Project 2020 Jackie R.

 

In honor of Presidents Day I'm posting a card I've had on my desk for a month or two. I didn't follow the Topps Project 2020 thing very closely but I'm somehow back on their mailing list and this one caught my eye. I love that it's not the same old pose of Jack Roosevelt Robinson and besides that, it's pretty sharp. I didn't notice that there is some sort of 'gem' embedded in the thing to the left of the name box. I guess it makes sense given the card was designed by someone named Ben Baller who is, among other things according to the blurb on the back, a 'world-renowned jeweler'.  

It sat on my desk because anything in a case is a pain to scan and I don't like posting phone pix, but here we are. I'm hunkered down in Houston awaiting tonight's record low temp and feeling lucky that our power is still on. Figured I'd put my time to good use.

I've also been meaning to mention that, from the looks of the comments on my 'Paid Too Much' post, I'm not alone in being dismayed/bemused/confused by the state of the hobby right now. And if you don't think the hobby is wacky, check this out at the Heritage Auction site. Apparently, for the low price of $35K (!!!) you can own a piece of a video replay of a basketball two pointer. I'll be damned if I can make sense of the whole thing but there it is. And heritage is no fly-by-night outfit. They are a big player in the memorabilia business.

 

 

Project 2020 Sandy K.

On Monday I received this Koufax from the Topps Project 2020 effort from Justin, a friend I met a couple of years ago through Net54. He's a Red Sox guy and this was paired with a Ted Williams card he wanted and he was kind enough to send it to me knowing I do enjoy Koufax cards.

To be honest, I don't keep up with what Topps is doing with this project and the Topps Now cards. The card back tells me that 20 artists did twenty cards. I've seen a couple here and there on blogs and many of those were pretty abstract. This card, however, is close enough to the original to be recognizable. And since the iconic '55 Koufax is one of my favorite cards ever, it's a very welcome addition to my collection.

The artist is Lawrence Atoigue and I'm guessing he's done or is doing, 19 other cards for this project if I'm following the description correctly. From what I saw on their page the 20 artists are doing their own versions of the same cards. From what I saw this is one of the better Koufax'.

I may go check some of the other ones out. I think keeping it in the holder is probably for the best so it won't go into the binder. But my original '55 Sandy is in a slab as well so they can keep each other company in my box of graded cards.

Thanks again, Justin. It was very nice of you to have had me in mind for this. You've inspired me to actually read my emails from Topps!