2017 Sainbury's Create the World Lego cards

A little change of pace today.

A supermarket called Sainsbury's, not unlike Walmart or Target, started a promotion on the 3rd of May in which exclusive packs of cards containing LEGO Create the World minifigure collector trading cards were handed out. The cards were available at all checkouts, cafes, petrol filling stations and through the online service. 

There are 140 cards to collect including 104 minifigure characters and 36 special “Create” cards. There is a £2 album to store your collection and also booster packs were available to purchase for 50p.

The cards could be collected for free when you shopped at Sainsbury’s. When you spent £10 in the supermarkets or online you would earn one pack of four cards, and when you spent £5 in the local (smaller) stores you would earn one pack of two cards. 

The cards are roughly 5cm (2") x 8cm (3") in size. 

We do our 'big shop' at Sainsbury's. Groceries, etc and we spend a little bit of money, so these packs of cards started to pour in. If you were lucky at the check-out the people before you would give you their packs as well. I have a few unopened packs stashed away to add to some trade packages.

But as a taster here are five packs.

Pack 1:

#56 Diner Waitress

#76 Shark Suit Guy

#98 Skater Girl

#126 Statue of Liberty 

Pack 2:

#42 Weightlifter

#63 Frightening Knight

#73 Hot Air Balloon

#134 Plant Monster

Pack 3:

#49 Monkey

#84 Crazy Scientist

#101 Small Clown

#131 Piggy Guy

Pack 4:

#14 Baseball Player

#23 Chameleon

#52 Banana Guy

#104 Clumsy Guy

Pack 5:

#13 Routemaster Bus

#23 Plumber

#85 Wolf Guy

#62 Unicorn Girl

We collected the whole set, although some cards were a little harder to obtain than others,( sound familiar?) and we have quite a few as spare, if anyone would like some.There are two baseball players, a batter and catcher to collect.

2013 Panini Cooperstown baseball trading cards

 The final packs from a box of 2013 Cooperstown, which I purchased in an effort to complete the 165 Colgan's Disk inserts. At a ratio of 1 per pack,possibly not the best way to knock out the whole set, but enjoyable all the same. 

Follow my progress towards the complete set of Colgan's 'Stars of the Diamond' on round disks here. 

Pack 1:

#19 Nap Lajoie Cleveland

#42 Jackie Robinson Kansas City Monarchs

#48 Rick Ferrell Boston

#66 Billy Williams Chicago orange matrix 228/325

#90 Carl Yastrzemski Boston

Disk 7 George Wright Boston

Pack 2:

#17 Satchel Paige Kansas City Monarchs green shard

#24 Goose Goslin Washington

#31 Mel Ott New York

#81 Orlando Cepeda Atlanta 

#88 Bruce Stutter Atlanta

Disk 83 Frank Robinson Baltimore 

Pack 3:

#19 Nap Lajoie Cleveland green shard 

#29 Jim Bottomley St. Louis 

#36 Bill Dickey New York

#86 Phil Niekro Atlanta 

#93 Carlton Fisk Boston 

Disk 137 Ryne Sandberg Chicago

Pack 4:

#20 Rube Marquard New York

#32 Buck Ewing Lumberjack

#34 Harry Heilmann Detroit

#77 Steve Carlton Philadelphia

#91 Tony Perez Cincinnati 

Disk 100 Red Schoendienst St. Louis

Pack 5:

#3 Historic Ticket October 7, 1920

#9 Johnny Evers Boston orange matrix 063/325

#10 Frank Chance Chicago

#44 Dave Bancroft New York

#68 Yogi Berra New York
Disk 162 Gary Carter Montreal

Pack 6:
#1 Lou Gehrig New Yrok
#3 Tris Speaker Cleveland orange matrix 172/325
#9 Johnny Evers Boston
#51 Bob Feller Cleveland
#75 Al Kaline Detroit
Disk 35 Rabbit Maranville Pittsburgh

Pack 7:
#25 Lefty Grove Philadelphia
#32 Jimmie Foxx Boston
#67 Hoyt Wilhelm Baltimore
#74 Luis Aparicio Chicago green shard
#89 Juan Marichal San Francisco
Disk 16 Roger Bresnahan New York

Pack 8:
#2 Cy Young Cleveland
#26 Lloyd Waner Pittsburgh
#60 Whitey Ford New York
#65 Vin Scully Los Angeles orange matrix 269/325
#83 Willie Stargell Pittsburgh
Disk 94 Bobby Doerr Boston 

Pack 9:
#6 Rogers Hornsby St. Louis
#18 Rod Carew Induction
#57 Al Barliek Umpire
#64 Pee Wee Reese Brooklyn
#99 George Brett Kansas City 
Disk 30 Mel Ott New York

I now have 50 disks. A little way to go yet! 

