felt like getting things into topladers, update the master checklists and put the cards into their respective slots in my collection. Keeping it simple.

But....but........but.....I landed a card over the past week that has me excited to share. It's a fantastic addition to the main Linden PC and has a nice story to boot.

2023/24 Upper Deck The Cup

#BQ-TL Baroque

Gotta share a hard signed auto from a premium product like The Cup - right? This example comes from the 23/24 season and was a new insert introduction to the high-end offering. Shiny and with a good target for the signature, Baroque keeps things fairly simple (for a product like this). No serial numbering, no inscriptions and as a result - no obscene price tag.

In fact, this card was landed locally. One of the regulars to the card shop mentioned to my boss that he had a Linden that I might be interested in. I needed it...so I was. My boss asked me to come up with a dollar amount as he'd be bringing the card in over the weekend. No haggling, no drama, just a simple "set my own price" situation. They both knew that I knew my Linden numbers better than them.

So I made a fair offer. Nothing lowball but certainly something I was happy to shell out some cash for. After all, what a great gesture to think of me with this card. I handed over the cash and the card was mine. It's a real looker.

Again, a simple design, but it's all about the signature for me. And this is yet another sharp dose of penmanship. I never get bored of a new autograph card for the collection.

This card has given me a bit of a jolt as well. There are a few cards out there that I'd love to land, but I've been a patient guy for quite some time now. Maybe it's time to see if I can snag a few new ones here and there. And it feels really good to just have a postivie hobby story to reflect on (not that I haven't had many of those recently....in fact, the collecting world has been quite good to me of late). Very grateful.

Anyways, just wanted to share the new add, say a quick hello to all who read and I hope everyone has a fantastic year ahead. Never too late to wish that on a person. Cheers.