Just picked up this beauty R158 USHD No. 121:





So now I'm down to four cards to finish the set - Nos. 132, 133, 135 & 136. Anyone out there want to sell those to me?

To get this card I had to buy a lot of 91 Diff. USHD cards which did include No. 125. 125 is in comparable condition and is a very nice upgrade to the card I already have.

I'm putting together a raw VGish 96 card R157 set set which I will soon be offering on the B/S/T forum.

Congratulations Jerry ,

I'm sure you'll get the 4 others soon(ish).
Keep up the good work .

----
Mark

Nice work Jerry! When you said you had to buy that large lot to get that card it reminded me of a time I bought about 100 War News Pictures cards to get one of the "Dirty Dozen". Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.

Chuck, the dups. worked out pretty well. I put together a raw R157 96 card set, posted it on the B/S/T at a bargain price & it sold in less than 24 hrs., with two people wanting to buy it after it got sold.

Jerry, that was always my method. I never had an interest in multiple version of the same set so always recycled cards back into the hobby right away.

congrats jerry i know the passion you have for this set

Jerry - I'm the guy who bought your discounted set of Uncle Sams. I couldn't be happier. I'm also the guy who puts his cards in 9 pocket pages. It was almost like opening new packs to take the cards out of your holders one at a time, admire the front art work, read the backs and then add them to the collection (you shoulda sent along some stale gum to enhance the experience). I didn't have many of the Uncle Sam cards before, but a couple of what I had replaced some of the lesser ones you sent. Now I have to start on the next 96. If you've got any dupes, you know I'm a quick pay. Thanks again. -Jack

Jack - I'm glad you are happy. There are only 48 more cards in the set, which has the designation R158. Nos. 97 to 120 are a bit pricier & harder to get. Nos. 121 to 144 are extremely difficult & expensive.

I'll send you an email about my R158 dups. They will be in the 97 to 120 range.

Hi Jack,

I've got a bunch of PSA Uncle Sam cards in my EBay store (moregamesjust), including a few High Numbers.

Best,
Alan

Alan - I'm the guy who started the "Whining from a lesser collector" thread where I talked about not collecting graded cards. I just got some graded 3 and 4 World in Arms cards from Jerry that I'm trying to figure out how to get out of the hard cases. Very few of my cards are, in my opinion, worth grading ... but I don't want to start that discussion again. Besides, I like the idea of collecting "raw" cards. Of course, if I get a real good deal on graded cards, well ...

Jerry - I look forward to your email about the second series Uncle Sam card dups. Now that I'm into them pretty deep, the need for more becomes greater.

Get 'um while you can! -Jack

Jack - You'll need two pairs of pliers & a flat head screwdriwer. On the top of the slab, where the flip is, grab the case on each corner with the pliers. Carefully break one corner off. Use the screwdriver to gently pry the two halfs open.

Yes, I was one of those that went after that Uncle Sam set in this forum. I actually thought I had bought it, but the deal wasn't finalised. In the meantime someone else came along. So two of us after it. And Jerry declared that the first person to confirm a definite sale would get it. It was evening in the US, it was two o'clock in the morning in the UK. C'est la vie, as we say in Europe.

Jerry, a 'process improvement', if I may, to your method on cracking open a slab.

Yes, use two pairs of pliers, but suggest to use them to grab the SAME corner at the top, up near the info paper insert. (Rather than grabbing separate corners with the two pliers). Crack with the plier that is toward the outside, closer to the corner and farthest from the card. The pair of pliers that is closer to the card serves as protection for the rest of the slab. Acts as a barrier for the force of the cracking process. I find that using a regular pair of pliers (as the barrier) and a medium-sized needlenose pliers (as the cracker) works best.

Then continue on with the screwdriver to pry open the slabs, insert and twist, insert and twist . . .

PSA are one of favorite to "crack". I have found a very easy way to get the cards out. Take a utility knife and run it down the little slot between the two halves at the header end. You don't need to apply a lot of pressure just run it along the grove 3 or 4 times and you will hear a crack. Then you take a thin flat head screwdriver and slide it down from the top along an edge and it separates very easily. Then run it along the other edge the same way. This whole process is actually very controlled and there is no danger of unexpected cracking of the plastic as it is just the seal you are breaking. Has worked every time I have tried it very quickly with no damage done to the contents.

I opened up a bunch of lower grade PSA slabs to put in 9 pocket pages. I used a new wrinkle by puting the slab in my vise (not too tight) with just the corner exposed that I wanted to snap off. I felt the vise protected the card area from taking any pressure. It worked very well. Then I just pried apart the two halves with a screwdriver.

???? I have a question about the slabbing process. Most of the slabs were just two plastic halves glued together, but two had soft plastic (mylar?) baggies inside. It seem as though the card should have been inside as a moisture barrier or something, but the bag was just on one side. What's up with this? Why have the bag in there if the card doesn't go inside? Seems like someone was lazy.

Thanks - Jack