The Legend

The Legend

Thursday, July 16, 2015

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!

14 comments:

  1. The best thing about NT just might be how pleasant surprises might pop up. I mean cards for Pittsburgh greats like Babe Adams and Arky Vaughan are way overdue.

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    1. Panini overall has much better checklists than Topps. Sets like NT and Classics have a good bit of pre war players.

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  2. Great looking cards! Love the nicknames!

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    1. I love nickname cards as well. Anytime a Pirate is featured I try to pick it up.

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  3. Those autographs are very cool.

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  4. Those look great! I just wished Panini had a piece of that MLB license so there are logos! Congrats on your completion!

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    1. A license would put these cards over the top. I'm sure it would also add even more of a premium to the secondary market prices too.

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  5. Congratulations. Love the Parker... and I agree that Mad Dog needs a card in a future Notable Nicknames set.

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    1. Thanks Fuji! The Pirates have had some good nicknames over the years. Still think Cobra is my favorite, but Mad Dog might be a close second.

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  6. Great cards! I'd love to pick up one of those Cobra cards sometime. The Cole Train card would be sweet too, since I'm a big fan of John Coltrane.

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    1. You can find a deal on the Cobra if you are patient. He has several cards that feature his nickname, but this is my favorite.

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  7. I'd love to see Pedro "El Toro" Alvarez autos hit the market before he leaves Pittsburgh.

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    1. That would be cool, but I think he may be good as gone after this year. Seems like a good non tender candidate.

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