Completing My Largest Trade Ever

If Baseball card blogging has taught me one thing, it's incredibly easier to complete sets of cards or simply add to one's collection when I receive help from fellow bloggers and viewers alike. Not only does it drastically speed up the process, but I'm also able to interact and send cards to other collectors at the same time.

To put this into perspective, there's a reasonable chance that I'd still be working to complete both 1972 and 1975 Topps if not for the help I've received from other collectors to finish those vintage sets. It's unlikely that I would've ever met a majority of these trade partners if not for the blog.

Recently, I've been completing more trades than usual, both with bloggers/viewers as well as Twitter users. Over the last month or so, I've traded with numerous collectors who have helped remove countless Baseball cards from my want list. 

Like I previously mentioned, some of these trades have been completed on Twitter where collectors have been extraordinarily generous, sending me packages full of singles from '76 and '79 Topps respectively.

However, as the title of this post suggests, my most recent trade is a pretty significant one. That's because the box of cards that arrived in the mail earlier this week is the largest trade package I've ever received. 

With over 400 cards included in this box, this will go down as the biggest trade I've ever completed unless I've totally blanked on another trade that I've taken part in. The cards, on the other hand, span 5 different decades, beginning in 1976 and continuing up through 2018.

In return, I sent this collector a slew of vintage cards, dating back as far as 1961. That lot featured doubles from the (somewhat) recently-completed 1972 and 1975 Topps sets, but also other vintage Flagship designs like '66 and '71.

Even if you take into account what I traded in return for this box of cards, the sheer number of cards that were sent my way indicates how generous the members of this hobby truly are. 

I've yet to have a negative experience while completing a Baseball card trade in my life, and this awesome haul is certainly no exception. It's pretty evident that I would never receive such an elaborate package of cards without branching out to other collectors through the blog.

The most significant part of this trade centered around 1 set in particular; 1979 Topps. Thanks to the abundance of trades and Baseball card show pickups over the last few weeks, I've made significant strides towards completing this 726-card set. However, none of these acquisitions have been quite as notable as this one.

Roughly 1/2 of the cards in this incredible box are from the 1979 Topps set, an extraordinary step in the right direction towards completing this product. Although a few of the cards were doubles due to my initiating 2 trades at once, the majority of these cards are needed to complete this 70s Flagship product.

Because of when the set was released, it's a lot easier to track down star players in 1979 Topps than it is for other sets, even '76 which is only 3 years older. Aided by the fact that Topps was no longer producing their sets in series, '79 marked the last year of the iconic 1970s decade. As far as 70s cards go, the cards from the end of the decade entail fairly little value.

The All-Star cards of the past, primarily the 1970s, are far more interesting than the All-Star Game cards featured in Topps Update every year. In the case of 1979 Topps, the cards feature an extra banner that matches the color of the team name banner. 

After Topps transitioned away from The Sporting News All-Star cards, we began to see simple yet creative additions to the cards to signify that the player is an All-Star. Out of all the years that Topps did this for, the actual stars in 1976 Topps remain my favorites.

Another staple throughout most 1970s sets were the record breaker cards, commemorating various milestones from the previous year. Eventual Hall of Famers like Hank Aaron and Bob Gibson received their own record breaker cards in the 70s, but so did lesser-known talents like John Stearns and Sammy Stewart, both of whom set records in 1978.

Currently, I've eclipsed the 2/3 mark of the '79 Topps set through this recently-completed mega-trade. Additionally, I have a couple other trades that I'll be putting in-place this weekend as well. Thanks to the generosity of various collectors, what once seemed impossible now appears rather achievable, and I could surprise even myself and complete the '79 Topps set this year.

In what's become almost expected when it comes to trade packages, this recent box featured a stack of 1976 Topps cards as well. Like the '79s, the cards were mostly commons, all of which are needed en route towards completing this underrated Flagship set.

A few comparisons can certainly be drawn between the 2 70s Topps sets, but I must say that I'm slightly more fond of 1976 Topps because of how colorful the cards are. Not only is there a unique color combination at the bottom of each card, but unique uniforms appear far more often in '76 than the 1979 set.

Even though the traditional Sporting News All-Star cards were no more by the time 1976 Topps was released, the 2 companies still managed a small subset in 1976 Topps, featuring all-time All-Stars instead of current players. 

The checklist is fairly minimal, for the subset is reserved solely for the greatest players to ever play the game up until '76. In addition to the few cards that I had beforehand, I can now add Rogers Hornsby and Honus Wagner to this set.

As fabulous as these 2 Topps sets are, I've seen a slew of these cards over the last few weeks. Thankfully, this Twitter user took an in-depth look at my want list and ended up finding cards from all sorts of products that were listed.

Among the 400 or so cards that I received in the mail, a small stack of around 10 cards was from the 2005 Bowman Heritage set. It can be nearly impossible to find base cards from the 2000s when I head off to the Baseball card show, forcing me to rely on trades and getting lucky at the show to complete these kinds of sets.

The same thing could definitely be said about the 2006 Topps Heritage set. Apart from 1 or 2 times a year in which I stumble upon a small stack of these cards in the dime boxes, I'm forced to rely on trades or the internet to complete these base sets. Thanks to this major trade, I was able to add roughly 15-20 more cards to this set.

While I'm making my way through the 2000s, I should definitely address another major part of this trade; the 2008 Topps Heritage cards that were included in this box as well. A fairly large stack of cards from this Heritage set was featured as another element of this fabulous trade. 

I've had similar luck with completing this set as I've had for other 2000s sets, and I've never received this many cards from this product all at once. Commemorating the 1959 Topps design, this product successfully replicates one of the better Topps sets of the 1950s.

When sorting through the cards in this stack, it was pretty surreal to see so many veterans' photos from 11 years ago, including Joe Mauer who has since retired. Apart from Adam Jones, all of these stars have remained with their respective teams since 2008. Jones, on the other hand, spent many years in Baltimore before recently signing with the Arizona Diamondbacks on a 1-year deal.

The sheer simplicity and color featured on the original 1959 Topps combo cards is a major reason as to why they've been replicated not once, but twice by Topps. The first time was in 2008 Topps Heritage, shown above, while the others were included as SPs in the 2018 Topps Archives set.

As I was addressing The Sporting News earlier, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out the fact that for over a decade, including the 2008 Topps Heritage cards above, the All-Star cards were titled "The Topps News" instead.

Flashing forward an entire decade, the 1959 Topps combo cards were replicated once again, this time as SPs in last year's Topps Archives set. With a base set that featured the 1959, 1977, and 1981 Topps Flagship sets, it was one of the greatest Topps Archives sets that we've ever seen thanks to the extensive variety.

Not only was it surprising to find short prints in this trade package, but I was pleasantly surprised at this collector's willingness to part with a Miguel Andujar rookie card so that I can, hopefully, complete the 2018 Topps Archives set.

Seriously though, from the Clemens base card to the Bob Gibson SP, these Archives cards are awesome.

But perhaps the most generous card included in this entire insane trade package was an original 1959 Fleer Ted Williams card. That's right, a 60-year old card was kindly included in this spectacular box of want list needs, helping me on my journey towards completing this set as well.

This card is pretty awesome and is definitely the highlight of the entire box, but what I'm more impressed with is the incredible selection of different cards showcased in this trade package. This box highlighted the fact that I'm in the process of collecting a surplus of Baseball card products, but that doesn't mean I can't complete them.

All that means is I have to complete more trades with bloggers, viewers, and Twitter users, and after this trade, I'll have even more motivation to complete a trade from now on.