2013 Panini Cooperstown Baseball trading cards

I few more packs from the retail box of Copperstown I purchased in an effort to collect the set of Colgan's Chips. Follow my progress here.

I have 18 packs to go in the box, which means 18 more Colgan's Chips.

Pack 1:

#5 Tyrus Cobb Detroit

#6 Fergie Jenkins Canada international play

#54 George Kell Detroit

#63 Warren Spahn Milwaukee

#96 Mike Schmidt Philadelphia

Disc 89 Herman Killebrew Minnesota

Pack 2:

#16 Historic Ticket October 7th, 1944

#38 Mickey Cochrane Detroit

#46 Charlie Gehringer Detroit

#95 Catfish Hunter Oakland 

#103 Carlton Fisk Chicago

Disc 50 Casey Stengel New York

Pack 3:

#30 George Sisler St.Louis

#37 Arky Vaughan Pittsburgh

#59 Phil Rizzuto New York green

#80 Johnny Bench Cincinnati

#87 Tom Seaver New York

Disc 66 Josh Gibson St.Louis

Pack 4:
#3 Phil Niekro Induction
#7 Walter Johnson Washington 
#49 Bob Lemon Cleveland
#58 Duke Snider Brooklyn
#100 Nolan Ryan Houston
Disc 62 Lefty Gomez New York

Pack 5:
#5 Roy Campanella's Shin Guards
#13 Dan Brouthers Detroit 
#28 Buck Leonard Homestead Grays
#55 Roy Campanella Baltimore Elite Giants
#71 Frank Robinson Cincinnati
Disc 23 Ed Walsh Chicago

Pack 6:
#5 Historic Ticket October 7th, 1922
#39 Dizzy Dean St.Louis
#47 Al Lopez Cleveland
#82 Rod Carew Minnesota
#94 Jim Palmer Baltimore blue 259/499
Disc 13 Rogers Hornsby St.Louis

Pack 7:
#2 Numbers Game Young/Johnson
#4 Christy Mathewson New York
#11 Cap Anson Chicago
#53 Lou Boudreau Cleveland
#62 Casey Stengel New York
Disc 154 Connie Mack Philadelphia

Pack 8:
#10 Frank Chance Chicago red 343/399 
#16 Edd Roush Cincinnati
#23 Hack Wilson Chicago
#65 Vin Scully Los Angeles
#73 Richie Ashburn Philadelphia
Disc 47 Luke Appling Chicago

Pack 9:
#15 Frank Frisch New York
#22 Zack Wheat Brooklyn
#72 Robin Roberts Philadelphia
#79 Bill Mazeroski Pittsburgh
#86 Phil Niekro Atlanta orange 264/325
Disc 30 Mel Ott New York

Just a little bit closer.

2013 Panini Cooperstown baseball trading cards

There is only one reason I obtained some of these Cooperstown packs and one reason only- Colgan's Chip disks/disc*! 

*"Disk or disc? Disc, being short for discus, refers to anything round. However there is no consensus on the difference between disc and disk and in many contexts the two are used interchangeably. Disk is the standard spelling for computer-related terms such as hard disk and floppy disk. Disc is the standard spelling for phonograph records, albums, and components of plows and brake systems. It would appear that disk is more popular in the US and disc the preferred spelling in the UK. "  

Possibly not as exciting as some of the other inserts such as Lumberjacks, which may slightly change my first sentence to... 'there are only two reasons...' I am not a fan of the base cards, although the subjects are interesting a find the design a little off putting. 

The 165 disc (disk) set features players from both the modern and vintage era of baseball and lets face it anything card related that is round is oddball enough for anyone to want to collect a sample. So why not the whole set! 
Follow my progress collecting the disc here.

I have a retail box of the 2013 Copperstown, which contains 24 packs. There are 6 cards per pack including a Colgan's disc (disk).

