Multiple Milestones - 200 blog posts and 500 cards

Somehow I have managed to co-ordinate this so that this blog post features my 500th card in my 200th blog post. I have posted every day since launching on Tony's birthday on 9th May. Back then I had 195 Tony Gwynn cards in my collection and I was less than halfway to my target of 394 cards.

Last week I took delivery of a parcel that caused me some stress. First of all on the Monday, I got a dreaded grey customs charge notice through the door. I had purchased some cards from a US-based seller on eBay and managed to wangle free delivery. However, the receiving mail house had noticed my purchase was a fraction over the £15 limit for avoiding VAT. In fact, they charged me as if the dollar value of the package was in pounds, calculated VAT at just over £4 then added an £8 administration fee on top.

Not only was I being overcharged, I was being charged extra for the privilege of being overcharged. Anyway, I took the path of least resistance, logged in online and paid the fee. That part of the process was surprisingly easy. I received an email saying my package would be redelivered on Wednesday. 

But Wednesday came and went and there was no package.

On the Thursday afternoon, after the package didn't arrive with the morning post, my wife went on a mission to the sorting office to find out what was going on. She actually met our regular postman down there who confirmed the package had been delivered, but he couldn't find out where it had been delivered. Cue an early morning phone call to the management office in the sorting office on the Friday, where they were able to confirm it had been delivered to a house a few streets away from us.

Although they told my wife that they would go and find the package and deliver it correctly, she took matters into her own hands and knocked on the door herself. I was working when my phone beeped and there was a WhatsApp message from her saying "Look what I've found!" and a picture of the parcel.

According to our friendly postman, who wasn't on duty when this went to the wrong house, three different people will have sorted this wrongly for it to go where it did. My address was visible enough on the packet - so much so I've blacked it out on the photo just in case! I still feel narked that I got charged an administration fee and then it was administered to the wrong house.

The cards inside were a mix of inserts and base cards from hard to find sets. Today's card was in the parcel and it links back to the 80s week theme from last week. 

It took a lot of hard work to get it here, but here is the 500th card on the blog:

Card Number 500: Topps Rookie of the Week, 2006; #22

In 2006, Topps had a 25-card insert series where they recreated a rookie card for baseball stars, using the template of the player's original card and new photos. Well, I say new... 

If that main photo looks familiar, that's because last week I showed Tony's "glossy All-Star" card from 1985. Which uses the same photo. Here's a reminder:

The picture on the card from 2006 is much crisper, probably because it was printed to a higher level of quality.

The card back has two numbers on it. Ignore the #482 - that was Tony's card number in Topps's 1983 release. 

The real card number is up the side. 

I have no objections to Topps reusing good photos of Tony on new cards. This is better than just reproducing his original rookie card again (complete with the photo that is centred on his bottom). It's a very nice card and worth the extended hassle caused by the post office.

It's also the first card from 2006 to feature on this blog - it only took 500 cards for me to find one from that year!

Total: 500 cards