Old School Box Breaks: 2002-03 Fleer Platinum Basketball Hobby Box

 

This is one of the more unique Fleer releases in the early 2000s as they went with the "Old School" Variety by giving collectors a sampling of 3 different pack types (Wax, Jumbo, Rack). There are exclusive rookies in each pack form. There really are no huge hits in this. You get 2 memorabilia cards per box, which back then was the selling point of these, but in today's world...memorabilia cards don't exactly set the world on fire. Nonetheless, I thought this would be a fun break and decided to bust a box. 

 

Basic Set Info

140 Basic Cards

20 Unsung Heroes

10 Rookies (1:4 Wax Packs, 1:2 Jumbo Packs, 1:1 Rack Pack)

10 Rookies Numbered to 750 (Wax Pack Exclusive)

10 Rookies numbered to 350 (Jumbo Pack Exclusive)

10 Rookies numbered to 250 (Rack Pack Exclusive)

Inserts

Platinum Finish (# to 100)

Guts and Glory (1:4 Wax, 1:2 Jumbo, 1:1 Rack)

Inside the Playbook (# to 400)

Platinum Portraits (1:14 Wax, 1:8 Jumbo, 1:4 Rack_

Inside the Playbook Jersey (# to 250)

Vince Carter's All Stars Dual Jersey (# to 250)

Platinum Portraits Jersey (1:21 Wax Packs)

Platinum Portraits Patch (# to 100)

Nameplates (Serial Numbered 1:8 Jumbo)

Freshman Fabric (1:2 Rack)

Here we go!!!

I'll list by configuration


Wax Packs

Rookies (1:4)
Dan Dickau
Vincent Yarbrough
Marcus Haislip
Chris Wilcox

Guts and Glory (1:4)
Elton Brand
Richard Jefferson
Ben Wallace
Reggie Miller

Inside the Playbook
Tim Duncan (#356/400)

Platinum Portraits (1:14)
Shane Battier

Platinum Portraits Jersey (1:21)
Dirk Nowtizki

Jumbo

Michael Jordan Base

Rookies (1:2)
Nene
Tito Maddox
Mike Dunleavy

Rookies (Jumbo Exclusive)
Rasual Butler (#133/350)

Platinum Portraits (1:8)
Shaquille O'Neal


Guts and Glory (1:2)
Rasheed Wallace


Nameplates Patch
Amare Stoudemire (#274/315)

Rack Pack



Rookies (1:1)
Nikoloz Tskitishvili

Rookies Rack Pack Exclusive
Juan Dixon (#39/250)


Guts and Glory (1:1)
Ben Wallace     

Overall Thoughts: Fun little break. This would've been a great break back in the day, especially the Amare Nameplates patch. Cool to get a Duncan numbered insert too. Rookies were weak, but the best ones are the toughest to get. Here's pics of the hits!

 

  

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 Blaster Boxes of 2017 Topps Archives Baseball

 

So I got bored and took a trip to Wal Mart to see what they had in stock. I don't normally do retail, but I had "the itch" and so I saw 3 boxes of Archives and said what the hell, let's give it a shot. Here are the results from the break!

Blaster 1

Coins (2 per box)
Orlando Arcia
Noah Syndergaard

Peach Parallel (1:18)
Edwin Encarnacion (#122/199)

1960 Topps Stars Rookie Insert (1:14)
Andrew Benintendi


1959 Bazooka Insert (1:7)
Paul Konerko


Derek Jeter Retrospective (1:7)
2011 Topps (DJ-19)

Blaster 2

Coins (2 Per Box)
Orlando Arcia (yep again)
Anthony Rizzo

1959 Bazooka Insert (1:7)
Corey Seager

Derek Jeter Retrospective (1:7)
2008 Topps (DJ-16)


2016 Retro Original (1:14)
Miguel Cabrera


1960 Topps Grey Back (1:137)
Melky Cabrera

Peach Parallel (1:18)
Sandy Koufax (#26/199)

Blaster 3

Coins (2 Per Box)
Orlando Arcia (3rd one LOL)
Anthony Rizzo

1959 Bazooka Insert (1:7)
Yulieski Guerriel


Derek Jeter Retrospective (1:7)
2000 Topps (DJ-8)

1960 Topps Rookie Stars (1:14)
Yoan Moncada

Fan Favorites Autograph Light Blue Parallel (1:582)
John Hirschbeck (#48/75)

Overall Thoughts: I like the idea of Topps Archives..similar to Heritage in using 3 different Topps designs (this year's choices were 1960, 1982, and 1992). The collation though was pretty terrible..especially on the bonus coins. Each blaster had an Orlando Arcia coin..while 2 had Rizzo. So I only got 3 different players out of the 25 in the set. That's insane. Also Box 3 started BRUTAL..with nearly every pack a pack full of duplicates. Nearly had 3 packs worth a doubles to start off that box. Overall I thought I did Okish..nothing groundbreaking, but I did pull 2 of the best rookies in the 1960 Rookie Stars insert set in Benintendi and Moncada, plus a low numbered Koufax parallel and an auto. I wish the auto was not of an umpire, but it's still a 1:582 pull for retail so not too bad. A fun little break to pass time on this Saturday afternoon. Here's pics of the base cards and then the hits of the break.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top 5 Pulls of 2017

#1- 2016 Donruss Optic Gold Vinyl Cam Newton 1/1
#2- 16-17 Donruss Optic Jaylen Brown Rookie Signatures
#3- 16-17 Donruss Optic Larry Bird The Champ Is Here Gold Holo (#4/10)
#4- 2016 Donruss Optic Derrick Henry Rated Rookie Autograph (#43/150)
#5- 2016 Donruss Optic Kenneth Dixon Rated Rookie Holo Autograph   Redemption (# to 99)

Recent Pickups Time! Tons of Good Stuff!!

