Allen & Ginter Frankenset; A Concept

Unlike most every other card collector, I've never really been a huge fan of the mini cards from the Topps Allen & Ginter set. 

I'm not too sure what it is, but they've never really been something I've sought after or been all that interested in them. Maybe it's that they tend to fall out of the pack or can be easily misplaced. I realize they've been the most recognizable part of the brand since it was first released in 2006, so I guess I've just never quite known what to do with them.

I know that Night Owl has a mini frankenset of his own, and I'm sure there are a few more out there that I'm missing. After realizing that I intend to purchase at least a blaster of A&G this year, I discovered that I don't want to have these mini cards scattered everywhere. I want a place for all my A&G minis along with a new project to take on. However, what's good about this project is that I don't have to go too crazy with it. It can be more of a steady project rather than one I attempt to put together all at once.

To get started and see if this is something I'd like to expand on, I looked through the minis I had in my 2017 Allen & Ginter hobby box. Immediately, I had questions which I quickly realized needed to be answered before I started the frankenset. But first, here are some of the cards I found.

I first began seriously collecting Allen & Ginter back in 2016 when I purchased a box of the set for myself on my birthday. In fact, I don't think I had opened a single pack of the product until that day. I liked the base design alright, but I remember being a huge fan of the different colors in the background and the Numbers Game inserts from the 2016 set. I can't recall thinking too much of the minis. I decided not to separate any for player collections because of how small they were and how much they'd move around in standard sheets or sleeves, so I just left them in the box. In 2017 I did the same, hence why the Pujols mini isn't in the Pujols PC.

I originally had intentions of selling mini variations like the A&G mini back Ian Desmond card above, but I like this option more. Even though I like making money from when I sell cards, there's not much fun to it. I prefer finding a new purpose for a card or group of cards rather than simply listing them on Sportlots. I guess that's part of why this Allen & Ginter mini frankenset idea appeals to me. It gives a purpose to cards that, otherwise, could simply be sold or ignored. 

Now that I've talked a little about what I found, here come the questions. First, what should I do about the non-baseball cards? I get that the non-baseball and even non-sport figures are a big part of Allen & Ginter, but I'm not quite sure if I want these guys in my frankenset. Guys like Stephen A Smith could wind up in the set because I know and recognize who they are. However, guys like Corey Bellemore might not hold a spot for long if another card comes along. Still, the black and white parallel gives Bellemore some points to stay in the set.

My next question pertains to how large the set should be. Personally, I think either 300 or 350 is a good number. A 300-card frankenset would match up to what the average size of an Allen & Ginter set is while a 350-card set would include the short-prints like the Tim Raines and Whitey Ford cards shown above. I must say that I'm leaning more towards 350 just so I can have a place for cards like these. Plus, I'll take any chance I get to put an Expos card in a frankenset, even if it has a yellow color background that does not work well at all.

Finally, I'm not exactly sure what to do with mini inserts. Granted, the mini insert sets aren't too big so they wouldn't stretch out over the whole frankenset. However, the first 25 cards or so would be absolutely swamped with these mini inserts which may or may not be good. Don't get me wrong, I like the mini inserts they include, especially the dude cards, but I don't know if that's all I want to see for the first few pages. So, I suppose I'll have to do what is done for every frankenset. I'll have to make decisions between 2 or more cards regarding which one will make or stay in the set.

Even though I don't have all the kinks ironed out and I have absolutely no clue how many A&G minis I have, I think this will be a fun project to mildly pursue. Like I said before, this isn't something I have to go all-in for right now. Instead, I can take my time and add cards and make decisions when the time comes.