Jackie Robinson or Jim Gilliam?

Hey, two posts in a week....it's a miracle! It's also my second MBA slab of the week and there will be more as I submitted a few orders to them at multiple Front Row Card Shows in Vegas over the course of this year.

I snagged this 1955 Golden Stamps offering of Jackie Robinson from eBay a while back. The poor condition was very appealing as I didn't want to break the bank on picking one up. Items from 1955 of course have added appeal and this is also a set I've long liked aside from its year of origin.

The kid who decided to add Jim Gilliam's name to the front gets bonus points.

The back is low-grade but it doesn't matter. It resides with me and I am happy for it.

Roy Campanella PM10 Stadium Pin

I really should be more consistent posting new pickups. I used to be, way back when, but that fell off around 2019. I have so much stuff backlogged that I won't get to it all...but trying is half the battle. Let's try to be consistent and post -- yet again -- with today's newest addition to one of my longest-standing PCs.

The PM10 Stadium Pin set released between 1947-66 is a funky and fun set, but not an easy one to have grading companies recognize. I've had this Campy pin for years, maybe even over a decade. I know PSA would not slab it but thankfully MBA Grading was willing to do the research and allow their grading team to review it.

The fact it received a 6 was purely icing on the cardboard cake. Having it slabbed in any grade/status is all I cared about and I do like the simplicity of the holder (I would change the way the label reads if it was a decision that was mine to make).

I am thrilled to have this reside in my Campanella Collection!

Owning 15% of A Print Run: Archer!

I recently found an incredible PC piece up for auction on eBay. I knew from the moment I laid eyes on it that unless it soared to an astronomical price I would be taking it home. I was willing to pay at least double what my winning bid ended up being, but thankfully I saved some cash in securing this beauty.

Not shockingly, it is yet another Archer sketch card. Shockingly, it's from a rare artist and one who only did 14 sketches max for the set. Adam Toews served as a Background Designer, Illustrator, Lead Illustrator, Associate Art Director, and Art Director on the show.

The seller did not include Adam's name in the listing which I believe would have certainly added more dollars to his pocket. His oversight is my gain, and while I paid more for this sketch of Adam's than I did when I picked up one of his other 13 six years back, both were still steals of the highest order.

Here is this bad boy in front of a framed print of Pam Poovey doing her best Kim Kardashian impersonation. The print is directly from one of the Archer artists I have become friendly with, Stephen Slesinski. I bought it and a handful of other prints from him that were originally cast and crew exclusives (so you know I was interested when told they were up for grabs!).

Triple Trouble

Another day, another Archer sketch card. I somehow scanned this in six weeks ago but totally whiffed on writing it up and posting it. I guess it feels like a new purchase because of that mental lapse and when I buy new sketches, I feel good. So hey, an artificial good feeling! In times like these, I will take it.

Chad Cicconi is the artist, and it's only the second piece of his from the set I've managed to track down. The biggest draw here was not just his awesome artwork and another sketch to call my own. It's that with the huge rise in cost of these sketches I was able to get three characters basically for the price of what single character cards are going for.

Archer, Barry, and Katya don't appear together on screen until Season 2's finale, "Double Trouble." Katya debuts one episode earlier but only meets Sterling.

(Zack) Wheat Wednesday: The First Ever Fleer Baseball Cards Came Out in 1923

Today's featured piece of cardboard is one of the absolute rarest Zack Wheat items I have ever come across. Prior to purchasing it, I did not even know the set itself existed. A couple of years ago I connected with a guy on Instagram who told me his friend had this card and it was available. After researching it to learn anything and everything I could, I was given a price and happily paid up.

The 1923 Fleer Baseball set is similar to many strip card sets of the time -- an existing set was used to promote a variety of companies. The W515-1 and W515-2 sets morphed into the first ever Fleer baseball cards when the company put its advert on the backs of some of these.

Other than knowing I would likely never see the Wheat again (POP 1) it's also wildly miscut which is extra cool. Add on the player whose elbow and face you can see is fellow Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby....and I had to have this at all costs.

The all-important reverse is above, and they were printed upside down. Fleer included the cards in packages of "Bobs and Fruit Hearts." This bad boy will never leave my collection!