[mouschi3]

Hey everyone! It has been quite a while since I have posted. I normally hang out on social media these days, but missed writing. I thought I'd write up something having to do with my latest trade.

As a child, nothing got me more excited than baseball cards.  I'm not sure what was better - getting a pack of cards to open, or trading cards.  As a 9 or 10 year old, I remember having opened some 1989 Topps, and carrying them around in a brown paper lunch bag.  The star of the show?  "Rock" Raines.  It had to be desirable, right?  With a name like that, surely it'll appeal enough to one of my friends to trade away one of their Jose Canseco baseball cards!   

Trading baseball cards as a child probably helped me as an adult in terms of making deals with others.  It isn't necessarily a skill that everyone possesses ... or even wants to possess.  Many collectors want to buy the cards they love, and keep them, which of course is fine.   

As for me? I love trading.  Heck, I even love getting back cards I've dealt away, which I've done a lot of (and incidentally, have gotten a lot of flack for).  But in all honesty, getting big cards back a 2nd and 3rd time keeps things exciting.  I never tire of it!   

Thankfully, my good friend Jon D. is a fan of trading as well - plus, he's a Canseco guy!  He had the absolutely most incredible story landing one of, if not the most valuable Jose Canseco baseball card ever, the 1996 Select Certified Mirror Gold.   

 

Guys, it doesn't get much bigger for a Canseco collector.  This is a BIG deal of a card.  How did Jon find it?  In a junk card lot!  It literally was amidst several fairly worthless cards.  To make it even crazier, Jon had been thinking about this card just the day before.  There is a lot more to the story, but that is the gist.   

I moved mine a few years prior, so I asked if he wanted to work a deal.  We ended up working something out, which included some heavy hitters. 

Here is what I had to give up for the 96 Mirror Gold:

I had to send him my beloved handprint - a card that, ten years ago, I was offered, but ended up sending him to someone else, because I wasn't that big into collecting Canseco yet.  That card haunted me ever since.  I still remember someone saying "This isn't a case hit; it is a pallet hit!"  I dunno why, but always thought that was cool.   

Eventually, I found one, which apparently was hiding in someone's dad's cabinet for years.    (This card stayed with Jon for several months - just enough for his family to high five it, and return it to me in another trade!)   



This Topps black superfractor is, I believe, Jose's first and only Black super auto.  This had to be sent over for the 96 MG as well.  Again, this card returned to me as well in the latest deal, which I'll talk about further down in this article!



Here are some cards I created

Finally, in order to land that gorgeous '96 Mirror Gold, I agreed to send Jon a pile of cash and create these custom cards - all of which have player-worn patches. 



This is probably my favorite one, as it has a piece of the green monster!

 

When it rains, it pours, right?   

Months later, ANOTHER '96 Mirror Gold fell into my lap.  This time, it is THE copy that came from the CEO of Pinnacle's collection!  Honestly, how does it get better than that? 



I'm not one to just keep around a dup worth several thousand dollars for nothing, so I knew eventually the other would be dealt away ... btw, I'm not one to keep my cards graded either, but I'm making an exception on this one, given that it helps its provenance.   

The time finally came for me to deal it away - to its original owner, Jon!  It just made sense - such a cool story of how it was picked up, it felt like a right move to attempt.   

After going back and forth for a week, we ended up doing a deal!  I won't say what else Jon got, I'll let him mention that if he likes, but here is what we did on my side ...

The cards I got from trading away the '96 Mirror Gold (mostly ... not all of them, but these are the notables!): 

A while back, Jon made waves in the Canseco-realm by picking up a record-breaking Dynasty Canseco.  I used to have the lion's share of all Dynasty cards of Canseco, and at one point had 2 or 3 of the 1/1s (eek!)  but eventually paired it all down to keeping this one.  It is a special patch, given that it is a 25th anniversary sleeve patch.  Jose probably only has 4-5 cards made with a patch of this, all of which from Dynasty.   



Ever since Jon picked his up, I have been trying to see what we could do to do a deal that would send mine to him, and his record breaker to me.  Here is his: 

                           

If you are a "normal" person, you may be thinking "Why would Tanner ever want to trade these? What's the big deal?"  That little tiny bit of extra patch made all the difference in the world.  Goofy?  Probably.  But I am happy!  It is my fav  

This card does have extra significance as well, though.  Apparently, this is THE patch Jose wore when he was pulled from a game to be traded to the Rangers on August 31st, 1992.  Gahhh, I STILL remember my mom waking me up the next day to break the news to me.  The tears were flowing for sure!  Welp, that bitter pill is now encased in a card in my collection.   

