(Zack) Wheat Wednesday: An Extremely Rare T206 Back Addition.....Red Hindu!

This is one card I 100% never thought I would own, and I specifically mean this copy of this card in addition to the card itself seemingly being unattainable. Red Hindu T206s are very tough, ranking Top 10 in scarcity. Factor in that some players always feel like they have less of a certain back combination that they exist in, and I knew it would always be a difficult get. The "this copy" comes in as this exact copy came in with a collection to the card shop I was working at, and I was instantly smitten. My boss almost immediately had it sold to a really good and wealthy customer, and it was out the door about as soon as it came in.

I took a picture with it (it was raw at the time) and kept that photo on my phone for damn near a decade, looking at it every so often and remembering a wonderful card, a super cool collection, and a great time in my life. But then a funny thing happened, and I got a random text from that boss years after leaving. He said something cool walked in, and he thought I would like to see it.

He sent over a front and back of this raw beauty and I was flooded with memories and the instant reaction that he better hold it for me because it was not going to end up in any collection other than mine and my Zack Wheat PC.

I had a ton of store credit with him for work I had done after leaving the shop, and that covered most of what I owed. Less than a c-note out of pocket and this stunner was mine. I eventually sent it to SGC for safety purposes and it will never leave my Wheat or T206 PC.

The all important Red Hindu back is the key here, and she is glorious!!

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: Landing A Wowzer Of A Wheat White Whale!!

A while back I posted asking if there was a white whale you had ever missed out on as I had missed out on a couple in 2023. Both of those haunted me in some way or another for quite a long stretch of time, particularly as I was fairly certain neither would show up again considering their rarity and scarcity. Combine that with my general lack of luck and I wrote them off until fate or something close intervened.

The gentleman who bought the 1909-11 S74 Zack Wheat Silk I missed out on had a second Wheat Silk he had purchased in an attempt to go after a complete Wheat run (there are colored and white silks to chase). He decided against the run and I had already contacted him previously to chat about the Wheat and congratulate him as I love his Brooklyn collection. Thankfully I had made that contact as he thought of me first when moving it.

I jumped as fast as one can jump and shortly thereafter this arrived in my mailbox in all of its glory. I dropped it off with SGC at a show out here in Vegas later in 2023 and it now resides comfortably and securely -- forever -- in my Wheat PC.

Evidence of trimming and portions hanging on by the literal threads this is composed of? I genuinely love it more for that. Zack himself is clear as day, as is his name and the "Brooklyn Nationals" and Brooklyn B around his portrait. That's all I need to be happy with it!

Who Doesn't Love Bowman Chrome Gold? Tracking Down a PC Grail!

Today's card is a major, major addition to a long-dormant PC that used to encompass at least 50% of my collecting life. It's not that I don't still like this player or remember the good times or care. My personal interests have shifted primarily to vintage items over the last 5 plus years and with that change came a lack of searching for modern cardboard and a lack of desire, to be honest. However, some cards pop up and have to be chased no matter the situation....and this is most certainly one of those pieces of cardboard.

Gooooooold baby, sweet sweet gold! When I spotted this 2005 Bowman Chrome Gold Refractor Auto limited to 50 copies and graded a 9/10 by BGS on eBay, I knew I had to make a run at it. It's about as good of a Matt Kemp rookie as I could hope to land with the Super and Red highly unlikely. His '05 BoChro rookie has always been a favorite of mine when it comes to Bison cards. The seller was parting ways with his own Kemp collection and this was up at $200 OBO. I threw out an offer I fully expected to receive a counter on and much to my surprise and delight, it was accepted. I paid and patiently waited for my PC centerpiece to arrive.

And wait and wait I did as days turned to weeks. The card made it to Los Angeles where I was living as of this spring and then just died on the USPS tracking. I opened a case with the post office and they quickly closed it, determining the card was lost in the ether. I reached out to the seller who refunded me as we both bemoaned the state of shipping and soon thereafter I packed up and moved to Las Vegas. I mostly forgot about the experience of having such a cool and sought-after card simply up and vanish.....

