2009 O-Pee-Chee Hobby Box

A couple of thoughts about a hobby box of 2009 O-Pee-Chee I picked up last week while visiting one of the messiest card stores ever (In retrospect, I should have taken pics, it was a sight to behold.)

At first I was disappointed with my box, but I did get an autograph card which falls only twice per case. So I guess I got a bit of a case hit there, but considering who the card was (Brian Barton), I had to check the auto checklist for the set. Check the autograph checklist out here. This might just be the most unimpressive signature checklist I've ever seen in a set. The Yankees have autos from Ian Kennedy and Jonathan Albaladejo, that's the best they can do?! Weird...

I find it odd that the New York, New York subset cards are on thick card stock and glossy. There's no memorabilia on the card, no auto, just a picture. What's the purpose of the thick card stock? I can't seem to figure that out. Could they not make a glossy card on regular card stock? Are collectors going to put a premium on the card because it's thicker? Or is this some new way of trying to prevent pack searchers from looking for jersey cards? I suppose in a way it would be interesting to use those thick dummy cards in packs as a parallel to the base set. Instead of placing a thick card for advertising purposes, make it a SP parallel to the base set. It would be collectible, but also help in the prevention of pack searching for jersey cards.

I'm not a big fan of retro card sets, Heritage/Goudey/O-Pee-Chee don't do much for me, and I probably won't buy another box. The more I get back into collecting the more I realize that I prefer the higher end cards with more contemporary designs. So far this year Topps Finest might just be my favorite set (though the auto patches aren't exactly the best way to go about getting legible autos). I've yet to find a Topps Finest card that contains a crease down the middle of the card. Rarely are Topps Finest cards miscut, and the corners are usually VERY sharp.

Since I'm not looking to finish a set of 2009 O-Pee-Chee, if you're looking for a few cards for your set let me know... I'll try to provide a list of the base cards I have this evening.