John Handcock's galore

One part of my collection that has expanded the most since I started blogging are my autographs. I had a very scant "few" before I have been able to make trades for many, as well as gaining more from pack pulls. Also, as you make trades, people seem to find things that get you interested, and then it's this huge arm twist to make a trade.

 Trade me your A&G as back minis now!

Brandon, who I think is blogless at this time but can be found at Sports Card Forum as leiber88, sent me an email about a card he thought I would be interested in. Luckily, I was able to dig into the non-listed trade bait (yes, I have a few) and we were able to make a swap. For my #/10 Bard auto I pulled from a retail pack in 2012, I was able to get this beauty.

Still encased. I have seen these a plenty and wanted at least one of them. To get a White Sox, and a nice one like Black Jack McDowell was something I would not pass. I see many people cracking these open. I haven't decided what I will do yet. Thanks a bunch, Brandon.

With the Panini Past Time I recently won, I gained a lot of great trade bait. Jeff at My Sports Obsession alerted me of another blogger that won a box. I commented on the hits pulled, and then he, Dion, made an ask about the Ortiz auto I pulled. And then the trade grew from there.

Dion runs the really sweet Dion's IP Autos Only. Now, one can always be worried about autos that aren't certified, but it takes about 2 minutes to see that Dion's are nothing but legit. So what started as a one for one trade became 9 for 9. Dion dang near cleared out every autographed card on my trade bait page. However, they were on there cuz they didn't fit my collection. In return, I was able to score 9 great autos.

From Dion's list, I mostly jumped at hockey. I remember Sittler being a hot prospect, but he never panned out due to numerous injuries.  Dionne had an average career for the 5 or 6 years he was playing. Ollie the Goalie had a great long career with the Capitals. Biron just retired at the start of this season.

BOOOOOOOOOOG! What more so I need to say. Sure, I don't collect football, but I won't pass up a Singletary signature. Goulet has quite the auto - barely had the pen on the card. I read somewhere he can be tough to get, so I jumped at that one. Nikolishin played a year in the indian head sweater, but one must have a sweet card of the Whalers jerseys. However, the auto that started it was this...

I'll give way that Ortiz may get voted into the HOF when his career ends, but trading his auto now for this AMAZING signed picture of one of the top players ever on the hot corner was a no brainer. I have been a Robinson fan for a long, long time. And while I never actively sought out his cards, relics or autographs, I would love to obtain a lot of them. All I need is a frame to get this proudly displayed on my wall. Dion - thank you so much for this trade.