....until a month or so into my time in Sin City when I randomly received a notice from USPS Informed Delivery letting me know a package was due to arrive. I wasn't expecting anything and looked up the tracking only to find, much to my horror, that it was arriving in Inglewood, California -- my former stomping grounds. I immediately knew what it was -- my precious Matt Kemp Gold Rookie Auto, heading to a place I no longer lived and a place that was hundreds of miles away.

I reached out to my former landlord, hoping the new tenants would be kind enough to set the package aside for her rather than throwing it away or opening it and taking the card. In a stroke of good fortune, she let me know the apartment was still vacant and she would head over to see if the package was in the mailbox. As the above pictures indicate, the bubbler was safe and sound in the mailbox and my Mattycakes was available to be sent my way. I paid her for the shipping costs and a few days later it showed up in my current mailbox.

Rare is it that a lost package story ends like this and I'm forever grateful it worked out in the end, albeit with a disappointing three months or so in the middle where I wondered if I would ever find another one at the same price or less. I reached back out to the seller and PayPal'd him the original purchase price including shipping. We were both whole in the end and both happy. This stunner will always reside in my Kemp Collection, even as I have parted with some of it and have more of it I am looking to send off to better homes than mine.

Matt Hebb Draws Krieger Touching Himself and A Velociraptor

What better way to return to posting after my minor new job vacation than to come back with a pair of brand new additions to my beloved Archer PC. I had reached out to an artist a couple of times on both eBay and Instagram and hadn't heard back for months. Not every artist is social media active, so I chalked it up to part of the game. But then randomly, one day, he responded.

A few months later and we had ourselves a deal that worked well for both of us. I helped out a former colleague with some work and used the money to entirely fund this purchase of sketches from Matt Hebb. I've always enjoyed Matt's work and these two were no-brainer additions. The first is another of my all-time favorite Archer character, Krieger, from Season 2's "A Going Concern" (Episode 2).

It's my second of Krieger in this particular pose, joining one from Tim Dowler. The second one is a new character addition, although I do already have one featuring this character. However, this is my first solo Archersaurus pickup.

I've seen the DVD extra Archersaurus Self-Extinction.....but I have yet to see the pilot variant where Sterling Archer is replaced by a velociraptor and nothing else is different in the entire episode.

Thank you Matt!!

(Zack) Wheat Wednesday: 1922 Wm. Paterson, PSA 4.5 -- The Rarest Wheat?

Today's newest addition to my Zack Wheat Collection is probably the Wheat I am most proud to own. My pride is derived not simply from its scarcity, and certainly not from its value. This immense pride comes from what it took to acquire it and call it mine. It popped up on eBay earlier this year and I recognized the username as a Net54 member. I reached out over there to see if I could do any better and to my delight he offered me 20% off.

The price was still extremely high based on what I usually spend on my collection. I had a plan and the first part was seeing if the seller would allow me some time to raise the funds. He obliged, and I was positive the next part would fall into place with patience and persistence. I was going to have to sell and sell and sell some more, which would be a brand new avenue for me in this hobby I love. It was not just the high price that prompted me to decide to finance my purchase with sold funds, but losing my job a few months prior was another huge driving factor.

Off to Twitter I went to hawk my wares and -- with a few eBay sales mixed in -- I was able to fund the entirety of the purchase about 3 months later. I didn't sell anything super expensive but I jumped into as many B/S/T threads as I could; I joined a baseball-centric sellers group; and I reached out directly to people I came across. I moved as much as I could and moved anything I was not tied to emotionally or that did not fit directly into a main PC (Wheat, Campy, Ruth, Jackie, Cobb, Archer, etc).

I still have far too many cards I do not want and I continue to sell as much as I can every week. It has afforded me the ability to not only buy this Wheat and have it end up as one big trade with no cash leaving my savings, but also has allowed me to pick up a huge piece for my Archer PC and an exceedingly rare Campanella item that will be on its way shortly.

This 1922 Wm. Paterson of Buck is a POP only in a PSA slab. There is one lesser graded copy in an SGC holder and I'd imagine maybe one or two floating around raw. It's certainly the rarest Wheat I own and have encountered -- and I did not even know it existed before it showed up online.

