Holy cow! 500 Posts? Let's post some 1936 VINTAGE!

Amazing. 500 posts. When I started this blog on February 10, I thought I wouldn't stick with it long enough for it to matter to me. I forced myself to write daily and invest my efforts into the blog, and I would say I did a pretty good job at making it last. The daily posts have since turned into twice-a-day efforts, plus my other blog to keep the type collection out of the way.

I've tried to make (at least most of) my posts interesting and meaningful, though writing up those goofy short posts is just as much fun.

The stats on the blog are amazing: over 21,000 page views (thank you!), over 600 comments (thank you!), and (as of this writing) 81 followers! Thank you, so much. If I didn't think people were reading and interested in my writing, I would have probably stopped writing. I had only 142 page views in February, over about three weeks, but back then even those hits and my first few followers simply blew my mind. I continue to be so happy to see your responses and just the page views that tell me you're reading. While the exact numbers don't really matter, seeing the statistics gives me the inspiration to keep writing.

Sticking with statistics, here are my top five posts (page views):


5) Allen & Ginter State Box Topper Relics: This post took a lot of effort to put together, and I'm glad to see it finally nudge its way into the top five. I still do not own any of these cards, and I'm quite disappointed at their high prices. At a reasonable value, I'd attempt to collect the whole set, but I don't have $4000 laying around to devote to purchasing these beauties.

4) Congratulations! You may already be a winner!: What very quickly became my number one post, all because it was a contest post. Yeah, it was whoring my blog to hits, sort of, but I enjoyed running the contest. Another is in the works, though I still owe Hackenbush a prize (sorry, it may be the end of the month before I find a suitable prize at a card show, as pickings have been slim lately).

3) HEY, this is a trade post!!!: The title was inspired by Community Gum, and I think people were expecting trade bait, instead of just a trade post. I enjoyed writing it, as evidenced by the goofy title and inclusion of random videos (something I've been doing a lot of lately).

2) Topps Attacks Target. Gamers Win. Review of Topps Attax 2011: I haven't seen much writing on the set, which helps explain the interest - maybe Google searches rank this near the top?

1) 1992 Topps Kids - a TCIC Feature Post: this blows my mind as the most popular page. I guess there just isn't enough writing out there on the set, just like the Attax, as it continues to grow in overall hits. It's one of my favorite posts, too.

As far as referring websites, the number one site is Night Owl Cards, way ahead of everything else, followed by the Sports Card Blog Roll and Crinkly Wrappers. Thank you to all of you who have included me in your blog roll or linked to me on your website. If you're not in my blog roll, let me know! Some of the (many) blogs I subscribe to don't show up and I have to manually add them in.


I've told you about the statistics, now what about my favorite posts? Well, in no particular order:

• If I Were Choosing the Relics, parts one, two, three, four, five. A post series I put a ton of effort into, and it showed just a small bit of my creativity. I have a similar idea coming up eventually.
• Blog Bat Around - 2011 Topps. My first and only participation in the Blog Bat Around. Has there been another since? Can we do another one? Any ideas? Bueller? Bueller?
• State of the Relics Address. One of a few in-depth posts I've done (such as this economics response) that aren't as creative, but certainly worth writing.
• My occasional off-topic post (I consider this one to be one of the better ones posted on this blog). I've had fleeting thoughts of writing posts similar to this on their own blog, but who would read them, anyway?
• The Decade In Review series (most recent post here), partly because it is a good review for me in card history. Bowman was the first set featured, and the link above will get you to the Topps reviews.
• Panini Swings The Bat: What' I'd Like To See!: Similar to the If I Were Choosing the Relics series, this post gave a hint at what kind of set I'd .. well, like to see.
• The On Location series, which I haven't done in a long time. I made up a good number of cards, and then stopped. I have plans to bring this back, as I never ran out of locations, I just ran out of time.
• Any of my TCIC Feature Posts. There's nothing better than writing about the sets and cards that stand out in my collection.

After only a few months of writing and reading in our community, I've developed relationships and a deeper appreciation and enjoyment of the hobby I call my own. I couldn't have done it without you, and I'm not sure what my life would be like this year without blogging.

Sesame Street Style.

Oh, I promised you some 1936 VINTAGE! So, here you go: (most of you probably just skipped down to this photo, right?)

Bruce Campbell. Actor. Spokesman. Ladies man. Ballplayer? Not quite. This is from the R313 National Chicle Fine Pen Premiums set, issued in 1936. You probably can't tell in the scan, but there are single pin holes at the top and bottom of the card, and the back has a little writing on it. I'll post this to the Cardboard Zoo eventually! It's my first 1936 card, and the twelfth card to be added to my collection from the decade.