This month was an incredibly light month for additions to The Rolen Collection. Only eight new cards were added. That wasn't because of a complete lack of trying, mind you. It seems that Rolen's stock has continued to rise due to his Hall of Fame election. Regardless, here are the newest additions to the collection this month:
1998 Donruss Collections Elite - Prized Collections #PC546 GEN, PR220. This card has been the most difficult for me to track down out of all of the Prized Collection cards. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw this one surface for a really good 'Buy it Now' price. These Elite cards were the second toughest to pull at a rate of 1:17 packs. With a print run of 220, I would expect these to show up more often than they do. Either way, I'm certainly happy to add this one to the collection this month. Not only is it a gorgeous card, but it also completes the run of Prized Collections of Rolen!
1998 Fleer Tradition - Diamond Ink 25 Point #NNO. For the longest time I was really beginning to think that this card didn't exist. I saw one pop up for sale a few months ago at an astronomical price and thinking that there was no way I would pay that much for one. Then this one surfaced in a lot of Rolen cards. I already had all of the other cards in the lot, but it was inexpensive enough that I didn't mind adding more duplicates to the collection to snag this one!
2003 Topps Pristine - Corners Relics #PC-RM. This is actually my second copy of this card (so it is replacing my first copy). For whatever reason, my first copy was mailed to me by the seller in a plain white envelope. I don't mind saving some money on shipping cards, but anything game used should not be sent in a plain white envelope. They are too susceptible to bends at the corners of the window openings.
2004 Donruss Studio - Studio Proof Gold #183, SN50. Nothing overly exciting about this card in particular. It is another card from 2004 that I needed and it was made available at a really good price so I picked it up. One interesting thing of note about this one though: it's overall size. I've got a few different parallels from this set and they all seem to be standard size. This one however, it's a little bit wider than normal. It wouldn't fit completely in the one-touch case for the scan.
2004 SkyBox Autographics - Insignia #3, SN150. This card is one of the early known examples of a boring parallel. It is nearly the same as the base card other than the color, a facsimile autograph in foil above the huge Skybox logo, and it is serial numbered to just 150 copies. It's one of the cards that I had overlooked on numerous occasions because it just doesn't really grab my attention. I decided to pick this one up because I picked up the purple Royal Insignia awhile ago and I love it when an entire run of cards is put together. Even if that run is just three cards.
2004 SkyBox LE - History Draft 90's Autograph Black #HDA-SR, SN199. It's no secret that I prefer my autographed cards to be on-card. Fleer tried making these look closer to being on-card than their hideous silver band-aid counterparts. But they still missed the mark on these in my opinion. The size of the signatures didn't always play well with the window they had cut out for the signature. Like this copy here where the far left side of Scott's 'S' is covered a bit by cardboard.
2008 Upper Deck Sweet Spot - Signatures Bat Barrel Black Ink #SR, SN20. I've always been a fan of Upper Deck. When these Sweet Spot cards first came out, I absolutely loved them. Then some years passed by and the autographs seemed to start fading - a lot! By the time this card was made though, things had changed a little. The black marker used on this particular card has held up well over the past 15 years!
2022 Topps Black & White - Sepia Filter #42, SN75. Another release that just does not make much sense to me, financially speaking. Some of these parallels are still being listed for far too much money in my opinion. Just because a card has a low serial number, does not make it a big money card. Manufactured scarcity has never really been my cup of tea. I was pleasantly surprised when this card came up for sale and I was able to add it to the collection for a realistic price.
That's all folks! All eight cards that I was able to add to the collection this month. Next month is already shaping up to be a much better month though. I've been able to strike up a couple of deals (not on ebay) and I've got a couple of ebay finds coming in as well! Check back soon to see what's new here in The Rolen Collection!
