9 More pickups for my Enroth collection!

When you pickup a total of 9 new cards for your collection, it's time to celebrate. Let me recap the cards I received today for my Jhonas Enroth collection:

In no particular order, I'm going to run through these cards I received today from 2 packages in the mail today. One of my nicest single-day maildays in a little while. The first card was from eBay, and the other 8 cards were made in a deal with a fellow Enroth collector on CnC (CloutsNChara), as he reached out to me after he saw my Collector of The Month feature on CnC's newsletter earlier this month. 

Enjoy my latest pickups! Make sure to let me know in the comments which one is your favourite card :) 

2009-10 Upper Deck SP Authentic Future Watch Autographs /999               Beckett Graded 9.5 Gem Mint - POP 2

Now, I must start out by saying I am not a collector who collects graded cards. It's not like I have anything against them or anything, but I have never liked how bulky the cases are, how a pain they are to store, and how a seller might command a gross premium on some cards that shouldn't go for the prices they do, all because they are in a plastic slab with a particular number on the top. Though on the topic of card protection, the BGS holders are the best out there, and if card protection is your thing or you are thinking of selling a card, you could go the grading route if you choose to do so.

​While grading can be expensive depending on how much you send to the team at Beckett Grading Services, it can be worth it at the end of the day, so I totally see the need for grading and the protection/value it can give to cards. I just never got 100% on board with it with my personal collection.

However, as some of you may already know, I am always looking for new things to add to this collection of mine. While my main focus is primarily on those elusive cards that I have not tracked down yet, some of my focus for this collection is picking up IP Autos, which is something that I feel adds a little extra to the unsigned version, which can look pretty cool, and I always find it rewarding in a sense to track down a autographed copy of a card I need, even if it's just a base autographed variant.

​So after seeing this BGS graded Future Watch auto listed and re-listed a number of times now, I really considered picking it up for the collection as something "new" to add some variety. I think this did the trick. When this card was incoming, I looked this set up on the Beckett Population reports, something I don't do much of, and found that this card was one of just 2 Future Watches graded by BGS to receive a Gem Mint grade. Pretty cool stuff. So while this card has a massive print run of 999 copies, just 2 of the 6 FWA's submitted received a Final Grade of 9.5 Gem Mint. 

Below I inserted a screenshot from POP (Population) report, which lists all of the Enroth Future Watch Auto's Graded by Beckett. Only 2 received a grade of 9.5. My copy is highlighted in blue.

While this may not be my start in the graded card collecting world, I do have a new found appreciation for graded cards and the variety it can give to a collection. Now this card will be put beside my only other graded card, which is a Enroth 09-10 Upper Deck Young Guns Rookie PSA 10. 

​Now for the cards I received in a single deal with another Enroth collector:

2009-10 OPCP Quad Patch Autograph 1/10

This O-Pee-Chee Premier Quad Patch Auto /10 is really cool. I loved this design that year, and the black foil on this card just makes it. Was super happy to add this one and complete the 3-card rainbow!!

2009-10 Upper Deck Rookie Materials Patch 10/25

The UD Rookie Materials set have been around a long time now, so these were one of the pickups that has eluded me for awhile, all while having a print run of just 25 copies. I would sure I'd see one by now, but they all have eluded me or passed me by. So this was a neat addition for sure. These RM's from 09-10 were nicely design in my opinion, so that is always a big plus when adding something to the collection. Excellent !

2009-10 Upper Deck The Cup Rookie Masterpieces 1/1 Cyan Printing Plate (Upper Deck MVP Rookie)

To continue on with the 2009-2010 rookie year theme, here's a nice Cyan 1/1 printing plate from 09-10 The Cup. The way UD does their plates in The Cup every year is something I've always loved. And while their may not be as much buzz in the hobby for printing plates as there once was, I will always continue to love adding printing plates into my collection. Just something about them, you know? Plus when they are all done up with a nice border (or autograph) like in The Cup, you just can't go wrong. Awesome stuff.

