Celebrating My 31st with A Scarce Vintage Steal: 1914 Piedmont Art Stamp - Christy Mathewson, SGC Authentic!

I turn 31 today and the last year has felt like a nano-second. Granted time has generally moved really fast since, oh, 18 or 19, but this last year especially has been flying by. One item that has eluded my Zack Wheat Collection for ages has been a 1914 Piedmont Art Stamp, an item I've only seen once. It was an eBay auction years ago and I did not know quite how rare and scarce they are. It clicked once I saw the final price was $100-150 higher than expected. I've always wanted one and I still search, but the set is so cool I've kept my eyes open for one of just about any player I could get my hands on.

I recently found my perfect piece of cardboard when a beautiful Christy Mathewson turned up on the bay. Slabbed an SGC Authentic, the damage to the bottom still leaves Matty's name and image and that's all I really care about. I'll take this over a complete card with a million creases any day of the week. The T330-2 set almost entirely features the same images as seen on the classic T205 set.

Here's the back and I can still make out the important details from this 100 plus-year-old issue despite the bottom chunk that is gone forever. This is my second Christy card but first from his playing days, joining a post-career Cuban oddball.