Apex Collecting

05/03/2026

Spirit had just started giving out trading cards in February/2026 and now they are defunct as a company. The cards are sponsored by Airbus and feature various Airbus aircraft used by over the years, including the A319, A320, A320neo, A321, and A321neo, while also showcasing the evolution of Spirit's liveries from its older gray "brick" design to the modern bright yellow.

A complete set consists of 6 cards, each dedicated to a different type of plane in Spirit's fleet. The only way to get them was by asking the pilots during boarding or deplaning on a Spirit flight — they're not sold anywhere officially, though they're currently popular on marketplaces such as eBay.

04/04/2026

Is Messi the GOAT?

03/05/2026

Most recent radar note acquisition... purchased February/2026. Hard to believe that this is the first and only Series 2017 in my collection.

02/06/2026

Super Bowl ticket stubs are among the most sought after by ticket stub collectors. Super Bowl tickets have also been consistently well designed since the start. The one in photo is from Super VII (7) and has the unique destinction of completing the only undefeated season in NFL history. The Miami Dolphins beat the Washington Redskins 14-7 in the L.A. Coliseum on January 14, 1973.

01/02/2026

Happy New Year 2026. Hulk #130 / August 1970

12/03/2025

11/03/2025

A great World Series and a great career have come to an end. This is the Topps rookie card of future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw.

10/01/2025

The CIA produced high-quality counterfeit Cuban 20-peso notes in 1961 for use with the Bay of Pigs invasion. They were created as operational currency (to pay, buy supplies, bribe, or avoid carrying obvious U.S. dollars) and today those “CIA counterfeits” are a documented Cold-War collectible.

In the run-up to the April 1961 Bay of Pigs operation, the CIA arranged for forged Cuban Series-1961 20-peso notes to be printed in the U.S. and issued to Brigade 2506 personnel. The notes were meant for use in the field (not primarily to wreck Cuba’s economy).

The existence of these forgeries is referenced in period reporting and in later numismatic and archival accounts; some related CIA/FOIA documents have been released.

These CIA counterfeits are commonly the 1961 20-peso design and are known by distinctive block/overprint marks (collector references include block IDs like F69/F70 in red ink on some examples). They’re usually identified by specialists by studying the paper, printing techniques, and the unusual block markings.

Because they were not made by the Cuban central bank, surviving examples are scarce and often sell for premium prices in numismatic markets.

08/02/2025