Next up is a card I had traded to Jon as well, so it is a "boomerang" card.  It is the only Allen & Ginter Canseco Glow card that I can remember seeing.  After I quit trying to get ALL the Canseco cards back in 2018, this card probably helped me to get back into some newer cards of his.  I LOVE the glow gimmick!



In the same vein, I got this red ink #/10.  I thought it would be fun to have one of several different types of Allen & Ginter minis, because I love them so much.  Currently, I have:

glow, red ink, subway token /5, black framed gold ink /5, metal /3, silk /10, red /5, stained glass, wood 1/1, superfractor 1/1, 4 1/1 buyback autos, and mayhaps some others, but that is the variety I look for when collecting.   



Up next are two absolute stunners.  When it comes to new cards, I typically ONLY stick to 1/1s ... and special 1/1s at that...plus some low number premium relics.  These blow that notion out of the water.  I don't know if I've seen any others live for sale before on these, and my goodness, they are just drop dead gorgeous.  Get into mah collection!  2020 Topps Aoki /5 and /10.

 

 



Several years ago, Topps came out with a really neat set that included a coin and a stamp.  There are penny, nickel, dime, and quarter variations #/25 ... and then you have the autograph version #/10.  Here is the /10! It is one of those cards that I let go and after a while, I said to myself "why did I do that?"  (That happens from time to time!)   



Canseco has *very few* licensed auto patch cards, so this one #/10 from 2004 SP Game Used is a treasure.  Jon beat me to the punch on this one on eBay!  The design and die cut in the design is all top notch, making this one of his better licensed auto patch cards.



Did I say licensed auto patch cards of Canseco are rare?  Try Topps ... this is one of his only on card auto patch cards outside of Dynasty.  If I recall correctly, this is a redemption.  I've seen two others, neither of which had a sleeve patch like this one does.  Ever since I got rid of my copy, I've wanted one back.   

 

Next to my Gypsy Queen 1/1 auto button, this is my favorite button card of his.  The card just shines amazingly!  Plus, there is a bit of a mystery to this one.  This card has variations of /8, /5, and the 1/1, so a total of 14 different cards.  I've seen about 6 of them (a few being /5 and the one of one) - this is the only with a button!  Did Panini goof and put the wrong relic in the 1/1, and instead put it in this beauty?  Oops!  For more fun, if you checked my research, assuming this gray jersey/button is from Panini's Rangers Canseco gamer, it is likely, this button was part of his jersey he was wearing when the ball bounced off his head, and pitched in a game, changing his career forever.   

 

While many may not know of any connection of these players, or reason to put them on the same card, there is a bit of a story here off the field.  In 1990 or so, Jose Canseco took then-rookie Frank Thomas out for a spin in his Ferarri.  They got into a race going 120+ mph against a Porsche, and nearly wrecked, which could quite possibly have killed them both!  I've met both fellas, they've both seen my work, and both said my work was great!  Having a double barrel booklet with both of them having signed the barrels is simply put, a very special card to behold!   



Bat knob cards are always fun, but this one is a bit different.  Instead of it being the knob, it is actually the end of the bat!  Put that in a Sterling card, and you've got a home run (bwahahah).



Last but not least, here is the final card of the trade that I got!  This one was dealt to our buddy Joe, who dealt it to Jon.  And once again, it is back in my collection!  As a collector who likes to have his collection tell a story, and have one of each "type" of premium relic card, an autographed knob card was a must.  Jose has very, very few.   



Oh, and yes, I also got back the Topps Black Superfractor shown above (along with a few others cards, too.)   

All in all, I can't really say this was just a big trade.  It was the biggest trade I can remember being a part of!  It is one of those deals that keep you up at night trying to formulate counter offers, have a better than average day once a deal has been struck (while questioning yourself 100 times if you did the right thing,) freak out once the cards are in the hands of the postal service, and once they arrive, geek out like a 9 year old who felt like he hit the lottery when he was able to open an entire box of 1989 Topps by himself.  Phew, that was some type of sentence, wasn't it? 

