Chasing Unicorns among a Swag Frenzy

I have a few cards on my want list and I also have a few cards that I feel will never be attainable (2005 Bowman Chrome 1st Bowman Superfractor).

Last year I gave a list of cards that I wanted to focus on trying to get this year and I have been able to knock a few of them off in only half a year.  You can revisit that post here.

In the hours towards the end of the ESPN created Cutch SP Frenzy I had an auction ending.  I was able to secure a card that I coveted in my top 10 list and it ended for a very reasonable price.

Be hold, the glory of a Home Run Clear Vision card from 2013 Pinnacle.

Each positional player had 5 cards available for the Clear Visions Insert Set.

They varied in terms of rarity with Cycle being the hardest to get as it was a 1/1.  Singles are the easiest and fell in every couple packs (on average 1:5).  They got rarer with the more difficult a hit.  Doubles, Triples, and Home Runs round out the parallels to chase.  A Home Run parallel fell one per case on average.

This completes the non 1/1 rainbow.
Despite no logos I love this insert set and it has taken me 7 years to acquire the HR parallel which makes the hunt even more satisfying that it is complete.

I was able to get this card for only $14.55 during the late hours of the Cutch Swag Frenzy.

I will show off some other of my Frenzy SP Challenge cards tomorrow, but wanted to highlight this card in it's own post as it has been 7 years, a pandemic, and an ESPN tweet Swag SP buying frenzy to able to acquire and check it off.

Man am I super pumped about this card.

There aren't any other unicorns that I caught, but there are still plenty more awesome cards I grabbed in that crazy weekend of $250+ SP Cutch cards.

COMC Pickups

I got a package last month containing about 40 cards from my latest COMC pickups.  Among them were half a dozen pink cards that I will show off for my SaveSecondBase event in October along with nearly two dozen Roberto Clemente cards and a smattering of other PC needs.  I won't show everything below, but here is a sample of my pickups.

First up the Cutch cards

The Triple Threads were a trio of needs I hadn't yet acquired.  The star of the show for me is the diecut Pinnacle.  These although relatively inexpensive are incredibly difficult to find. I have only seen a handful since release in 2013 appear on COMC or eBay.  The Gold Optic is numbered to 10. The blue diecut I featured a few weeks back.

Now the non Cutch cards

Everyone probably knows I also PC Charlie Morton because of his birthplace being the same as mine.   I picked up 3 2018 Topps Fire parallels along with an All-Star Game relic numbered to 50.

I also like to collect Pirates Topps Heritage cards.  So I grabbed a black refractor rookie cup of Jose Tabata, a real one authentic Vern Law auto, and a pair of Heritage buybacks (1962 team photo and a 1968 Matty Alou)

And now for some of the Clemente cards, of which I have shown some off already on Chasing 3000.

HELP BUILD A RAINBOW!!!

I thought it would be wise of me to list some cards that I need of Cutch (yes there are cards out there I still need).

Once a month I will show off a NEAR completed rainbow I have of the former Pirates MVP and ask for your help in finding me said card.  Anyone that assists in me actually getting the card will receive a $25 eBay gift card mailed to them.  Pretty generous, I know.

The first rainbow I am looking to complete is the 2013 Pinnacle Clear Vision rainbow.

The Clear Vision inserts could be found 1 in 8 packs.  There was a pitcher set which contained 25 cards and a position player set containing 75 cards.

I already have the single, double, and triple.

The backs all have the same look and design.

I am still in need of the Home Run (not serially numbered) and Cycle (1/1) cards.

Details about the set can be found here.

Yes, I am still here

Life has run me to the point where I literally feel like all I am doing is just working and sleeping.  

I have a one way commute to work of roughly 70 minutes a day.  

Add in 10 hour days of work with an hour lunch break and another 70 minute commute back home (worse during the summer because of the jersey shore traffic).

Multiply that by 6 days a week.

Add in a few surgeries and too many doctor appointments to count for the LadyCollectingcutch.

And that basically leaves me just a few hours to vegg out before rinse and repeat.

I am looking forward to the end of school as my staff will almost double in size and the high school/college kids will be eager to get summer jobs and I can actually return to normalcy if that is even a thing still.

I do most of my blogging on my lunch break and try my best to read some of my favorite blogs during that time too.

If I haven't been commenting like I used to, I am still here and still very much enjoy the readings that you all provide me and other cardboard fans with.

Despite the lack of comments, I am still there....

Just like this card I am going to show below

2013 marked the return of the product known as Pinnacle.

As a kid I LOVED Pinnacle and all the inserts that came with it.

I don't remember Pinnacle being known for their parallels except the rare "dufex" technology for the museum proofs or whatever they were called.

2013 Pinnacle offered a bunch of tough to notice parallels though

Can you notice what makes this card different from the base?

No?
Well, you have to look really close because the manufacturer chose to use blue foil on a black background.

Now can you see it if I use the magic pen lens on my tablet?

The back is identical to the base.

Artist's Proof Addition

For a very small Abe Lincoln I grabbed my 1, 756 unique Andrew McCutchen card.

It's a blue Artist Proof from 2013 Pinnacle.