The set is Canadian in origin and William Paterson was a candy company.

A Crap-ton More Archer Sketch Cards!

I've got another bulk purchase of amazingly awesome Archer Artist Proof Sketch Cards to showcase today. These come courtesy of Clayton McCormack and feature his distinctive and fantastic art. He quickly became one of my favorite artists in the product and his work is represented more than any of the various artists I've collected over the years. A few messages back and forth and we worked out a great deal for both parties!

My favorite sketch of the bunch is easily this depiction of Krieger snorting MSG off of Pam's stomach. I love a unique sketch and after 10 years I've seen almost every scene of note put onto cardboard. Many of the more memorable ones have been crafted by more than one artist. This scene, one of the weirdest and funniest of the entire show, is a first for my eyes and I'm thrilled to add it to the PC.

The episode it references is "Skorpio" -- number 6 in Season 1.

Sketch number two is another addition to my collection of Kriegers. Krieger high on cocaine modding a gun is a super funny scene and it's the second displaying that moment that I've been able to acquire.

The third acquisition is a brand new character and one I've been anxious to see come my way: Seamus! Archer's not actually son drinking some alcohol is the usual Seamus you see -- unless it's Seamus with a tattoo. New members of the ArcherVerse are very hard to come by at this stage in the game.

I somehow don't have a lot of Ray Gillette sketches but I always enjoy finding and snatching them up. I love everything about Ray and this one from Clayton refers to another one of those underutilized show moments. Episode 5 of Season 3 -- "El Contador" -- chronicles three characters needing to flush the recreational drugs out of their system prior to office drug testing. Ray recalls his partying at a club, and this is the result of his mini-flashback:

An oft-drawn part of Season 2's "A Going Concern" (Episode 2) is Pam Poovey after a trip to Jamaica rocking the cornrows and some good weed. As Pam says about herself while enjoying some Mary Jane....she's a real Blob Marley. #RastaPam

Next is a great close-up of Barry Dylan and Other Barry after his cyborg transformation. Pictured in his classic red track suit, I dig the bits of flesh peeled away to reveal the machine below the man.

The final pair from this buy both feature Cheryl Tunt in perhaps her two most common states: being choked during sex and ingesting copious amounts of glue. Any sketch with Carol being choked ranks high in my book for the simple fact that it's a ridiculously hilarious plot point, so seeing it on a licensed trading card is incredible. This is my second McCormack showcasing Cheryl's glue addiction.

I was so happy to see Clayton not only had APs remaining but had 8 as I was under the impression that artists received 6 APs max from Cryptozoic. However, the fun didn't stop there as one more item fell out of the package and surprised me.

A custom card! This beautiful rendering of Sterling Archer himself was completely unexpected and is entirely appreciated. I truly love Clayton's work so this bonus has a permanent and wonderful home with me!

Many thanks again CM!

Hobby Generosity Is Alive and Strong

I search multiple, multiple times a day for Archer sketch cards to add to my collection. Those searches all occur on eBay but I do have contacts within this niche community and message boards I post on to broaden the potential for success. Over the last 10 or so months I have tripled down on reaching out to fellow collectors, reaching out to artists from the product, and searching upwards of a dozen times a day. One fellow collector I contacted early this year thought he had one. Months passed with no response, so I figured he did not have one.

A message popped up from him six months after our original communication. He said he'd stumbled upon the one he thought he had and would simply send it to me because I would appreciate it. I was floored by his generosity and continue to keep my eyes peeled for something to send back his way.

The artist is one of my favorites from the set, Kimberly Dunaway, and the character is the awesome Katya Kazanova!

These Sketch Cards Certainly Hack It

I was able to secure three more Artist Proofs for my ever-expanding collection of Cryptozoic Archer Sketch Cards. These new additions come from talented artist Robert Hack, whose work can be found on one previous piece I've acquired. I spent more than I wanted but did get a little discount along the way to dull that mild pain.

My favorite of the three I snagged is easily this fantastic rendering of Pam Poovey in her skivvies, complete with full back tattoo. The scene comes from the very end of Season 3's "El Contador" and I was without a back tat Pam in my collection, so ticking that off is a big win!

