What's inside a box of 2013 Press Pass FanFare Racing?

Over the years, I've had some outstanding autographed cards come out of packs of Press Pass Racing cards. In fact, a large part of my personal collection is made up of NASCAR Champions and the current crop of starting Sprint Car drivers. Of late, their products have been absolutely stellar. Redline has become my go to product when looking for autographs to add to my collection, and FanFare has such a wide assortment of drivers from all facets of NASCAR signing, that it to has become a huge fan favorite. The 2013 edition of the product is no exception, its loaded with great graphs.

Have a look at what I found inside a box of the new racing product:

History of Trading Cards Comes To Schaumburg Library

I will be presenting the History of Trading Cards on Thursday, July 25 at 7 p.m. at the Schaumburg Library. If you want to learn about the history of trading cards from their origins as advertisements to their current status as 2.5 x 3.5 encyclopedia entries, I hope you'll come out and visit.

It's my last presentation before the National Sports Collectors Convention and I'll bring out some packs to share with the participants. Let's talk trading cards!

If you'd like to register for the program, use this link.

I hope to see you there!

Cryptozoic Covers The Walking Dead Comics With Set Two

The Walking Dead has become a pop culture phenomenon. From the mind of Robert Kirkman, the comic book that started it all has spawned a television show, and an enormous amount of commercial products ranging from action figures to trading cards. In fact there are multiple sets of trading cards that focus specifically on the TV show or the Comic Book. All have met with success.

This time around Cryptozoic revisits the comic book and the outstanding, dramatic, sometimes gory covers. The 72-card set recaps the many adventures Rick and his peeps have endured since the law officer awoke from a slumber. The comic and TV show are much different however. While many believe the show is extreme, the comic is far more violent and tragic. Many of the same characters are in both worlds, but their existence has some similarities and vast differences.

Have a look at the trading card set with this video box break:

Pure + Plexiglass = Happy Collector

Yeah that headline lacks some pertinent info, but I don't usually inflict a lot of opinion into a box break. This time however, I felt it was abundantly necessary. You see, I am happy. A technology that I love has returned to the hobby. I love acetate cards. Love em. There's something about the clear, see-through nature of creating a card that looks good when you can see right through it. Maybe it's simply the transparency of it. I mean we all know a little more transparency would do this hobby a great deal of good... Whatever the case, as much as I love acetate, I love thick plexiglass more.

I can remember vividly when I was handed a Kobe Bryant UD Glass promo card. My jaw dropped.  My reaction was internal combustion. It was like a small explosion of the future and what COULD be done with cards was just multiplied by infinity and beyond. Immediately I thought of colored glass parallels, autographs and more. Sadly, I don't think the tech ever got the hobby love it deserved, or that I so selfishly wanted to explore.

When I heard rumblings that Leaf Trinty was going to have glass cards, I made sure I was going to get my hands on some. It's been ignored too long and I was beyond ecstatic to see it return. I can only hope that Leaf takes it to another level. It's not the most cost effective type of card to make and should remain a specialty item, but whoooo-hoooo am I happy to collect 2013 NFL rookie cards on this technology.

Here's recent break of Trinity I did, you can see how cool the cards look...