SCE Gold Script Update

I can't believe it's been over twenty years since 1999-00 MVP Stanley Cup Edition was released. I've loved this set ever since I got my first hobby box way back in 2000. While I didn't get any Gold Scripts until years later when I started this blog, I always liked them.

It's been a little while now since my last update on this set, so it was really great to see another on in my mailbox recently. This one comes once again from a fellow Twitter collector (@OTB_Cards) who has been a huge help with this impossible set build.

Here is card #212 featuring Denis Shvidki of the Barrie Colts. This one is serial numbered 018/100 and brings me one step closer to completing the CHL subset. 

Shvidki was drafted 12th overall by the Florida Panthers in 1999. He would go on to play 76 NHL games, all with Florida. In those games he would put up 11 goals and 14 assists for 25 total points. His last season with the Panthers was 2003-04. After that he would go on to play in several Russian and other European leagues through 2013-14. 

SCE Gold Script Total: 86/220

Jimmy Howard: Game-Used Number Vault 1/1

Thanks to another lucky eBay find, I have another first for my Jimmy Howard collection: a 1 of 1 Vault card from In The Game. In the past I've avoided these because the added stamps always seem to clash with the overall design, at least on most of the ones I've seen.

Here is a 2007-08 ITG Heroes and Prospects Game-Used Number card with an amazing number piece. In this case, the red foil Vault 1 of 1 stamp works perfectly with the design of the card. Add in the fact that I only paid $0.99 for this card and I couldn't pass it up.

Luckily the Vault stamp only obscures a very small amount of the four grey lines running across the card. The foil for the "Number" text was already red, so it actually ties it all together nicely. If I am going to pick up any more Vault cards they would need to be along these lines where the obviousness of the stamp is minimal.

Now I just need to figure out how to include this on my master Howard checklist. I am definitely not going to consider it to be the regular version from the original 2007-08 release. However, I will consider it to be another unique card toward my Howard total. The problem is I can't seem to find it on TCDb yet, which is where I've been tracking lately.

Jimmy Howard: Victory Gold

One of the best feelings in this hobby is being able to cross a card off your want list that's been on there forever. In this case, I've been on the lookout for this card for almost ten years. I've seen one other copy in all that time, but it went way over my price range.

Thanks to another recent eBay pickup, I can finally add this awesome 2005-06 Victory Gold parallel to my Jimmy Howard collection. I was lucky enough to end up getting it for less than $10 too. Not bad for a card numbered to 100 from fifteen years ago.

I've always love the look of this Victory set with the colors split right down the middle and all the 45 degree corners. The only thing that would make this particular card better is if Howard was pictured in his team colored equipment and an official game jersey.

Now I just need to see if I can track down the black version numbered to 5. Now that is a card that I have never seen before. Hopefully that doesn't take another ten years.