Stuff Joe Collector Likes: #5 Topps Allen & Ginter

Joe Collector doesn't like stuff that’s easy to acquire. It is in his DNA (or "JNA") to want what others can not have. Baseball cards are no exception.

Joe generally tries to avoid brands like Topps and Upper Deck, because if it’s mass produced, easy to collect and sold in Blaster boxes, it must be bad. No exceptions.

Instead, Joe gravitates towards the "high-end" sets; loaded with so many autographed base set "rookies" and short-prints, that collectibility is an afterthought. So on the rare instance when he actually wants to build a base set (if only to pretend for one moment that he's part of the "Privileged Portion") Joe turns to Allen & Ginter.

TA&G is the only set that all collectors (JC's and PP's alike) attempt to build. But Joe has an ulterior motive. Being able to talk to a non-collector -- preferably one of the opposite sex -- and tell them about a "baseball" card set that has Benjamin Franklin, Oscar Wilde, Hercules, and Vladimir Putin somehow makes Joe feel smarter.

Also of note: Joe Collector will never, ever come close to actually completing their A&G base set. Oh sure, he'll give it the ol' Joe Collector try; but eventually he'll abandon his efforts the split-second Bowman Chrome comes out, and never look at his A&G cards again.