It Took 20 Years, But I Finally Completed It!

Last week while I was out of town I got a notification on my phone from one of my saved searches on eBay that this card was FINALLY listed. This was the first time I had ever seen this card listed and luckily it was still there when I went to the site. This was the last card I needed to complete the 2003 Fleer Authentix set. In addition to the base set I also completed the Ballpark Classic, Game Bat, Game Jersey, Game of the Week, Hometown Heroes and Ticket Studs insert sets. I also grabbed one autograph of each player that signed in the set (Barry Bonds, Derek Jeter and Nolan Ryan). Finally, I was able to get the two promo cards that were given away at that year's All-Star Fan Fest. I did not chase after the base parallel sets nor did I pursue the "unripped" Game Bat, Game Jersey and Game of the Week inserts since they were identical to the other inserts with the exception of a low print run and barcode at the bottom of those cards. I'm happy that my perseverance finally paid off and that this set is finally completed.

It Finally Appeared!

For 19 years I've been working on the 2003 Fleer Authentix baseball set. There were times when I thought about just giving up on this build and thinking to myself that I'll never be able to accomplish this task. Two cards have eluded me for years, but today I was finally able to nab one of them. Behold, the last card I needed to complete the base set....Chin-Feng Chen! This card popped up today on COMC and I couldn't purchase it fast enough. Not sure when I'll have the card in hand. Maybe I'll request a shipment from COMC before the end of the year. The only card remaining from this set that I need is the Hometown Heroes Johnny Damon relic card. Here's hoping it doesn't take another 19 years for one of those to surface.

And Then There Were Two

For the past 18 years I've been working on completing a set that has been a thorn in my side. The company is no longer around and it's taken me what seems like forever just to pick up a card that I need. That changed this past weekend when I acquired not one but two of the four cards I needed to complete the 2003 Fleer Authentix set. Comc.com had a listing for a Bobby Doerr card that I had only seen once (as in only once in the 18 years I've been working on this set). I couldn't buy that card fast enough. It was less than $2 and the last time I ever saw the card listed years ago the seller was asking for $20. In addition to picking up the Doerr, I decided to bite the bullet and get the last autograph I needed from the set. This Jeter completes the trifecta of autographs that Fleer put out in this set back in 2003. I already had the Barry Bonds and Nolan Ryan so adding this card was a nice addition even though the price was steep. As I said, with those two cards acquired I'm down to only needing two more cards: Chin-Feng Chen in the base set update and a Hometown Heroes Johnny Damon. 

Home Runs and Strikeouts

I've been working on my 2003 Fleer Authentix set now for 17 years! Talk about a long project. I didn't think it would take this long to track down every single card (not counting the parallels) for this set, but it has. I'm still 4 cards shy of wrapping up this project. Once I track down that last card and place it in the binder I will breathe a sigh of relief and be proud of the accomplishing a task that's going on two decades to complete. Until then, I'll show off a couple of cards I picked up for this set.

There are three autographs to be found in 2003 Fleer Authentix: Barry Bonds, Derek Jeter, and Nolan Ryan. The Bonds I acquired back in January of this year and the Ryan I finally pulled the trigger on last week and purchased. I think it's fantastic that I now own autographs for the all time leaders in strikeouts and home runs. That just leaves the captain to acquire sometime in the foreseeable future. The other cards I still need are a Hometown Heroes Johnny Damon relic, and base cards of Chin-Feng Chen and Bobby Doerr.

Changing My Mind

It's not very often that I change my mind when it comes to things. Once I decide something I try to stick with it (in terms of my collection anyway). This helps me to stay focused and prevents my collection from growing out of control like a giant blob gobbling up my funds and leaving behind nothing more than despair and destruction. A while back I had posted that I was trying to complete the 2003 Fleer Authentix set with the exception of the relic cards. While I had intended on sticking to that goal, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I really liked the look of some of those cards. Granted, I don't like everything that's in that set (the Hometown Hero subset) but there are plenty of cards that I like. Case in point, the Game of the Week is a 10 card relic set that consists of two jersey swatches from two separate players with a replica ticket that's embedded in the card. You can either get the common "ripped" version or the more limited "unripped" version that's limited to 50. 2003 Authentix also has a 10 card bat relic set and a 25 card jersey relic set. Each of these sets only include 1 relic from a player with a replica ticket embedded in the card. There are "ripped", "unripped", and "All-Star" variations with those cards. So after a lot of thought, I've decided to chase those relic sets because it comes down to the first rule of collection...collect what you enjoy. I definitely enjoy these cards. Besides, with the way technology is going, I'm sure there will be a day in the not too distant future when you can't even get a paper ticket to go to a game. Instead you'll be required to get an electronic ticket on your smartphone.  

My First Base Card

Here it is....my first base card (not the other base cards we as collectors are accustom to). For the past fourteen years I've been working on the 2003 Fleer Authentix baseball set. I've tracked down all but 4 "base" cards and I still need the Ballpark Classic and Ticket Stud inserts. According to baseballcardpedia, during the 2003 All-Star game this Jeter card is part of an eight-card set that was available exclusively through a redemption program at the 2003 All-Star Game FanFest in Chicago. Each card company got to issue two cards for this promotion. In a twist from previous FanFest sets, the first four cards in this set all feature a piece of a game-used base that the player took part in. Each of the four game-used cards are serial-numbered to 2000 copies. You can view a checklist of the set here. I have the Konerko FanFest card as well from this set. I'm looking forward to purchasing the Ballpark Classic and Ticket Stud insert sets in the coming months and since I don't consider parallels or relic cards to be necessary for a master set, in my humble opinion, I'll be on the verge of completing my first master set!