[mouschi]

Stop me if you've heard this before, but I already had the first two, and bought them back since I knew I would likely never see them again. You can't tell in this dimension of a picture, but the last two are embossed refractors, and the first two are embossed refractors missing the embossing treatment.



Here is another view for you to see the difference ...



I decided to put up for sale my Houston Astros 1/1 quad patch of Houston's "Core Four". I am well aware (thanks to experience!) that people will trash the card's very existence because ... well ... Astros ... so I thought I'd beat them to the punch by posing it next to my bobblehead hitting a trashcan.



May, 2015: My family was on the way to Jose Canseco's house, when I checked eBay. A BEAUTIFUL 2000 Stadium Club Chrome 1st Day Refractor #/25 pops up. I was ecstatic because I had never seen one for sale before. My buddy gobbled it up before I could



Since then, I was able to land the (likely much rarer) non serial numbered version. Like the others, I sold and got it back (interestingly enough, from my buddy who picked up the serial number version!) After never having seen another serial numbered version, I landed one! Here they are together, in all of their rainbowy glory. It was not for sale, but was a trade from a private collector as it was never meant to see the light of day again.



Dufex printing was a process developed by F.J. Warren in the early 20th century, and involves printing images onto aluminum foil-lined paper or cardboard, using UV formulated transparent inks, which allow the reflective shine to be retained.

Here is some of my favorite Dufex eye candy. Jose looks like a warrior doing battle ... that or he just got hit on the hands with a Randy Johnson fastball.







YEARS ago, I was in Wal-Mart, checking eBay as we were going down the aisles, and saw someone post up a 2005 Donruss Signature Silver set for $2,500 - the cards all have a print run of /8. Immediately, I reached out asking the seller if he'd be willing to break it up, and if so, what he would take for the Canseco.

As it turns out, he said the Canseco was the hardest and priciest to get - and that he was actually featured in Beckett magazine as a Supercollector of the set! I printed out part of the article and kept it with the card. I sold it when I sold my collection back in 2018 to one of the guys I bought out, so it is back! Here it is. It has never looked more beautiful to me.



I haven't done as much trading since I was a kid as I have these past few months. I now have the 03-04-05 Topps Retired Refractor Auto #/25 Trifecta!!!

I already had the middle one, though I had to trade back for it a couple years ago after sending it to Canada. I think it is my most favorite refractor card, ever.

The other two? I've never seen either for sale. I still haven't! I did see them in a private collection among many other cards. Pics showed they had a hint of refactor properties. Sure enough, they were the never before seen gems!

These have never surfaced in the time I've been paying attention, which leads me to believe that set collectors gobbled these up shortly after their release dates 15+ years ago.



The other day, I decided to pull together my TOTT and Absolute cards for a photo op together. They are all either #/10, /15 or /25, with a couple being 1/xx. When I was able to take the right picture, I fell in love with the setup.



I continue to learn new ways to enjoy this hobby of ours. Life has thrown a lot at me recently, and the more I go through, the more I realize that it isn't about trying to just get through the struggles you have - there will ALWAYS be struggles and trying times - it is all about how you manage them. As I finish writing this up, I can see the workers setting up our new AC ... rest assured, a problem is just around the corner, and that's ok, because that is life. Creating customs, collecting cards, and enjoy the cards I already have by sharing them online has been a great release. What a great hobby we are blessed with!