Small things in big packages

Minis came back as an insert in when - 2006? We know of the '75 Topps mini set (Night Owl does). Topps even did micro sets in the early 90's. But it seems with the release of the Allen and Ginter line in 2006, minis really came back into the whole lexicon of the industry. From A&G, Gypsy Queen, Golden Age and Goodwin tobacco minis to Topps and Bowman bring back the '75 sized minis, you can expect them to be a part of the hobby for a while. I wonder what cards would have looked like in the junk wax era if Sony made cards instead of Walkmans?

I think that's a Griffey Rookie card. No, wait - it's a bread crumb.

And when it comes to minis, I know of no bigger collector than Duane over at Democratic Roadkill. I believe he has completed every mini set that A&G has released, including those really hard to find short printed minis. Correct me if I am wrong, Duane. When I rip my box for Gint-A-Cuffs, as well as any other pack openings, I earmark most of my minis to Duane. I only keep the White Sox and any of the odd ball cards in the set. And I try to build some of the mini inserts. But the rest head east. Duane dropped a hell of a package on me a week or so back - check these out.

Just a handful of the Chicago to be found. I try to get one of each version of the A&G cards for the Sox in the set. Base and A&G backs are usually easier to find, so any black borders or then some are very welcome. I have the base of the Goodwin Toews, so the mini fits right in the binder.

The damage done to my insert sets, however - WOW!!! My want list is horribly behind for the 2015 mini insert sets, so Duane decided to just throw a grenade on the 2013 and 2014 needs. I wish Topps didn't do the weird numbering on the 2013 set. However, with all the cards Duane sent, my 2013 insert set needs were cut more than in half. Ditto for 2014. I love the look of the Inquiring Minds set and having so many in binder pages looks cool.

Flipping to the horizontal, I received help on the Predators, Codes and Little Lions sets. I am so gung ho on completely Little Lions like I was for Man's Best Friend, but that can be attributed to my dislike of cats. But all these are almost done. I think I will make a push to clear all the earlier year insert sets that are financially viable to complete and knock them out by the end of the year. Maybe by summer.

RED!!! The newest edition to the colored borders for A&G was the mini boxes with these numbered to /33. I see in 2015 they upped the number to /40. All I know is the number 3 - that is how many red bordered White Sox minis I have in my collection.

Besides the 2010 mini set, which technically I am frankenset building, I just collect the minis from each year of the odd ball entries and specific players. So the random cards from Duane are greatly appreciated. I need to go through the checklists for the past few years and determine when cards I am missing.
It's not to say everything from Duane was tiny, He did add a few regular sized cards too.

I have so few 2006 A&G - I need to pick up a set of that as I will never be able to build it cheaply or slowly. Nice Quentin relic with a pinstripe. And in a non-Ginter card, we have a beautiful triple relic of the Big Hurt, including the very first piece of glove I have on any card.

So thanks Duane. I'll let you know right now - I'm in 2016 GAC and the minis are all yours. (BTW - change the font to try for a humorous post & holy hell is it hard to proofread!)