Ending 2016 With My BEST Pickup Of The Year: 1952 Topps Roy Campanella!

For my final post of 2016 I thought it only appropriate to feature my favorite addition of the year. I purchased it from work in roughly mid-2016 and for whatever reason I've been slow to post the glorious piece of cardboard. The card represents the centerpiece of one of my primary collections and it is also the most I've spent on a single card ever. But god damn was it ever worth it.

(insert endless heart eyes emojis) ...... We got a killer collection of 1952 High Numbers in at the shop in late 2015 if memory serves. The cards belonged to the seller's brother and he had a particular way of ensuring they were his as he suspected his friends of stealing them all those decades ago. As the scan clearly shows, he hole punched his cards. He didn't have Mantle or any other Yankees but did have a slew of other great ones, including Jackie Robinson and Hoyt Wilhelm and Bob Feller as well as hole-punched Hank Aaron and Ernie Banks '54 Topps RCs. And thankfully for me and my Roy Campanella PC he had card 314, a card my bosses were kind enough to hold for me until my tax refund arrived in 2016.

I simply adore everything about this card and the hole punch not only made it attainable but adds a nice story to the card. There's also some paper loss on the front and a whole lot more on the reverse but it's a crease-free High Number and more importantly a card I can now call my own.

From Campy's smile to the bold Brooklyn B to the great combination of colors Topps chose to the simple portrait shot of Roy, everything is truly spectacular.

I'm never letting it go except to send it to PSA for the safety of a slab because the likelihood of me shelling out more dough for another copy isn't necessarily high. I'd totally be down to own another copy but that would be as a luxury and not anytime in the near future. So while I love holding Campy in my hand, I'd feel much more comfortable holding him while he rests safe and easy in a nice PSA holder.