General Forum

#1 - Covet: There are 3 that instantly come to mind, but not necessarily unobtainable. I'll scratch the Ozzie Smith OPC RC, b/c I think I will own it one day. The next would be a Stan Musial RC card. I don't see me getting it any time soon or possibly ever, but I wouldn't call it unobtainable b/c I could get one if I had the cash. What I do consider unobtainable is the 2009 Topps Sterling AU'd Quad MEM 1/1 Ozzie Smith card. That is an awesome card that I have wanted since it showed up on ebay. After 2 years on my watch list, it sold to someone else. I just remembered that I have a scan of it. I added it to the CL here:

http://www.tradingcarddb.com/ViewCard.cfm/sid/24775/cid/2873017?PageIndex=1

#2 - Never trade/sell: I honestly can't say I'd never sell or trade ANY card! Who knows what life has in store later on and I might NEED to sell something I love. I didn't think I would ever get rid of any of my Jimmie Johnson AU cards, but I've traded 5 of them in the past year. In four of those trades, I got a similar or better AU card in return. The oddball there got me a Dale Earnhardt Jr. AU card in return. The Top-2 of my cards I don't WANT to ever get rid of would be my 1979 Topps Ozzie Smith RC (took 20 years to get one after I started trying) and my answer to #3.

#3 - Most joy: The card linked below : 2011 Press Pass Showcase Masterpieces Ink Melting - AU, Quad MEM 1/1 Jimmie Johnson. This one is extra special to me. Not only did I never think I would get one of his 1/1's before this one (now have 7), but I also never expected to get a 1/1 that was autographed (now have 5). What makes this one so special is that it is the truest one-of-one there can be! There is no other card like this one on the planet! There are 2 other AU versions of this card, but one is 2MEM / SN45 and the other is 3MEM / SN25. The card I have is the only one that has 4MEM and the only 1/1.

http://www.tradingcarddb.com/ViewCard.cfm/sid/67039/cid/4928036/2011-Press-Pass-Showcase---Masterpieces-Ink-Melting-MPI-JJ-Jimmie-Johnson?PageIndex=1

My other 6 JJ 1/1's are all printing plates, but 4 of those are the complete AU'd set from 2009 Wheels Autographs.

Thanks! That's why I actually traded a Jimmie Johnson / Jeff Gordon Dual AU card SN25 for it. The Teammates AU had a BV of $400, but I paid less than half of that for it. Even though it was my only Jeff Gordon AU'd card, I thought it was totally worth making the trade for that spectacular 1/1 JJ card (my 1st JJ 1/1). This is the card I traded to get it (and my scans):

http://www.tradingcarddb.com/ViewCard.cfm/sid/55720/cid/4891291/2006-Press-Pass-Eclipse---Teammates-Autographs-NNO-Jimmie-Johnson-/-Jeff-Gordon?PageIndex=1

I even contacted the guy I bought the Dual AU from (also a JJ collector, but had 2 copies of that card) and asked what he thought. He is a hardcore collector of rare Jimmie Johnson cards! He said he'd make the trade AND he said he'd pay at least $250 for the card if he saw it for sell. He's already tried twice to get it from me since I made the trade. He offered cash the first time and offered a trade the second time. I politely declined both. We are pretty good internet friends though. Hard to believe with two people going after the same cards. He usually has more cash to spend than I do, but we constantly notify each other of rare cards popping up on ebay and such. I got lucky to get the set of 4 AU'd printing plates before he did! A nice bonus to having those 5 cards/plates is that if I ever need $600+ real fast, I know where to get it.

Extra info on the JJ 1/1, the swatch of shoe is actually neon yellow and black. Neon yellows and greens almost always scan as white and I have no idea how to change that without altering the rest of the colors. The matching Alpine Stars logos from the shoe and the firesuit laundry tag were a big bonus to me! Everything combined made the trade a no-brainer. I still need a new autographed Jeff Gordon card though.