Two Lana Kanes made their way to me in this package. The first, with Lana in knockoff Fiacchi bra only, is most likely a reference to Season 1's "Skytanic" and a moment before this still occurs.

The final acquisition is a classic Lana pose as she fires her twin Tec-9s.

I've always really liked Robert's style -- particularly when he uses the red/orange hue background. Grabbing these took almost 4-6 months from start to finish, and despite a less-than-stellar packing job, it was well worth it!

An Unexpected Acquisition

Sometimes cards you're after never appear. Sometimes, they appear once in a blue moon. And every so often they show up in the most unexcepted of places. Today's piece of colorful cardboard falls into that final category and I truly did not have any thought that my eventual acquisition of one would come from a source like the one it originated from. I had reached out to one of the remaining Archer artists I needed for my Master Set of sketches and the end result floored me.

I wasn't all that surprised she was out of her Artist Proofs as I knew it was a long, long shot. However, I was shocked that she did have an Artist Proof sketch from her fellow artist in the set and fellow Archer employee, Stephen Slesinski. Stephen is a rare artist in the set but produced more sketches than any of the other rare contributors to the product. I had opportunities to acquire his artwork and never pulled the trigger. One collector stockpiled dozens of his pieces, so I was not sure I'd ever locate one.

I 100% did not ever expect to find one artist with another artist's sketch card, but lo and behold that is how this beauty of Cyril Figgis came to be mine. I spent a little more than I was hoping to but the story behind this is too cool not to own it. Knowing it crosses off one of the last remaining creative minds I need to have one from each artist made it a no-brainer.

Stephen is the Illustration Director on Archer after serving in other capacities earlier in his tenure on the show, and his artwork in Cryptozoic's product is top-notch. He's been behind the scenes for over a decade and 100+ episodes....I'm very happy to finally have him in my collection!

Patience Sucks, But It Pays Off: 2 Extremely Tough Archer Sketch Cards From Art Director Chad Hurd!

A collection must I thought I might never see materialized and was secured in a matter of days last week after a nearly decade long pursuit. My long quest to secure a sketch card from every artist to contribute to the Cryptozoic Archer release has been winding down but has stalled on a handful of creatives, including the four absolute toughest people. I've been diligently on the hunt but these four only produced about a dozen sketches each.

Certain Archer collectors have as many as 9 of a few of these men and women, so I had nearly given up on finding any in the wild. However, I persevered and turned over all stones looking for the last few want list needs. And lo and behold! I reached out to Chad Hurd, one of the mainstays behind the scenes of my favorite show. Chad has worn many hats for the production squad since the pilot, including Character Designer; Illustrator; Producer; Associate Art Director; and Art Director.

Chad said he would check and quickly dug out these two tremendous stunners! I did not want to risk losing out on these so I made him a fair offer, more money than I have ever spent on one of these beautiful pieces of Archer art. To my pure delight he accepted my offer and these arrived on my doorstep about an hour ago from the literal moment I am typing these words.

What better characters to get than Sterling Archer and Lana Kane! I will always take a Krieger though, as he's my favorite on the show by far. The fact that these are both Artist Proofs just adds to the jubilation I am feeling. To have started a dialogue with an Archer luminary and essential cog like Chad...well, that is just the sweet sweet icing on the bear claw cake.

The Kindness of The Hobby

I received an absolutely amazing box in the mail yesterday from a fellow collector of Archer sketch cards. We met on the Blowout Forum thread dedicated to these cardboard gems and I reached out late last year to see if we could work out a deal for some of the remaining artists I need to complete my Master Set. I knew Dan's collection dwarfed mine in sheer number and completion and prying tough artists away is never a sure thing.

Dan was willing to part with a couple I really desire and need. However, he simply sent them over without asking for anything in return. I must find him something, even if it takes a while, as the gesture is too kind and too much!

Vince Sunico -- a much needed rare artist -- is the mastermind behind this fantastic Lana Kane in bed creation. I love how the blue background and her top add color to the piece and the vibe behind the pose is different than most of the Lana sketches I come across and/or own.

