A lookback at two more years of collecting

[ecoeconomic]

Two years ago I made this post about my first year or so and discussed my collection at that point.

As it's nearly two years later, I thought a follow-up post would be fun. Also, the pictures will be much better quality than last time

No separate low-end list this time, just a top 40 of my favorite PC cards:

Carter Historic Slams by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr
40. Vince Carter 2019-20 Contenders Optic Historic Slams

Cool card of an amazing moment. One of the cards in this list brought to my collection because of an SB Nation video (generally a great way to catch up on American sports history when you never followed it in your life).

Waldner auto by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

39. Jan Ove Waldner 1997 Alfa autograph /2000

As someone who plays *a lot* of table tennis, this was a must-have. Pretty much the greatest European player of all time and likely top 3 all-time of the world.

Thybulle Revolution Infinite auto by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr
38. Matisse Thybulle 2019-20 Revolution Infinite autograph /25

Revolution autos are some of my favorites and I especially love the Infinite parallels with blue backgrounds.

Reed Gala by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

37. Paul Reed 2020-21 Chronicles Gala /8

Cool design, fun player, wish they used a different jersey for the picture though. Great card overall though!

Brunson NT RPA 25 pen by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

36. Jalen Brunson 2018-19 National Treasures Rookie Patch Autographs /25

The first card from the first post making its return. It's lost his buddies, but the white and blue design is still clean enough for a top 40 spot.

Lillard Revolution auto by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

35. Damian Lillard 2018-19 Revolution Autograph

The second card returning to the ranking. Still love the Revolution auto design, but with the increased competition, this Dame auto falls from #10 to #35.

Doncic Maestro by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

34. Luka Doncic 2019-20 Court Kings Maestro

Court Kings inserts have had some great designs and this one is no exception. Add in the blue-on-blue uniform and this card makes it to #34.

Maxey Court Kings Lvl 4 by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

33. Tyrese Maxey 2020-21 Court Kings Level 4

Not an insert, but proving my point immediately is the rookie base design from a year later. The somewhat tropical colors and the uniform used for the picture made this card #33.

Harris Court Kings Auto by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

32. Tobias Harris 2015-16 Court Kings Impressionist Ink Sapphire /25

Another Court Kings entry, but the art here is Harris' autograph. The penmanship of this auto is great compared to his other autos.

Thybulle Noir Spotlight Signatures by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

31. Matisse Thybulle 2019-20 Noir Spotlight Signatures /125

Dropping from #5 to #31 shows how both my whole collection and my Thybulle PC has developed. Still love the Gold Ink and photography of this set.

Luka Cosmic by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

30. Luka Doncic 2019-20 Revolution Cosmic /100

One of the many Cosmics in my collection (check out my chase in a separate post), as I love their design and the blue/green glow the cards get.

https://flickr.com/photos/189918376@...7717298630157/
29. Allen Iverson 2019-20 Revolution autograph

Vibrant design befitting the player and uniform they used. His auto has been better though.

Maxey Illusions Blue by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

28. Tyrese Maxey 2020-21 Illusions Blue /25

Another blue parallel and the same uniform returns again. The design of the Illusions Blue parallel is even better than in 2019-20 which made me buy 8 more of these (Doncic, Brunson, Seth Curry, Porzingis, Reed, Isaiah Joe, Embiid and Shake Milton).

Shake Cosmic 1 by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

27. Shake Milton 2018-19 Revolution Cosmic /100

This entry should probably be a part of a hoarders episode, as I have somehow already amassed 10 of these.

Shake Cosmic 1 by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

26. Shake Milton 2018-19 National Treasures Rookie Auto /99

7th place from the first ranking making its return at 26, as two additions to the Shake PC have bumped this card down. Still love the design on this card though!

