October Pickups

[MattyC]

JB, trust me: you absolutely KILLED it with that Aaron. And for UNDER VCP? That don't make no sense. That's a card that gets a mad premium at auction. Major score for your collection bro.

[Exhibitman]

Spent a bit more on this than I'd have liked but I did want one for my Aaron collection:



Since I got rid of the slabs and started trying to have fun again I can't resist these 'silver age' Topps HOFers in decent shape when the price is very right:



I don't think I ever had one of these when I was a kid:

[KingFisk]

Pretty happy with this one....

Nice El Tiante!

[GregC]

Finally after a long search: a nicely centered, tilt-free '52 Topps Mick to pair with the rookie! Thanks Sean1125 for an amazing deal. This is a keeper forever.

[Yossarian]

Nice cards all. MattyC - always solid eye on those pick ups. jb67 - that Aaron rookie is ridiculous. Very envious.

Mail today today - received a '53 Bowman color Eddie Mathews to (basically - that '52 Topps remains outside my budget; if anyone has one and is looking to deal, please let me know) complete my entire basic Mathews run. Always a favorite of mine and, in my opinion, an extremely overshadowed/undervalued player.

Would love to post my entire run at some point, if anyone would be interested.

On that subject, can anyone recommend a solid scanner for my collection? Nothing too fancy as I would probably just utilize for my cards. If I need to start a different thread, I can.

Thanks

[MattyC]

Yoss-- I got a very cheap Epson Perfection V300 (I think that's the model number). Ran me like $75 and works great.

And yes, you gotta post the Mathews run! I think he is almost tragically under appreciated, but the secret is kind of out on his 52T. I know lots of guys who want one of those centered. It's a real monster in that regard.

Congrats on the 53B. I don't know if there's one card in that set that's not beautiful. Whoever took and decided on what photos to use just killed it.

[the 'stache]

There are several good discussions on the forum about scanners, with members posting information about price, operating system, etc.

Here are a few:
http://www.net54baseball.com/showthr...hlight=scanner
http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?p=1148653

I have been using a Canon Canoscan 8400F which I picked up off of eBay for about $45 total. It was used, but it has served me well for about a year and a half. You absolutely want a scanner with a CCD scanning element, which stands for charge-coupled device. Your average office scanner has a CIS element. Avoid those, because they're awful for scanning graded cards. The reason? The elements are unable to scan anything with depth. Obviously, a graded card is slabbed in plastic. A CCD element takes care of that problem. It also has a cold cathode fluorescent lamp, which is great for scanning highly reflective cards (no streaks). I think some of the second generation led lighting elements have gotten better about this. They use less energy, and the scanner is just faster. But I love the scans I get. I leave the scanner top up, and either scan with no backing (for some graded cards), or I use black or white construction paper as my backing. Sometimes, I use the back of a steno pad for cards needing a neutral background.

Originally Posted by Yossarian

On that subject, can anyone recommend a solid scanner for my collection? Nothing too fancy as I would probably just utilize for my cards. If I need to start a different thread, I can.

Thanks

[jb67]

Congrats on the Mick Rookie! Presents much better than the grade.

[Yossarian]

MattyC and Bill - thanks for the comments/pointers on a suitable scanner. I will add one to my short list.

Speaking of which, now that I have completed my Eddie Mathews basic run, I am thinking of turning to that other criminally undervalued/non-appreciated teammate of his - Warren Spahn. Don't believe me? Check his career stats - yikes! I already have his '52 Topps, so the heaviest lifting is already behind me. Any other Spahn collectors out there? Any particularly difficult cards?

Greg - that '52 Mantle is awesome. Presents super fine for the grade. Well done, sir.

Those '76s (Eck and Brett) are both smoking. Interesting set with some oddly tough cards (Johnny Briggs comes to mind - supposedly one of the absolute hardest cards of the '70s. Anyone confirm? Anyone have in high grade?)