Vince might have contributed 20 sketches at most to the product so finally ticking him off of my list is a serious relief.

The second item in the package is another important addition to the collection. This artist is not technically a rare artist in the set and likely drew over 30 sketches. While not a ton, it should not have taken 10 years to locate one. However, Dan has over 25 of them in his collection so I quickly realized after learning this why it took me ages to add Mike Vasquez to my PC.

Vasquez is not only a new artist to my chase, but Janelle Gillette enters the fold for the first time as well. She is Ray Gillette's sister-in-law and appears one time and one time only, Season 3's "Bloody Ferlin" (Episode 9 of that year).

While her time on the show was short, her character had some great lines and played a fun and interesting role in that episode and Archer's place within it.

Vasquez has a really unique style in that I believe most of his sketches are portraits and he focused heavily on one-offs and characters who sometimes did not even appear in much of the sole episode they were in. He signed the reverse on each of his sketches and included the character name on the front, at least for the minor characters he crafted.

I was in for one last shock as I flipped over the Sunico sketch to find a pretty Artist Proof sticker! The sketch alone was more than enough, but to have it be an AP was just amazingly generous on Dan's part!

A million thanks once more for the truly incredible and once in a lifetime gift!

4 Sketch Cards, 5 Characters, and One Tough Artist To Locate and Secure

As I wind down the artists I can feasibly add to my Master Set and collection of Archer Sketch cards, a few big ones have come across my desk. Jump high and quickly to acquire them I most certainly did and today's acquisition taking damn near a decade was truly worth it in the end. 

David Namisato was not a rare artist in Cryptozoic's release, nor did he work on Archer itself. His artwork proved to be extremely elusive and prior to picking up these four beauties I don't recall the last time I even saw one of his cards available. Ironically one did appear shortly after I bought this quartet of Artist Proofs.

My favorite of the bunch is Lana and Cyril in the middle of some adult activity as they are interrupted by Archer and Malory. More than one character in any sketch is a bonus I did not appreciate enough until recently and it's an awesome scene to actually have had crafted in the release.

David took inspiration from Season 4, Episode 5: "Viscous Coupling."

Here is a gorgeous shot of Malory taken from the frames right before the opening credits rolled for the first time ever in Season 1, Episode 1: "Mole Hunt" aka Pilot. I really like the blue background meshing with the hint of blue in her eyes.

Here's a new Ray of whom my collection is very modest. This is not a direct scene David drew from but his imagination produced an awesome piece of sketched art and his distinctive style is very much growing on me as I finally get a chance to hold some of his work in-hand.

We wrap up with another imagined scene much like the previous one with a character firing off weapons in an intense action pose. I don't have many horizontal sketches so adding another Archer and having it be a bit unique is a nice touch. The loincloth....now why that was included, I can't say.

I Happen To Be A Kickass Accountant!

Any day with an addition to my Archer Sketch Card Collection is a mighty fine day in my book. An awesome day, in fact. A fan-fucking-tastic day, if I'm being absolutely honest. So the day back yonder when I actually bought this was super cool and the day when it arrived at my abode was even more sweet. Today as I get off of my lazy behind and write it up and post it is, well, the icing on the artistic cake.

This Artist Proof of Cyril Figgis comes from the creative mind and hands of Kimberly Dunaway. It's my second AP from Kim, joining one of my all-time favorite Archer sketch cards. I've been fortunate enough to land a handful of her art from the product and in addition to really liking her style, my interactions with her have always been great. She's not just a terrific artist, but is a gem as a person!

Thanks again Kim for adding to the addiction!

A Beautiful Blue USA Seager

A quick post today on an awesome gift a friend gave me about a year plus ago. I tend to think my Corey Seager PC is pretty good but his blows me out of the water. For whatever reason the below was not something he wanted to keep and he knows I'm a big Corey fan.

From the 2010 Bowman Chrome Draft USA Baseball set, we have this beautiful blue autograph numbered out of 99 and slabbed a BGS 8 with a 10 for the John Hancock. I attempted to cross this over to a PSA 9 on the off-chance it would slide through....but no go on that.

Thanks as always for your friendship and generosity Wes!