Excuse me while I brag a little: this would be me, holding an authentic Auroch Femur fossil.

What is a card company in Carlsbad doing with fossils in the building? As it turns out, our 2008-2009 Champs Hockey set has a very unique promotion going on. Get a rare insert, send it in, and you’ll get an authentic fossil card back in return. Why the redemption card? Because the fossil cards themselves are so well designed (thicker and high quality, much like a museum display) that they couldn’t fit into a pack.

After seeing the fossil firsthand, I wandered down to our Quality Assurance department to get a peek at the finished product.

Even though it doesn’t look like much, I have to say this room was fairly intimidating. Who knows what kinds of goodies make their way through here? I politely asked for a full spread for this here blog, and they were kind enough to oblige.

Outside a museum, it’s rare to see this many prehistoric items at once. I couldn’t help myself: just had to pick up the Pterosaur tooth (how cool is that?) and get a better shot for you guys.

Not to get too pluggy on you here, but you can of course get your hands on one of these yourself if you’re lucky enough to open one in 2008-2009 Champs Hockey. And if you’ll look to the right and left, you’ll see that yes, the set has some very cool Hockey signature inserts too! Click here, or on either image to find a retail store near you, and pick up a pack or two.