Pack 1:
#12 John Baker Philadelphia
#21 Tony Lazzeri New York
#62 Casey Stengel New York gold 272/299
#69 Red Schoendienst St Louis
#78 Brooks Robinson Baltimore
Disc 93 Hoyt Wilhelm Chicago

Pack 2:
#45 Billy Southworth St. Louis
#52 Hal Newhouser Detroit
#94 Jim Palmer Baltimore
#9 Historic Ticket October 9, 1931
#10 Museum Piece Buck Leonard's spikes
Disc 61 Harry Hooper Boston

Pack 3:
#16 Carlton Fisk Induction
#27 Paul Waner Pittsburgh
#43 Bobby Doer Boston
#70 Jim Bunning Philadelphia
#85 Joe Morgan Cincinnati
Disc 87 Rick Ferrell Boston

Pack 4:
#2  Museum Piece Bob Feller first no-hitter
#8 Joe Tinker Chicago
#17 Satchel Paige Kansas City Monarchs
#66 Billy Williams Chicago
#74 Luis Aparicio Chicago
Disc 125 Orlando Cepeda San Francisco

Pack 5:
#9 Andre Dawson Induction
#35 Joe Medwick St. Louis
#50 Luke Appling Chicago
#59 Phil Rizzuto New York
#92 Reggie Jackson Oakland
Disc 11 Charles Radbourn Cincinnati

Pack 6:
#1 Luis Aparicio Venezuela International Play
#3 Tris Speaker Cleveland
#61 Nellie Fox Chicago
#76 Willie McCovey San Francisco
#93 Burleigh Grimes Pittsburgh
Disc 110 Hal Newhouser Detroit

6 packs down, 6 discs. Only 130 to go!

2013 Topps Archives Mini Tall Boys Inserts

Here is another insert set that I completely forgot that I had started. The Mini Tall Boy insets in 2013 Topps Archives. 

When looking back at the cards that have caught my eye in recent years, Topps Archives has consistently included cards that fit my collecting habits. In 2012 Topps used the 1980 design in Archives, a set that has a special place in my heart for two reasons; it was the first set of baseball cards that I ever received and it was the first set I completed, with the added bonus that the 1980 design is one of my favourites. Topps has decided to use 1980 design again in 2014 Archives. Guess what I will be collecting in 2014.

The Mini Tall Boys 'subset' uses the oversized Topps Football set design from 1965, known as the 'Tall Boy', a name give because of their size. While regular modern cards measured 2 1/2" x 3 1/2", 'Tall Boys' were 2 1/2" X 4 11/16". 

As the name suggests the 2013 inserts are mini versions measuring a fraction of the 1965 originals.

I will be attempting to collect all 40 cards in the 'subset'.  

MT-AB Albert Pujols
MT-AK Al Kaline
MT-AR Anthony Rizzo
MT-BH Bryce Harper
MT-BP Buster Posey
MT-CK Clayton Kershaw
MT-CR Cal Ripken Jr.
MT-CS Chris Sale
MT-DBU Dylan Bundy
MT-DB Dante Bichette
MT-DC Dave Concepcion
MT-DE Dwight Evans
MT-DF David Freese
MT-DJ Derek Jeter
MT-DM Denny McLain
MT-DP Dave Parker
MT-DS Dave Stewart
MT-DW David Wright
MT-EB Ellis Burks
MT-ED Eric Davis
MT-FL Fred Lynn
MT-FM Fred McGriff
MT-FW Frank White
MT-GG Gio Gonzalez
MT-KG Kirk Gibson
MT-KM Kevin Mitchell
MT-MC Miguel Cabrera
MT-MG Mike Greenwell
MT-MS Mike Schmidt
MT-MT Mike Trout
MT-MW Matt Williams
MT-ON Otis Nixon
MT-RB Ryan Braun
MT-RC Robinson Cano
MT-RD Rob Dibble
MT-RCL Roberto Clemente
MT-SS Stephen Strasburg
MT-WC Will Clark
MT-WM Will Middlebrooks
MT-YC Yoenis Cespedes

1969 Topps Deckle Edge 'Insert'

1969 Deckle Edge insert

In 1969 Topps inserted these 'Deckle Edge' cards into the Series Three regular packs. Each card features a black and white image of the player with a facsimile autograph at the bottom. The edge of cards have a jagged, often called scalloped, edge. There are 33 cards in the set, although cards #11 and #22 can be found with two different players..

A unique oddball set for those who don't necessarily want their cards in perfect condition

Topps returned to the Deckle Edge design in 1974. A larger but rarer 72 card test set was released in a small limited area of the East Coast in the USA. These cards were much bigger than the '69 Deckle Edge and were officially referred to as 'Baseball Photos'. The picture on the front was 'full bleed', Topps had dispensed with the white border. The cards featured the same blue facsimile signature, however the back featured handwritten script of the player's name, team, position plus the date and location of the photograph. A small newspaper article about the player's career appeared beneath the writing.

