Notable Nicknames are Complete

At least once a year I get smitten with a certain card or set. When I first saw that three Pirates (Polanco, Parker and Cole) were going to be featured in the National Treasures Notable Nicknames set I knew that I was going to chase them. I've featured the Polanco and Parker before, but I thought it would be fun showing all three together.

The Polanco was a redemption which really helped keep the price manageable. Once the card went live the price jumped up some so I was happy I acted early. Polanco is an active signer so I had no worries of the redemption going dormant.

I actually have two copies of this card if someone would like to trade.

Parker has had a ton of auto releases over the years which makes chasing his cards extremely affordable. He is probably my favorite of the 1970's Pirates to collect. This card was a little more expensive (~$20) than normal Parker's but I felt considering the set and the nickname inscription that is was a reasonable deal. 

Finding the Gerrit Cole proved to be much more difficult than I expected. The card is numbered to 25, but rarity really wasn't the issue. In my head I figured that around $40 would do the trick. Once the cards hit they were routinely going for $50-60.  That was just too far away from my comfort zone. I continued bidding on every one that hit eBay, but they consistently stayed around that price. In the end I probably put a bid on half the total print run. 

The plot thickened even more when Cole got off to a crazy good start this year. I was worried that I might get priced out of ever picking this card up. Fortunately my patience paid off as I was able to secure a copy a couple weeks back right at the $40 mark. 

I'm hoping the Pirates will be represented again if National Treasures decides to do the Notable Nicknames again. Lots of good options, but these are just begging to be issued....

Bill Mad Dog Madlock

John Candy Man Candelaria

Thanks for reading!