Show Swag - Part 2: Parallels

Where, o where would we be without parallels? Could you even imagine the Mad Max-esque wasteland that card collecting would be? Just heinous. Here's a bunch from the show, all purchased WELL below Beckett book value.

2016 Topps Black Cincinnati Reds Team Card #63/65. Unexpected surprise. Part of a pile of goodness that I was charged 8 bucks for. This is my first 2016 flagship non-gold parallel.

2016 Topps Negative Devin Mesoraco. First, I don't know why these are called negatives, as they aren't. Second, I'm very surprised there's no serial number. Seems they are about half as scarce as the Blacks, so perhaps south of 200 copies is reasonable.

A slew of Bowman. The Blues are /500. That Brandon Phillips is a Silver, apparently. I was only barely sure that it was indeed a parallel, as it could easily pass as the base design. Those Purples are the complete team set of that particular portion of the unnecessarily complicated yearly Bowman shenanigans. The Oranges are /250.

Flagship goodness. I used to wonder how I somehow acquired 8 2011 Topps Update Blue Cincy cards but 0 from Series 1 and 2. Then I discovered the Wal-Mart/Target stuff didn't start until the 2011 Update set. So there's where we can pinpoint the beginning of the end.

Shiny. I actually already had 5 of these. Whoops.

Bowman Platinum goodness. I still like these sets. I don't know why.

Topps Museum Green Jay Bruce /199. Oh wait. I already had one. Good job, Matthew.

Donruss parallels. They sure do try really hard, don't they?

We'll close strong with some elusive 90's parallels. We got a Skybox Red Barry Larkin... Ahem. Not Red. A Skybox STAR RUBY Barry Larkin. Calm Down. The Mike Cameron is a Fleer Tradition Warning Track, The Hector Carrasco is a Donruss Press Proof (first 2000 printed), and the Denny Neagle is an Upper Deck Gold Reserve. Nice.

Part 3 tomorrow. Go Reds.