1974 Topps Baseball Photos

 Topps again returned to the Deckle Edge design in 2012 with a 15 card insert set which featured A Deckle Cut Around The Edges.  Inserted into Topps Archives packs at a rate of 1in 10 packs. This insert is a definite throwback to the 1969 Deckle Edge.

2012 Topps Deckle Edge insert



1969 Checklist
1 - Brooks Robinson
2 - Boog Powell
3 -Ken Harrelson
4 - Carl Yastrzemski
5 - Jim Fregosi
6 - Luis Aparicio
7 - Luis Tiant
8 - Denny McLain
9 - Willie Horton
10 - Bill Freehan
11a - Hoyt Wilhelm
11b - Jim Wynn
12 - Rod Carew
13 - Mel Stottlemyre
14 - Rick Monday
15 - Tommy Davis
16 - Frank Howard
17 - Felipe Alou
18 - Don Kessinger
19 - Ron Santo
20 - Tommy Helms
21 - Pete Rose
22a - Rusty Staub
22b - Joe Foy
23 - Tom Haller
24 - Maury Wills
25 - Jerry Koosman
26 - Richie Allen
27 - Roberto Clemente
28 - Curt Flood
29 - Bob Gibson
30 - Al Ferrara
31 - Willie McCovey
32 - Juan Marichal
33 - Willie Mays

2012 Archives Checklist

69DE-1 Roy Halladay
69DE-2 Evan Longoria
69DE-3 Jose Bautista
69DE-4 Mike Napoli
69DE-5 David Freese
69DE-6 Ichiro Suzuki
69DE-7 Joe Mauer
69DE-8 Bob Gibson
69DE-9 Juan Marichal
69DE-10 Orlando Cepeda
69DE-11 Carl Yastrzemski
69DE-12 Roberto Clemente
69DE-13 Willie Mays
69DE-14 Harmon Killebrew
69DE-15 Joe Morgan

2014 Archives 1969 Deckle Edge minis 
AM Andrew McCutchen - Pittsburgh Pirates
AVS Andy Van Slyke - Pittsburgh Pirates
BH Bryce Harper - Washington Nationals
BP Buster Posey - San Francisco Giants
CB Carlos Baerga - Cleveland Indians
CK Clayton Kershaw - Los Angeles Dodgers
CR Cal Ripken Jr. - Baltimore Orioles
DD Darren Daulton - Philadelphia Phillies
DE David Eckstein - Angels
DJ Derek Jeter - New York Yankees
DP Dave Parker - Pittsburgh Pirates
DW David Wright - New York Mets
GN Graig Nettles - New York Yankees
HJ Howard Johnson - New York Mets
HJR Hyun-Jin Ryu - Los Angeles Dodgers
IR Ivan Rodriguez - Texas Rangers
JAB Jose Abreu - Chicago White Sox
JC Jose Canseco - Oakland Athletics
JF Jose Fernandez - Miami Marlins
JK Joe Kelly - St. Louis Cardinals
JO John Olerud - New York Mets
JV Justin Verlander - Detroit Tigers
JVO Joey Votto - Cincinnati Reds
MC Miguel Cabrera - Detroit Tigers
ML Mark Lemke - Atlanta Braves
MM Mike Matheny - St. Louis Cardinals
MMA Manny Machado - Baltimore Orioles
MS Mel Stottlemyre - New York Yankees
MSC Max Scherzer - Detroit Tigers 
MT Mike Trout - Angels
MTK Masahiro Tanaka - New York Yankees
MW Michael Wacha - St. Louis Cardinals
OH Orlando Hernandez - New York Yankees
RG Ron Gant - Atlanta Braves
RW Rondell White - Montreal Expos 
TT Troy Tulowitzki - Colorado Rockies
WM Wil Myers - Tampa Bay Rays
YD Yu Darvish - Texas Rangers
YM Yadier Molina - St. Louis Cardinals
YP Yasiel Puig - Los Angeles Dodgers

2012 Topps Archives 3D inserts

In retrospect I think that I should have just tried to collect the whole set of 2012 Archives. The inclusion of 1980 Topps design, Deckle Edge and stickers weren't enough, there was one set of inserts that definitely captured my imagination -the 3D set. Similar in design to 2011 Topps Lineage, which were also based on the experimental 1968 3D Topps release, only slightly larger.
The set contains 15 cards featuring some stellar names from past and present.
They were inserted in 2012 Archives at a ratio of 1in 8 packs.
Since there are only 15, why not collect the whole set?

