Cheap Cool Cards #12: 1977/78 Topps Adrian Dantley RC

If you've been reading my blog for awhile now, then you probably know my favorite basketball player growing up was #4 on the Lakers... Mr. Byron Scott.

So a few weeks ago... I was doing a little homework and considering starting another PC of players who wore #4 for the Los Angeles Lakers. That's when I strolled across Adrian Dantley. He wore #4 for the Purple and Gold for two seasons from 1977/78 to 1978/79. Dantley went on to have an amazing career and was finally inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008.

Which is why I was shocked an excited to find this card on COMC for $1.00:

It's his 1977/78 Topps rookie card and it's a beauty. However... the buyer sold it to me for that price, because it had a huge wax stain on the front of the card. Actually, I didn't see it in the COMC scan, but it definitely stood out when I received it.

I came very close to adding it to my Damaged Card PC, but then I figured I'd try a little experiment. I took a microfiber cloth and a lightly dampened it. Then I rubbed back and forth across the front of the card. Less than 30 seconds later, all of the wax was gone and there was no damage to the card's gloss.

Overall the card is definitely clean. It has four clean corners (mint, but not gem mint sharp)... nice gloss on the front, a centered & mint back, and decent centering (40/60: left to right).

I'm not ever going to pay for my retirement on this investment... since the card only books for $8. But it's a great feeling to find a rookie card of a HOFer for one dollar.

Which led me on my mini mission for today. How often do you stroll across rookie cards of HOFer's for $1.00? After browsing checkoutmycards.com for about 15 minutes, I found one for each of the four major sports:

1988 Donruss #34 Roberto Alomar $.89

1990/91 Skybox or Hoops Drazen Petrovic $.75 to $1.00

1994 Stadium Club #327 Marshall Faulk $.75

1989-90 Topps #136 Brian Leetch $1.00

What do they have in common? Well I know some people don't appreciate the term... but I'm going to say it anyways... they're all from the "junk wax" era. Which is a good thing if you're a collector on a budget.

So today's question is...

What's the best rookie card out there that you can find for $1.00 or less?

or

What's the best rookie card you've purchased for $1.00 or less?

I'm not talking about book value, I'm talking selling price. If possible, leave a link in your comments. Maybe someone else will be interested in picking it up.

Enjoy your Sunday afternoon. I'm headed off to the Warriors game to watch Monta Ellis & Stephen Curry take on John Wall and the Wizards. Sayonara!