Acquisition: Seven Percent of the Stromile Swift Card Collection

I usually don't post my card collection as it arrives --- acquisition posts are typically limited to more substantial additions --- but then again, I usually don't receive 42 cards, or roughly seven percent of the entire Stromile Swift checklist, in a single trip to the mailbox.  Coincidentally, three parcels shipped on different dates from two different continents all found their way to my doorstep on this frigid afternoon (seriously, Mother Nature, it's nearly March 21st --- enough already).

Forty of these cards came in one envelope from Burbank Sports Cards, a dealer in California; One came from China, and another from Amazon (.com, not the rainforest).  Most are serial numbered inserts, with a couple of base cards and one jersey card mixed in.  The highlights of the lot are a Topps Finest Gold rookie card numbered to 100 and a Topps Chrome X-Fractor numbered to 10.  In addition to being the rarest, the X-Fractor was the most costly, forcing me to cough up about $15.  The rest were under $10, with most costing $1. 

I'm not wild about the photograph Topps used for the X-Fractor, which was taken during Swift's headband-less tenure under disciplinarian Mike Fratello.  The depicted play is a preseason rebound --- not exactly the pinnacle of excitement --- and the Grizzlies' weariness of Coach Fratello's rigidity is evident from Stro's facial expression.  That said, the card looks super-cool'er than Mike Beasley when the light hits its surface, and it's limited to 10, tying it for rarest card in my Swift collection.  Had Topps used a photo of a fully-accessorized Stro during the Grizzlies' rebellion from the fallen Czar's stringent system, it would be one of my favorite cards.

As for the Topps Finest Gold rookie card, it IS one of my favorite cards.  It features a rare photograph of Swift sporting the classic OG Vancouver uniform and, similar to the X-Fractor, reflects a spectrum when placed under a light source.  I missed out on this card the first time I saw it on EBay, making its addition to my collection all the more satisfying.

With the addition of these 42 cards, I now own 231 of 620, roughly 37 percent.  Two more are in the mail.