AK Al Kaline
BR Babe Ruth
CS CC Sabathia
CU Chase Utley
DP Dustin Pedroia
FH Felix Hernandez
JU Justin Upton
JV Joey Votto
MC Miguel Cabrera
MK Matt Kemp
MM Mickey Mantle
NC Nelson Cruz
RC Robinson Cano
RCL Roberto Clemente
WM Willie Mays

COMPLETED

1970 Kellogg's Cereal Baseball Cards

The 1970 Kellogg's set was notable for two reasons, firstly the 3-D look and secondly, these were the first cards released by a breakfast cereal company. The cards were inserted in specially marked packs of Kellogg's Corn Flakes.  Unfortunately due to the fact that these cards are made of plastic, they are subject to warping and cracking- not desirable features.
There are 75 cards in the set included a huge number of future Hall-of-Fame players, most notably: Tom Seaver, Willie Mays, Frank Robinson, Roberto Clemente, Reggie Jackson and Johnny Bench
Two noticeable omissions from the set were Carl Yastrzemski and Hank Aaron.

The 75 cards in the set are:
1 Ed Kranepool
2 Pete Rose
3 Cleon Jones
4 Willie McCovey
5 Mel Stottlemyre
6 Frank Howard
7 Tom Seaver
8 Don Sutton
9 Jim Wynn
10 Jim Maloney
11 Tommie Agee
12 Willie Mays
13 Juan Marichal
14 Dave McNally
15 Frank Robinson
16 Carlos May
17 Bill Singer
18 Rick Reichardt
19 Boog Powell
20 Gaylord Perry
21 Brooks Robinson
22 Luis Aparicio
23 Joel Horlen
24 Mike Epstein
25 Tom Haller
26 Willie Crawford
27 Roberto Clemente
28 Matty Alou
29 Willie Stargell
30 Tim Cullen
31 Randy Hundley
32 Reggie Jackson
33 Rich Allen 
34 Tim McCarver
35 Ray Culp
36 Jim Fregosi
37 Billy Williams
38 Johnny Odom
39 Bert Campaneris
40 Ernie Banks
41 Chris Short 
42 Ron Santo
43 Glenn Beckert
44 Lou Brock
45 Larry Hisle
46 Reggie Smith
47 Rod Carew
48 Curt Flood
49 Jim Lonborg
50 Sam McDowell
51 Sal Bando
52 Al Kaline
53 Gary Nolan
54 Rico Petrocelli
55 Ollie Brown
56 Luis Tiant
57 Bill Freehan
58 Johnny Bench
59 Joe Pepitone
60 Bobby Murcer
61 Harmon Killebrew
62 Don Wilson
63 Tony Oliva
64 Jim Perry
65 Mickey Lolich
66 Jose Laboy
67 Dean Chance
68 Ken Harrelson
69 Willie Horton
70 Wally Bunker
71 Bob Gibson
72 Joe Morgan
73 Denny McLain
74 Tommy Harper
75 Don Mincher

2003 Upper Deck Standing O! baseball

This set consist of 126 base cards, of which all are available in a circular die cut variation. This set includes 42 short-printed rookies, including Yankee slugger Hideki Matsui.
Randomly Inserted: 42 World Premieres (1:4 packs) 84 Regular Die Cut Parallels (1:1 packs) 42 World Premieres Die Cut Parallels (1:48 packs) Starring Role (1:240 packs).

The Red Sox avialable are;
#13 Nomar Garciaparra
#14 Pedro Martinez
#15 Manny Ramirez

Although the pack suggest looking for unique game use cards featuring box scores, the odd ball within me is looking forward to the die cut and embossed cards in the shape of a baseball!
There are 4 cards per pack. I have 3 packs.

Pack 1:
#11 Rodrigo Lopez Orioles
#13 Nomar Garciparra Red Sox
#83 Carlos Delgardo Blue Jays

#S-46 Al Leiter Mets die cut

Pack 2:

#6 Curt Schilling D-backs

#10 Gary Sheffield Braves

#55 Miguel Tejada Athletics

#S-38 Kazuhisa Ishii Dodgers die cut

Pack 3:

#24 Omar Vizquel Indians

#29 Josh Beckett Marlins

#74 Matt Morris Cardinals

#S-24 Omar Vizquel Indians

Hip Hooray, finally a Red Sox from one of these packs.

I must say I liked the round die-cut cards very much.