Treat Yo' Self! I have Added my Dream Card to my Collection

I mentioned a while back that I would be starting a new job (well, an expanded role in my current job) at the beginning of next month. This is still true, but thanks to a change-up in the staff (someone quitting with no goddamn notice), my hours are going to take a huge jump immediately. And this is mostly fine. I have the time and I can use the money.

The promise of a few real big paydays to come put me in “treat yo’self” mode. I started making fantasy searches on eBay, looking at big-money cards that I never before seriously considered buying. After some pie-in-the-sky thoughts about getting a 2011 Update Mike Trout, I settled on its cheaper cousin, the 2012 Bryce Harper #661 rookie.

Topps was stricken with full-blown gimmickitus for this one, super-short printing one version, putting another (the one I bought) into factory sets, and including a third variation as a part of a special rookie set in factory sets. By the strictest definition, none of these can really be his rookie card – that designation falls to his 2012 Update “rookie debut” card – but I wanted one of these as a nice bookend to my 2012 set. I dropped $20 on it, which is about a third of what the Update card seems to be going for right now.

I rarely spend so much on a single card. I can’t honestly remember the most I’ve EVER paid for a single card. The most expensive card in my collection presently is the autographed 1987 Topps Barry Bonds that I picked up a few years ago for about $30.

It was issued by The Scoreboard a while back, long before authenticating holograms became a must-have. Doing a little detective work, I became almost totally certain the thing was legit and took advantage of the situation to snag an auto of one of the three or four greatest players of all-time.

But even after picking up the Harper, I didn’t feel entirely treated. I wanted something BIG. And, after a little digging, I found something big. It set me back almost $90 – FAR more than I’d ever paid for a single card before.

(takes a breath)

So here it is…

An AUTOGRAPHED 1976 SSPC Henry Aaron. My dear God…

A signed Hammerin’ Henry Brewers card has been at the top of my list for YEARS. When I started my all-time Brewers project, I realized that Bad Henry would be among the toughest of all-time roster to find signed and I had kinda resigned myself to never owning one. But then I stumbled upon this little beauty. It is, oddly enough, another card certified by the Score Board. Poking around again, I found some similar cards online and – with the certificate of authenticity included, the serial number of the back and the big clunky case (the Bonds I mentioned above came in a case just like it) I felt good enough in moving forward with the purchase. 

Because this card came from the early days of certified autograph cards and features Aaron as a Brewer (most collectors would prefer him as a Milwaukee or Atlanta Brave), the price was far more reasonable than most of the newer certified autos, more in line with those god-awful ugly Front Row auto’ed Aaron cards from the early 1990s. But for me, this card is as close to perfection as I can imagine. It is a mile better-looking than most of the recent Topps cert autos, which tend to be a bit garish with the foil and many of which feature sticker autos (which Aaron often signs outside the lines). It shows a tired man smiling politely, an aged legend on a young team preparing for an early-season tilt with the Yankees at Shea Stadium. The Schaefer Beer sign, the American flag, the overcast sky… the picture tells a story all on its own and doesn’t need any real design to make it iconic. Add a bold, blue signature and it becomes the greatest card in my collection.

On the backside, we learn that Aaron was once destined for the Brewers front office. He indeed did get a promise of a post-career job after he was traded to the Brewers, but a feud with Bud Selig during the 1976 season drove him back to Atlanta. In fact, Aaron was actually offered the job of managing the Brewers part-way through the 1975 season, which he turned down. The reasons for the beef with Selig were never made public and were eventually settled.

I haven’t put the card into Aaron’s spot in my all-time Brewers binder just yet. And probably I won’t Aaron occupies the 9^th spot in the page, which feels vulnerable to damage for some reason (even though I’ve damaged maybe one or two cards while in a binder in my whole life). I’m even a bit hesitant to have it out on my desk for fear of something happening to it.

What do you think I should do, blog pals? Sleeve it up where it belongs or lock it down in heavy Lucite?