With Topps releasing a couple of sets last month that featured Rolen in the checklist, I figured this month would be full of new additions. Especially considering the sheer number of parallels and "unannounced" versions of certain cards (looking at you, Archives Signature Series!) But, without further adieu, here is what I was able to pick up this month:
2023 Topps Luminaries - Hit Kings Red #HK-SR, SN10. I absolutely love this card. From the image that Topps used of Rolen to the red color match of the parallel! The on-card autograph is obviously a great touch to elevate this card to one of my top 5 favorites of 2023. I was also able to get this card for a steal of a deal as compared to the other copy I've seen sold. I think that was in large part to this card being located in China. I was willing to be patient with the shipping times that would certainly come with a card that was going to be traveling 7,270 miles to me. I actually won this card at the end of last month, but it still only took a couple of weeks to land itself in my collection.
2001 Donruss Elite - Throwback Threads #TT-8, SN100. I found this card on ebay late one night. It was set up auction style with a low starting bid. I threw a bid in and ended up winning the card as the only bidder. For the price I paid, you really can't beat a 2001 game used memorabilia card that features a photograph of the actual jersey that the swatch on the front was cut from. I really wish cards were still produced with this level of care these days!
2023 Topps Dynasty #DAP-SR5, SN10. These landscape oriented cards are kind of starting to grow on me. I mean, when you have a portrait of my favorite player, a chunky patch from one of his jerseys, and a nice on-card auto all on the front of the card, landscape orientation just kind of makes sense. A lot of these Dynasty cards have some insane patch pieces on them, which makes them quite cost prohibitive for me. This one sold cheap enough that I was able to add it to my collection this month. Ideally, I would like to collect all of the Dynasty cards that are numbered to 10. With hopes of being able to find some of the ones numbered to 5 cheap enough that I don't have to take out another mortgage on my house!
2023 Panini Flawless - Flawless Signatures Ruby #FS-SR, SN20. Of all of the Panini cards that feature Rolen, this one might be my least favorite. Normally they choose photos that obscure the fact that they have to remove all team logos. But on this one, they have Rolen pictured in his classic Phillies batting stance...you just can't see the Phillies logo because they obviously removed it. With newer products being released constantly, this card (among others released around the same time) have taken a dramatic hit when it comes to price. Which I personally enjoy because that means I get to add more on-card autos to my collection!
2023 Panini Flawless - Momentous Autographs #MA-SR, SN25. The foil on this card is tough to see in this scan because it is so shiny! But trust me, it's there, and it is glorious! Another no logo Panini card, but this time the shot they used of Rolen is a little better at hiding the fact that the logos aren't there. And, once again, we've got a beautiful blue on-card autograph from the Hall of Famer! I think I've said it before, but these cards are ridiculously thick! Adding more of these is going to force me to buy yet another BCW card bin to store all of these cards in because they're taking up so much room.
1998 Kenner Starting Lineup Cards #NNO EXT. Technically, I've had this card since 1998. But that copy is inside of the original packaging with the Starting Lineup figure. Not wanting to open the package has kept me from being able to scan the card. I decided it was time to pick up a copy of the card that I could scan for the website. There really isn't much overly exciting about this card, and the photo they used is even kind of weird, but I'm a "completion" kind of guy with my collection, so here it is!
2001 Fleer Premium - Home Field Advantage Game Wall #HFA8, SN100. The exact odds of pulling this card is unclear, but I can say for certain that these don't surface very often on the secondary market. The piece of "game-used wall" actually comes from the wall of the old Milwaukee County Stadium in Wisconsin. With 2000 being the final season for the stadium, Fleer was able to obtain some of the outfield wall to use for these inserts. Rolen did pretty well at County Stadium. From 1998 through 2000, Rolen batted .350 with 14 hits and 10 RBI in 11 games over that time frame.
2022 Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary #224 - Platinum Toile Cream Gold Refractor, SN27/50. This isn't a new card for the collection, but it was inexpensive enough for me to grab the jersey numbered serial number copy of the card! While I don't typically chase certain serial numbers for my cards, I have found it to be a fun little "collection within a collection" type of chase. This is a perfect example of the prices cooling way down after a product's release.
2024 Bowman - Buyback Autographs - 2004 Bowman #11, SN7. I love Bowman cards. I love on-card autographs. And of course, I'm a big fan of this Hall of Fame third baseman. This particular card though, I only added it to the collection this month because of the price. It was cheap for a Rolen autograph. The reason I'm not more excited about it: Topps did the same thing, with the same card, two years ago. Back in 2022, they released this card in the same product, but that card was serial numbered to 3. My copy of that card is number 3/3 and with this one being 3/7, it fits right into my collection. I'm hoping to be able to pick up some different cards from this series soon.
2023 Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary #136
Blue Mini-Diamond Refractors, SN199
Blue Prism Refractor
Blue Shimmer Refractors, SN100
Gold Prism Refractors
Gold Refractors, SN50
Gold Wave Refractors, SN50
Green Wave Refractors, SN99
Orange Wave Refractors, SN25
Platinum Toile Cream Fuchsia Lava Refractors, SN100
Platinum Toile Cream Gold Refractors, SN50
Platinum Toile Cream Rose Gold Refractors, SN75
Platinum Toile White Orange Refractors, SN25
Prism Refractors
Red Lava Refractors, SN5
Refractors
Rose Gold Mini-Diamond Refractors, SN75
2023 Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary Autographs #CPA-SR
Base
Aqua Refractors, SN150
Gold Refractors, SN50
Platinum Toile Cream Blue Refractors, SN99
2024 Topps Archives Signature Series Retired Player Edition
As you can see, thanks to Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary and Topps Archives Signature Series, I was able to add several cards to the collection this month. There were a couple of cards from Rolen's playing days that surfaced, but I wasn't able to grab those for prices that I thought were reasonable...the wait on those shall continue. I'm hoping that next month brings me closer to completing some of these Platinum Anniversary rainbows as well as more Archives Signature Series cards. Rolen is also on the checklist multiple times for 2024 Topps Tier 1, so there will be plenty more new cards to chase!
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