Facebook Brings Home Another Lost Card!

And then there were two...

IT'S OFFICIAL

This morning I completed a trade that landed me a Lost Card and it's all thanks to this great Facebook group that I joined a little over a month or two ago.

It's a "private" Facebook Group that hasn't really stayed all that private!  When I joined "Baseball Card Collectors and Trading~ Keep It Real", they maybe had 2,500 members.  In the last couple of months it has ballooned to over 7,400 members.  

The group is great and well run.  I've not made any trades on it, but have enjoyed watching others complete trades, help newbies figure out what they've got, and just plain congratulate others on excellent pulls they've made.  As satisfying as blogging has been for my cardboard addiction, this group has basically taken it to another level.  I actually discovered it through my buddy, Nathan from high school, who had been looking to unload a Bryce Harper auto...

Yeah... it's the same buddy who almost completed a trade with me for a Machado prospect auto that would've netted me that Harper.  As you recall that deal fell through because Santa brought him a Machado auto for Christmas and I didn't get my ass in gear and complete the trade in time.  Funny thing is I was only going to use that Harper as trade bait for one of my bigger Lost Card needs, specifically the Derek Jeter Sweet Spot auto.

Well he'd been shopping the Harper in this group for a quality Babe Ruth or Mickey Mantle relic card (not to toot my own horn, but I'm fairly certain I nudged him in that direction).  A member in the group named Robert threw up an offer for a pair of Mantle relics and one of them happened to be my Lost Card!  Nathan wasn't interested in the pair and I sent a message to Robert to see about pulling off a deal.

The exchange actually took place around midnight Saturday morning as I checked in to a hotel in WV after a 5 hour car ride from Baltimore.  Nothing eases the pain of a long car ride like the prospect of a trade for a Lost Card... well... that and a nice stiff drink!  I thought hard all weekend about what I was going to deal for this particular card.  Lucky for me Robert was pretty clear about what he collected... 

Red Sox, 500 HR Club, 3,000 Hit Club, and Triple Crown Winners.

I knew I had some cards that would fit the bill that I was willing to part with!

I came back home Sunday afternoon and sent Robert my offer and it was loaded!  Check it out!

2004 Playoff Absolute Memorabilia Tools of the Trade Rafael Palmeiro dual relic 240/250

2012 Topps Tribute Eddie Mathews bat relic 48/99

1982 Topps Bob Bonner RC... J/K Cal Ripken Jr. RC

2012 Topps Tribute Roberto Clemente Green Parallel 29/75

1978 Topps Eddie Murray RC

2009 Topps Legendary Lineage Mickey Mantle commemorative patch 13/50

2011 Topps Lineage Ivan DeLock autograph

2000 St. Louis Cardinals NLDS ticket stub signed by Stan Musial

Did I mention my offer was loaded and pretty much nailed everything he was looking for?

Robert was gracious and actually has read my blog and knew about how important it was for me to get these Lost Cards back.  He took my offer and in return I landed a Lost Card that I have particularly coveted.

!BOOM!

2000 Fleer Tradition Update Mickey Mantle Mantle Pieces game used pants relic

The thrill of pulling this card personally stayed with me for a long time and I've always regretted losing this card the most out of all the cards I gave up when I sold them in my time of need.

Now it's back!

And to bring it full circle I can still say that Nathan's Harper auto still ended up bringing me a Lost Card!  

So thanks Nathan! (Later that same night Nathan pulled off a trade that landed him a triple bat relic of Babe Ruth to /25.  Did I mention how GREAT this Facebook Group is?!?)

More importantly...

Thanks Robert for understanding just how important this adventure is to me and for being a part of the journey!

I'll be dropping off the cards in the mail tomorrow and I'll update the blog with an exciting MAIL DAY!

Stay tuned...

and

Thanks for reading!