Please allow myself to introduce...myself

[Casey]

G'day everyone!

I just wanted to introduce myself to the board.

I'm a NH native currently living in SoCal and have been a collector since '86 as a 9 year old who ripped open his first pack of Topps and idolized Marty Barrett.

My father owned a successful local shop in the late '80s until he could no longer keep up with the influx of new wax. I was fortunate enough to have many amazing cards in my possession during that time, but basically got out of collecting after high school. I got back into the hobby in the early '00s and have been at it ever since.

My collecting focus has changed a few times over the years. Most recently I was just collecting hockey, specifically HOFers. When I moved out from NH to CA, I unloaded my entire collection and started a new focus: rookies of Boston's most notable players (Orr, Yaz, Williams, Bird, etc).

I only recently decided to get into graded cards after a long internal struggle over it. I have my reasons for going the graded route but won't share them now unless interested.

Anyways, I came across this forum when researching grading companies and have been lurking for a short while. It seems like a really great community and I'm looking forward to learning and contributing.

Lastly, I had a card blog for about three years (Drop The Gloves!) which I've now redesigned, renamed, and expanded to include my thoughts on all my different passions (cards, libraries, records, movies, photography). If interested I can share that link here but don't want to come off as a shameless huckster from the get go.

~Casey