Here's a look at some more cards I've gotten over the last couple of weeks!

15-16 Prestige Distinctive Ink Kyrie Irving (#11/25)

Wayyyyyy back in August last year, I pulled a redemption for this card and it FINALLY came in last week. It's a sticker auto, but I'm just happy to have it and not worry about any more redemptions that are left hanging.

98-99 Stadium Club Vince Carter RC PSA 9

I remember when Vince was molten hot, these cards were too. Issued as redemptions in Series 1, due to the lockout, these cards sold like hotcakes when they were in hand. I always had wanted one, but never pulled the trigger..until now. I got this for 6 bucks. One of my many goals, is to reacquire all the Vince Rookies I owned back in the day and those I didn't own. This is one of them.

98-99 Topps Draft Redemption Vince Carter PSA 9

I have fond memories of the 98-99 Topps Draft Redemption set as I remember buying a retail box of this stuff and pulling 3 redemptions. Though they weren't Vince, they didn't end up being too shabby. I pulled Jason Williams, Dirk, and Robert Traylor. At the time I was actually more excited about the Traylor out of the 3. I ended up trading both the Dirk and Jason Williams. Anyways, it's definitely a favorite set of mine, so I found the Vince and I scooped it up.

16-17 National Treasures Giannis Antetokounmpo Patch Card (#3/25)

Just a nice patch card of the Greek Freak. He really had an outstanding year this past season and I think it's only the beginning for him.

86-87 Fleer Julius Erving PSA 9

I love the 86 Fleer set and this was a chance to add a mint copy of Dr. J. Absolutely love this card.

88-89 Fleer Kareem Abdul Jabbar PSA 9

I just love 80's Fleer basketball cards. This is actually Kareem's final base card during his playing days. Still dominating with that iconic skyhook.

1985 Star Gatorade Slam Dunk Charles Barkley BGS 9.5

I think this is an underrated pickup. A cool looking Barkley that predates his 86 Fleer rookie. I hope to pick up more Star cards of hall of famers in the future.

16-17 National Treasures Treasures Of The Hall Clyde Drexler Autograph (#4/49)

A nice bold large on card auto of Hall of Famer Clyde the Glide! Great looking card.

16-17 National Treasures Treasures Of The Hall Oscar Robertson Autograph (#21/25)

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to add the original "Mr. Triple Double" to my collection. Years ago, I had a Big O auto, but sold it when I sold off my collection. It feels really good to add one back. One card too!
16-17 National Treasures All Decade Wilt Chamberlain Memorabilia Card (#12/15)

I added this just to have a Wilt Memorabilia card into my collection again (I previously owned a few).

15-16 Flawless Wilt Chamberlain Ruby Patch PSA 9 (#7/8)

And two days later I upgraded to this! I wasn't going to let this one slip by! Great looking card!

16-17 Donruss Optic Signature Series Purple Karl Anthony Towns

I LOVE Optic cards and even though this is a sticker auto, it's still a great looking card of one of the best young stars in the game today.

03-04 Topps Finest Gold Refractor Jersey Manu Ginobili (#11/25)

If Manu has indeed played his final game, he'll go out as one of the most exciting and selfless players to ever play the game. He sacrificed so much personal glory for the purpose of one thing..winning. Even without the gaudy stats, he's still a shoo-in Hall of Famer when the time comes. This card right here...is BEAUTIFUL. The 03-04 Finest Gold Refractor set is one of the best looking ones out there. When I saw this card, I NEEDED it. So glad I won it and added it to my collection.

14-15 Prestige Bonus Shots Sean Elliott Autograph (#88/99)

The seller of the Manu was also nice enough to throw this in. Now to be honest..I LOATHE Sean Elliott because he's one of the WORST commentators out there today. My opinion of course. He's up with good ol Tom Heinsohn when it comes to homerism when commentating on Spurs games. It's beyond annoying. Anyway, as a player though, there's no denying Elliott was a crucial piece to the Spurs first title in 1999. Not bad a for a free throw in.

2016 Unparalleled Emmitt Smith Red Triple Patch (#5/5)

How can I pass up this beautiful Emmitt numbered to 5?? Great card of my favorite football player of all time.

13/14 Immaculate Collection Basketball Bo Jackson Autograph (#7/25)

As I've gotten older, I've really started to appreciate even more just how awesome Bo Jackson was. There will NEVER be another guy who dominates two sports like Bo did. It really made me want to add some cards of his, including a nice auto. I really didn't have a preference with sport, just wanted a nice looking on card autograph. I don't know the backstory really behind these cards as when they came out, I was out of the collecting game, but apparently Panini threw in some legends from other sports in their Basketball release of 13-14. This card though was exactly what I wanted. A nice full on card auto of Bo!

1989 Bowman Ken Griffey Jr. RC BGS 9

Hey for under 5 bucks a graded mint rookie of Ken Griffey Jr.? I'm all in! I'm really liking picking up lower end mint copies of Hall of Famers/Superstars rookie cards. They are super affordable and still cool to have.

14-15 Totally Certified Mirror Gold Kyrie Irving (#1/10)


If it's shiny gold I'm buyin!! Whether it's Finest, Chrome, Prizm, Optic, and even Certified, I love the look of Gold Foil. This Kyrie was a no brainer for me!

And that'll do it! All caught up (for now anyways!)