Done

Finished. Completed. Finalized. Ended. Culminated. Consummated. Over. Through. Tie a bow on that baby and drop-kick it into the river. It's party time.

With this card of HGH dabbler Jordan Schafer, I have wrapped up the 2009 Topps Allen & Ginter set. I've also completed the only two sets I planned to complete this year: A&G and Topps base.

I received the Schafer card from Brian at Play at the Plate. I believe dayf has threatened to send me this card, too. (The joy of a completed page is sweet, but the joy of a completed set is euphoric).

It took almost a month longer to complete the set this year than it did last. That's irksome because I bought two hobby boxes of this stuff this time, along with several blasters and maybe a dozen loose packs.

Last year, I relied solely on blasters and loose packs, and still finished earlier.

But I think more bloggers may have collected the set last year, or it seemed like it anyway. Having bloggers to help out makes all the difference. How long would it have taken me to complete this set all by myself? (How does anyone complete a Heritage set by themselves? They must throw bundles of cash into that project).

It took six months to land the Schafer card, a short-print. But now it fills the last hole in my A&G binder. Middle row, right side.

Schafer's card number is No. 339. Exactly twenty years ago, I was collecting the 1989 Topps set in a frenzied state. I accumulated a monster box of doubles. The No. 339 card in 1989 was nothing special:

I had at least 20 duplicates of Mr. Bailes, more than any other card in the set. Collecting certainly has changed in 20 years.