Maxey Impeccable Red by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

25. Tyrese Maxey 2021-22 Impeccable Asia Red /8

A very recent addition, but a similar one to the Illusions Blue. This is also the second year of this parallel and in my opinion, it's much improved, both in base design (with actually some similarities to Illusions with the double picture) and how the red interacts with the base design (leaving the blue paint stripe rather than just fully red like the prior year).

Pedro Diamond Icons by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

24. Pedro Martinez 2021 Diamond Icons Autograph /25

I think I heard of Pedro Martinez as a Red Sox player before, but I wasn't a fan until I watched a video on his 1999 and 2000 seasons. In short, really cool player that I needed to have an auto from my favorite Topps set: Diamond Icons.

Thybulle Gala by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

23. Matisse Thybulle 2019-20 Chronicles Gala /8

Another Gala! This one is even better than the Reed, as the blue numbers fit the design much better than the red numbers in the Reed Gala.

Embiid Spotlight Signatures by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

22. Joel Embiid 2016-17 Noir Spotlight Signatures /125

Another Spotlight Sig which has some great lighting on the picture.

Brunson Gala by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

21. Jalen Brunson 2018-19 Chronicles Gala /8

The final Gala which was my favorite design of all 3 with a cool bubble design in the background.

[ecoeconomic]

Part 2 to be added:

Embiid Revolution numbered grouped by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

20. Joel Embiid 2019-20 Revolution rainbow

I only have the numbered parallels pictured here, but this set has many of my favorite aspects: a cool uniform, my favorite player and a cool design from my favorite set in Revolution.

Brunson Blue Shimmer by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

19. Jalen Brunson 2018-19 Prizm Blue Shimmer /7

One of my favorite team color cards.

Maxey Spotlight Signatures by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

18. Tyrese Maxey 2020-21 Noir Spotlight Signatures /99

My favorite Spotlight Signature, as it has a great action photo and a clean auto.

Thybulle Origins Silver Ink by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

17. Matisse Thybulle 2019-20 Origins Silver Ink /49

Origins is another favorite of mine and the space-like background design of the Silver Ink rookie autos is one of the reasons for that. The silver auto contrasts well with the black background well too.

Brunson Absolute Level 2 auto by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

16. Jalen Brunson 2018-19 Absolute Draft Day Ink Level 2 /25

Blue design of this card is neat, but the penmanship of this auto is fabulous as well. Compared to other autos of his, this one is compact and clean.

Shake Swoosh by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

15. Shake Milton 2018-19 Flawless Collegiate Rookie Patch Autographs Emerald /5

A clean Nike Swoosh and his only RPA. It wasn't even released until just the past edition of Flawless Collegiate as an update, so a quite recent addition as well.

Griffey Upper Deck 1989 by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

14. Ken Griffey Jr. 1989 Upper Deck

An iconic card making its return from the prior ranking!

Kane Impeccable auto by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

13. Harry Kane 2020-21 Impeccable Immortal Ink /99

As a Tottenham fan, it took me a while, but I finally added a clean auto of one of my favorite players.

Maxey Select Cosmic by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

12. Tyrese Maxey 2020-21 Select Cosmic Premier Level

I would like to thank Panini for making Nebula parallels affordable with this Nebula/Fast Break hybrid parallel. This card also has a cool action photo with a great uniform choice.

Brunson Flawless RPA 10 by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

11. Jalen Brunson 2018-19 Flawless Rookie Patch Autograph Gold /10

My preferred RPA of his, not for its game-worn patch, but a more simplistic and clean design than the NT RPAs.

Embiid Color Blast by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

10. Joel Embiid 2020-21 Spectra Color Blast

Super colorful and a rare set. However, it still only ranks #4 for Embiid cards in this ranking.

Maxey Origins Silver Ink by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

9. Tyrese Maxey 2020-21 Origins Silver Ink /99

#2 for Origins cards here and my favorite Maxey card. Another cool background for the Silver Ink with some colorful cloud design.

Griffey Diamond Icons auto by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

8. Ken Griffey Jr. 2020 Diamond Icons Autographs /10

#4 from the prior post is now ranked at #8. As for penmanship, it's probably the best auto in my collection and my 2nd favorite auto in terms of penmanship.

