Tehran Is Ours. Stop.

Here is the final sketch card I snagged from one seller in my recent Archer binge. It is easily the most expensive of the quartet but it's also obviously the best of the bunch. It was also 20% off which always helps to dull the monetary pain.

Ashleigh Popplewell makes her second appearance in my collection and both are multi-character horizontal masterpieces that I absolutely adore. Woodhouse is reading Sterling a telegram from his mother which explains why she is away at the holidays. Part of that telegram has ties to today as Malory describes to her son how she participated in the 1953 Iranian coup d'état. With a big difference, of course, being a current orange dipshit. But similarities abound, since the U.S. should not have been involved in either.

Here is the scene in Season 1, Episode 2 that the sketch pays homage to:

"Training Day"

Ty Cobb Bat Off T206 Pickup!!!

I remember the times when I would post almost every day. New pickups were promptly scanned in, written about, and catalogued. Man....those were the days. But life changes, responsibilities change and grow, and sometimes we just lose interest in parts of our lives that meant something. I say all of that because today's HUGE addition was purchased in late 2018/early 2019 and I am just now getting around to showing off one of the biggest cards in my collection.

Tyrus Cobb (Bat Off Shoulder) is in the building! This was purchased at the exact same time as the Bat On Shoulder was acquired with me landing the pair in a package deal from the card shop I was Assistant Manager at for 4.5 years. I remember exactly what I paid for the two Tys and how nice my boss was to hold them for me so I could make it happen. While I have done no research into what they are worth now, I know that if I needed to move them, I'd do plenty well. But thankfully, they are not going anywhere any time soon!

I was instantly attracted to how beautiful this copy was despite the trim, which of course helped to keep it within a range I could handle. The colors are vibrant, all of the important parts of the card are present, and it has a sweet overprint back.

I now proudly own the Bat Off Shoulder, Bat On Shoulder, and Red Portrait. The Green Portrait is by far the toughest and most expensive to buy, but hopefully one day it will become part of my T206 PC!

(Zack) Wheat Wednesday: 1914 B18 Felt Blankets SGC Auth -- GREEN INFIELD

I'm back for another Wheat Wednesday and it's the sassy sister post to last week's offering. Joining that Blue Infield from the 1914 B18 Felt Blankets set is this Green Infield, also slabbed Authentic by SGC.

The Green has definitely seen a little more action than the Blue, but that just means someone enjoyed it 100 years ago. The stain, the creasing, the potential trim -- none of that matters to me in the end.

There are Red Infield variants, and they are the rarest and most expensive. Whether Zack has a Red version is an entirely different question, but if it exists, I hope to one day secure it and complete the trifecta.

Kris Justice Is a Ghost, But Their Archer Goodness Will Live On Through Me

One of the running themes of this recent Archer purchase of sketches is that it has presented my collection and I with the second or third card from multiple artists. 9 years ago I posted my first sketch and 2.5 years ago yielded my second for this particular creative mind. Number three is a most welcome sight.

Kris Justice is the artist for today's sweet piece of cardboard and I can't find anything substantial about Kris online. No Instagram, no Facebook, no personal website -- just a deactivated Deviant Art page. I may one day ask if Cryptozoic can put me in touch but until then I am just happy to have another piece of Justice's work in my Archer Collection. In writing this, I juuuust found an eBay account I believe to be theirs so I will be going that route shortly. Wish me luck!

(Zack) Wheat Wednesday: 1914 B18 Felt Blankets SGC Auth -- BLUE INFIELD

I have plenty of pickups from the last few years to still get through, so we will start in on that with some oddball and oversized vintage from pre-WW1. The 1914 B18 Felt Blankets set is a fun and weird issue with a slew of big Hall of Famers in it. Thankfully, Zack Wheat is one of those HOFers.

The vibrant colors, the baseball equipment surrounding the player, and the simple full-body image makes this a winning set in my mind. It looks fantastic in the SGC tuxedo and the Blue Infield on this variation is a nice team color match touch.

Here's the back. Now to just store this monster....