Fast Five: Collecting options on my mind ... and in my stash

Fast Five is a quick list that might offer a basic starting point for a themed collection or new focus -- five things that could be fun for a beginner or a new way to add something to your stash if you're a grizzled veteran.

This time? Five collecting options on my mind ... or at least five examples of stuff I look for.

BEFORE THE BIGS (COLLECT MINOR LEAGUES)
The Card: Wander Franco 2020 Topps 206 (Series 3)
The MiLB series of Topps 206 this year dropped recently and that one will get me to bite before it's gone from Topps' site -- unless I already missed it -- but in the case of last year's release I have gone back and forth about grabbing a pack retroactively for Series 3 to add some unique MiLB cards but ultimately only bit to grab this one for about $6. Yes, part of this buy was the name power -- though the grab was before his rookie hit streak was in play -- but that bling, that pose and the fact that he was playing for a team known as the Stone Crabs ... well that's just the perfect storm. MiLB stuff is always good for some rare or different cardboard -- even with names you know well attached -- and this one adds on the tobacco-card style to hit yet another base with my personal tastes.

This was a safe pick ... keep reading for four more making up the list this time -- some weird cards in this one.

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY! (COLLECT BOTCHES)
The Sticker: "Lita Hardy" 2008 Rafo Wrestling Keceri Stickers
There are a lot of bad international wrestling cards made -- legally or not, licensing-wise -- from out there in the world but this one is a classic Botchamania-level piece from the past that I had to grab for just a couple bucks. Why? Well, that's Maria Kanellis in the photo -- not the WWE Hall of Famer known as Lita -- and not once (at least that I am aware of with a relatively unhealthy ability to sponge up wrestling factoids) was Lita known as "Lita Hardy." That's very unlikely in 2008 as she was a retired but occasionally appearing performer by then -- the Team Xtreme days were well before that. Error cards (with corrections) are the original chase card if you ask me -- or if you started collecting any time around 1988 -- but this one is next-level stuff that I'd bet was never fixed.

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A LITTLE EXTRA (COLLECT UNIQUE INSCRIPTIONS)
The Card: Aileen Quinn 2020 Leaf Pop Century Blue Signatures (/25)
This one was an odd impulse buy as I can tell you not once did I ever need or want an autograph for Annie in my collection but then I saw that little extra added onto a card -- an Annie portrait of sorts along with the sig. They weren't all signed this way -- so that was a thought that got me to bite here (less than the price of a blaster box). It's not quite the machine gun inscription/drawing I got here -- that one totally got me to spring for the card -- but unique inscriptions like this can add value to a piece (any kind of piece) with extra appeal if somebody is looking. (Some non-sports companies encourage stuff like this and regularly have extra chase elements in sets.)

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A MASSIVE BOTCH (COLLECT PRINTING ERRORS)
The Card: Rod Carew & Johnny Bench 1982 Topps Kmart MVP Series Box Set (double-fronted misprint)
I've pulled blank-back cards, miscut cards, wrong-back cards, extra-hologram cards, paralellogrammed cut cards, half cards and even an empty Relic card with its swatch floating in the pack after that ... but never have I pulled a double-fronted card like this ... so I bought it. Why haven't I found one? Well, they should be pretty rare and should be caught before packaging as they are messes that should stand out from the rest. This may or may not have been found in a set -- it could have just been from leftover botched printing sheets that were saved, cut and sold -- but the set it comes from was, for years, seen as a poorly printed dirt-cheap release that was loaded with big names with an approach that's a little limited in its appeal. (The card fronts basically reprint base Topps cards from past MVPs' winning years.) This kind of major botch was one I had to grab.

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UNUSUAL MEMORABILIA (COLLECT UNIQUE MEM CARDS)
The Card: Steve Wozniak 2012 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Authentic Memorabilia
For about $5 I added this card to my stash for at least the third time -- the last ones in 2013 and 2017. Why? Well, it's one of a few cards for the tech icon and the embedded piece of memorabilia in the card is a piece of a plastic floppy disc used by him. He signed cards and then there's this one and then a double-memorabilia card in the set along with the typical minis and variations ... this one just stood out from the rest and is cheaper than you might think. Serious Apple diehards will grab the ink, the pricier spenders might chase the rarer dual -- but a weird cheap card works for me ... every time.

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What would you want to see in a future Fast Five? Let Buzz know on Twitter or email.

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