Doncic Revolution auto by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

7. Luka Doncic 2018-19 Revolution rookie Autograph

Another returner falling from #2 to #7. I was very happy to pick this up back in June 2020 for a great price by today's standards. The story to this card is even better, as I picked this up on eBay at buy it now only minutes after handing in the final assignment of my bachelor's degree this year at 2 AM which makes it even more special to me.

Embiid Nike Swoosh by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

6. Joel Embiid 2016-17 Immaculate Nike Swoosh patch /4

Game-worn and a clean swoosh on another blue background.

Doncic Essentials Blue by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

5. Luka Doncic 2018-19 Chronicles Essentials Blue /99

Such an amazing glow on this blue parallel!

Embiid Impeccable auto by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

4. Joel Embiid 2016-17 Impeccable Jersey Number auto /21

I have to shoutout ballhawkdawk for pointing me towards this card which also has a neat auto compared to some of Joel's other autographs.

Thybulle Origins Booklet by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

3. Matisse Thybulle 2019-20 Origins Booklet /10

Returning from last post and staying at #3, my favourite Matisse card! It's a beautiful booklet with an amazing patch, a clean auto and (of course) a blue background + a blue jersey.
After the release of Opulence, this booklet has become even more unique in my opinion, as the lack of Matisse booklets in that set makes this booklet one of only 11 Thybulle booklets in the world (including the 1/1 of course)!


Shake NT 1 of 1 by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

2. Shake Milton 2018-19 National Treasures Autograph Platinum 1/1

So this card is quite literally the best Shake Sixers card in existence. Certified is the other on-card rookie auto set and Revolution (his only RC base set) did not have a 1/1 back then. I managed to get this through a friend who found it at the National and it has pretty much ended my Shake PC development, as no other card can pass this in my Shake PC.


Embiid Revolution Infinite perfect auto by Embiid Trusting, on Flickr

1. Joel Embiid 2018-19 Revolution Infinite Autographs /25

Returning at #1 is my absolute favorite penmanship and team color cards with a nearly printed on auto in terms of neatness (if only it was not tilted towards the left) and the blue on blue on blue.

I hope you have enjoyed this long read. If you still want to see some more of the cards in my PC, check out my Flickr! Thanks for reading and enjoy your weekend!

[bkcardcollector]

Wow, nice ones, I like the Gala and the 2 Maxey inserts. That Brunson RPA /25 is too low in the ranking.

Get that ping pong garbage outta here. jj n1

[Zedlaw]

Great stuff

[wnp22]

Awesome stuff! Love that you are picking up cards that you will cherish and appreciate for a long time. Keep up the good work and I hope your collection continues to grow like it has been!

[jova888]

Awesome, thanks for sharing

[PokeyAndG]

great collection, but guess I have to be that guy, you bought them when the market was at it's peak.

[Orndorff24a]

Couple of Griffey’s in there

[fabiani12333]

I like that Tyrese Maxey select cosmic -- it's got a lot going for it.

[BartvH]

Originally Posted by PokeyAndG

great collection, but guess I have to be that guy, you bought them when the market was at it's peak.

How do you know when he bought what? And really what does it matter? The ranking obviously isn’t about card value or investment.

Anyway, very cool list! Cool to see a list based just on personal preference and the fact that some great cards dropped places means you managed to upgrade your pc over the last two years. Nicely done!

[mindcycle]

Great cards and write ups! I really enjoyed reading about what you like about these cards and how they reached the spot they did.

[TFCNB]

Great cards, it looks like we have similar taste!

I also really like some of the Illusions blue (and red) and the Gala cards, but that Vince card is fire!!!

I'll have to check out your other post.

[kingofsnake]

That's a very nice and varied Top 20, OP. You have made great progress in two years. My favorite card is the Embiid Impeccable. Thanks for sharing.