Collection Announcement and a Contest!

A few years back when I re-entered the hobby I purged a lot of my cards to start fresh with a Cubs-centric collection. This helped me contain my enthusiasm for the hobby which, with my personality, could have quickly spiraled out of control to an “I want them all!” mentality. This limited collecting also appeased the wife. Along the way, I've completed a few base sets too, mostly Topps flagship product, as they have been a constant throughout my collecting days.

I enjoy reading about others’ “niche collections”, a phrase I use quite a bit on my other blog.  Going through the 2014 Topps set card by card and tagging them with these various mini collections (even a few I made up) has been a fun experience. Enough so that I have decided to branch out from my Cubs collection and start my own.

I don’t want to take bunting or double play cards away from Jeff of 2x3 Heroes fame, or plays at the plate cards from, ahem, Plays at the Plate or any of the numerous mini collections that Nick from Dime Boxes collects. So I tried to find one of the mini collections that I tag in my other blog, but really hadn't seen anywhere else.

I hereby announce that as of today, I am collecting all horizontally oriented cards. I've mentioned before, quite often actually, that they're some of my favorite looking cards. Previously, if they weren't Cubs, I’d appreciate them and send them on to someone else.

But some of you complain that you don’t like the way they look in binders or they don’t fit right in your hand when you’re shuffling through a stack. So I am the new answer to that complaint. Send them to me!  Any team, any player. They can be from sets where the whole thing is sideways or one of the handfuls that populate the vertically dominant sets.

For the time being, assume I have nothing because if they’re Cubs, they’re tied to that collection separately. And if they’re Topps base cards, they’re probably among my complete sets, again, separately. I am literally starting this collection from scratch the moment this posts.

I busted a lot of packs and repacks last year that need sorting and traded away so I can return the favor with team lots or perhaps your own niche collections. If I don’t have something to even up the trade, I've got a decent sized card show within the month as well. I only plan to add to this collection through trades and any I pull from packs myself that aren't going towards a set. No buying, not even from dime boxes!

As for the contest, leave a comment below with your favorite team and any/all of your niche collection(s).

Don't tell anyone but I'm really selfishly building a secret database that I’ll use to pass off my extras in the future, too.

I'll randomly select a winner from the comments at the end of next week and try to tailor a prize package suited to that collector through my trade stash and/or the upcoming card show. And for the record, I'm pretty sure we're all PSA 10 Hall of Fame rookie and pre-war era collectors, so no need to put that, wise guys!