It is funny to think my obsession as an adult with cards and trading all started with a 9 year old boy, and his lunch sack of 1989 Topps.   

As always, thank you for reading, and of course - if you have any rare Canseco cards available, please let me know!   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9-OqoNatcQ;

[zeprock]

Those aren't just baseball cards. Those are museum pieces. Beautiful stuff!

[ZSDOne]

The stamp card and coin card is my favorite of those - as someone who collects both stamps and cards, I have a couple of the Topps Stamp and autograph cards (both football from Gridiron Legacies) but they didn't have a coin added in too - interesting choice of stamp with the A. Phillip Randolph stamp - any idea what the connection between Randolph and Canseco is? The football ones I have have the stamp from the player's home state. Or did they just pick a random stamp from 1989? It's a nice looking stamp.

[rjcj2017]

Nice stuff as always, sir!

[akaus]

Great story. I really enjoy reading everything you write. I'm also glad that I am not a Canseco collector as I wouldn't stand a chance against you and some of the other die hards. Amazing cards.

[mouschi3]

Those aren't just baseball cards. Those are museum pieces. Beautiful stuff!

Man, one of the greatest things about posting here is seeing familiar usernames.  Thanks for chiming in   

The stamp card and coin card is my favorite of those - as someone who collects both stamps and cards, I have a couple of the Topps Stamp and autograph cards (both football from Gridiron Legacies) but they didn't have a coin added in too - interesting choice of stamp with the A. Phillip Randolph stamp - any idea what the connection between Randolph and Canseco is?  The football ones I have have the stamp from the player's home state.  Or did they just pick a random stamp from 1989?  It's a nice looking stamp.

Excellent question!  I literally said that to my friend Jon that I got it from.  I told him I'd probably want to put in a Lou Gehrig stamp, or perhaps even do a custom Canseco stamp and overlay on it (not permanently of course!)  I'd had that thought for the rest of the set too from years ago.  Jon's relative was actually a stamp dealer, and said it was minted in 1989, just like the quarter.  So the running theme is 1989, which was the pinnacle year of baseball for me, so I figured - yeah, i think Topps did a good job at selecting it  

Nice stuff as always, sir!

Thank you brother!

Great story. I really enjoy reading everything you write. I'm also glad that I am not a Canseco collector as I wouldn't stand a chance against you and some of the other die hards. Amazing cards.

Thanks man!  And goodness, I wish the other Canseco collectors would stay away from the good stuff too! haha

[rjcj2017]

My quick Canseco story, some of you have probably seen this already.

Back when I first started playing basketball in 7th grade, I was the last kid off the bench.

I only shot the ball twice the entire season and didn't score a single point.

So going into 8th grade, my dad told me he'd buy me a pack of cards for every point I scored that year.

First game of the first tournament of the season, I sank a right baseline jumper for two points.

(It was 35 years ago and I remember it like it was yesterday.)

True to his word, after the game my dad took me to a local card shop.

This was 1988 and the A's were our local team ... Jose had just wrapped up his 40/40 season and there was no bigger superstar on Earth.

My dad let me get two packs of 1988 Fleer ... this was the last year before Upper Deck so Fleer was considered the premium card on the market.

I said to my dad, "I hope I get a Jose Canseco."

The odds were not good ... two packs of 15 cards each in a 660-card set.

Lo and behold, second pack ... Jose Canseco!!!





 
(Not my card, but same one)

I have moved about a dozen times since then, flushed my entire collection about three times, and this is one card I will never get rid of.

[zeprock]

Great story RJ. 

I still have my first card too although it is from 1970, a Kellogg's 3D Willie McCovey, and my first pack that I bought that same year contained an All-Star card of my favorite player, Carl Yastrzemski. Not bad for a five cent investment.

[bonds20001]

Great story RJ. 

I still have my first card too although it is from 1970, a Kellogg's 3D Willie McCovey, and my first pack that I bought that same year contained an All-Star card of my favorite player, Carl Yastrzemski. Not bad for a five cent investment.

Yup..from the cereal box..or at least I remember getting cards from post on the back to cut out or in cello packs inside..

[jhyde77]

I started collecting in ‘89. I knew Canseco had some cool cards. But I didn’t know he had so many that were that nice.