2013-14 Panini National Treasures Printing Plates Black 1/1 (From 2012-13 Panini Dominion Peerless Patches)

Sticking with the newly integrated printing plate them, here's another. Besides marking my 30th 1/1 in my Enroth collection, this also marks a neat time in the hobby. In 2013-14, Panini released one of its last impacts on the hockey side of the hobby with 2013-2014 National Treasures. With it being one of their last products, they went all out with this one. This product was loaded with huge cards (many of which I still need today), and was a hit in the hobby and with many collectors. With that said, this Panini product released many printing plates from all across their hockey products over the years, as their time in hockey was coming to a close. To date I have only seen one Enroth printing plate from his 12-13 Dominion Peerless Patches card, and you're looking at it. I was so glad to be able to own this plate after all this time! I would love to add another if possible one of these years... Loved the original set and the plates that followed in 13-14 National Treasures. 

2012-2013 Panini Prime Trios Patches /10

I thought the time I'd pickup this card it would be to finish off the rainbow, but that is not the case this time around. While this addition was way cool, I still need the Trios Prime /25 to complete the 3-card rainbow on this one. I missed out on a Prime Trios about a year or so ago. Until next time, I guess...

2013-2014 Panini Contenders Sixes Gold 15/20

Speaking of cards that are way cool, this one fits the bill. I mean, 6 autos of Swedish NHL'rs on one card? Yeah, sign me up for that. Number it out of 20 and turn it gold, and I'm all in. I missed out on this card a few months back. Someone just wanted it more, and with the crazy amount of player collectors who have skin in the game with a card like this, I can't say I was really surprised I lost out on the auction. Safe to say these were one of the cards I was very content with never getting, so receiving this deal in the bulk deal was a really nice thing for the collection. There is also a Black parallel 1/1, which I have seen listed.. It's a great card, but the asking price was way too rich for my blood, so I had to pass on it. I'm sure a collector out there is enjoying it though. 

2012-2013 Limited Crease Cleaners Patches 3/5

The patch may not be as crazy as other copies of this card I've seen, but make no mistake that I am beyond thrilled to have this card in my possession right now. In total I have seen 4 of the 5 patches surface and I wasn't able to snag any of them. Lucky for me it was also included in this bulk deal. This card completes another 3-card rainbow (maybe that's the theme of this blog post?) and finished off all of the 12-13 Limited cards I needed to track down for my collection. All 6 Limited cards, while from 2 totally different sets in the same product, look great together in my opinion. 

2011-2012 Panini Prime Premiere Game Patches 3/3

While I said at the beggining of this blog post that I was posting my new pickups in no particular order, how could I not leave this until last? I mean, c'mon, this card is just awesome in every way, shape, and form. From the super limited print run /3, the design, patch from the jersey, and the photo-match used on the card itself, this Prime Premiere Game Patch 3/3 has to be one of the top cards in my collection as of right now.

​This jersey/patch was used overseas when the Buffalo Sabres flew over to Europe for the 2011 NHL Premiere event to start up the 2011-12 regular season and to grow the game of hockey. Enroth wore this jersey in Game Seven of the European tour on October 4th 2011, which resulted in a 8-3 victory over Adler Mannheim, a pro hockey club from Germany. How cool is that, man?

Originally, I had reached out to the Enroth collector who owned these cards a few times, and he always wanted to keep the card, which I was totally beyond cool with. After a while, he recently generously opened up talks for me to acquire this specific card, among others, as he knew I also collected Enroth's cards and wanted to give them a good home. 

I have so much respect for other collectors, even when they go after the same cards as I do. And I have always enjoyed seeing his pickups over the years. His collection still consists of a few awesome pieces still. I am really happy to own this card, as it's the first (and only) Premiere Game Patch I've seen of Enroth's since the product came out. So for him to make this available to me was a very nice thing of him to do. So thanks, man! 

That concluded the pickups from today. Thank you all for tuning in and experiencing these pickups with me. Feel free to leave a comment if you like :) 

​- Crease