This post recaps the final flea market haul of my summer break which took place two Saturdays ago at the Branham Flea Market. Although the deals weren't as stellar as some of my other finds in recent months, I did have to make a trip to the car to drop stuff off... so the bulk was there.
Let's get into it...
Purchase #1: A Pair of Moss Rookies $15
My first purchase of the day was from a vendor I've purchased from in the past. The one that stands out the most is a basketball haul back in 2019. He didn't have his usual display case this time, but he had a binder filled with basketball and football cards.
1998 Topps Chrome #35
Unfortunately there weren't any Kobe or Jordans, but there were some pretty cool cards inside. The highlights were mid to low-end rookie cards of Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan, and Peyton Manning. I asked about a few of them and $10 each seemed to be the magic number. At that price, I figured the best bargain of the binder would be these two Randy Moss Chrome rookie cards.
Purchase #2: Another New VHS Tape $1
She had a stack of these San Jose State pennants for 50¢ each. All of them were slightly stained, but I figured I'd grab one for my office and another for my classroom.
These days... Sosa is only worth a few bucks. But there was no way I could leave this set behind.
Purchase #3c: Pair of Test Issue Sets $2
Purchase #3d: San Francisco 49ers Police Lot $10
Dances With Wolves (1990)
Not much to say. It's a sealed VHS tape of a movie I enjoy. Costner has a new home next to Travolta and Jackie.
The next four purchases were all made from another vendor from the past. Remember the lady that sold me those Topps Magazines and cheap sets back in June? Well she was still trying to dump her husband and son's card collection. She's pretty much down to the bottom of the barrel, but I still found some stuff to buy.
Purchase #3a: SJSU Pennants $1
Purchase #3b: Half of an Iconic Set $2
1990 Leaf Series 1 Baseball Set
Remember when this set sold for over $100? Heck the Sosa alone was worth that much back in 1998.
1990 Leaf #220
Sadly... when I walked up... another guy had just purchased a set from her and I'm guessing it was the Series 2 set with the Frank Thomas rookie.
1989 Action Packed Football Test Set
I have a hard time passing up dollar sets. Grabbed one for my collection and figured I'd break the other one up if Greg (The Collective Mind) needs any of the Washington cards... and if Matt (Cards Over Coffee) needs any of the Giants.
This is probably my favorite find of the day. I'm sure most of you have little interest in 80's football oddball issues, but I'm all about them. The lady had a stack of 1984 and 1985 7-11 San Francisco 49ers Police cards:
Back in 1977, I was still reading picture books... so this wasn't an item I would have been interested in. Forty-eight years later... I couldn't pass up the opportunity to add this to my bookshelf.
Purchase #5: Magazine w/Cards & Postcards $1
The cover features a jedi named Quinlan Vos, who has a very complicated story arc that involved a relationship with Asajj Ventress. Ventress happens to be one of my all-time favorite characters.
Purchase #8: Baseball Glove $10
The first time I walked around, I saw this Oakland A's glove and asked the guy how much he wanted. He was asking $15, which is a fair price. When I got back to him, he asked me if I still was interested in the glove... only this time he dropped it down to $10.
Here's a closer look at each set:
1984 San Francisco 49er Police Set
1985 San Francisco 49er Police Set
Ignore the $20 price tag. Everything this lady had was 50% off. I haven't finished sorting these strips, but there are multiple sets of each.
After picking up these strips of cards, I stopped off at my car and dropped everything off. Here's the second half of my finds...
Purchase #4: Star Wars Paperback $2
1977 Star Wars Paperback (6th Printing)
Purchase #5: Magazine w/Cards & Postcards $1
1992 Jan/Feb Legends Vol. 5 No. 1
A guy had a bunch of sports magazines from the 90's. He was only asking a buck each, so grabbed this one because it comes with a sheet of cards. I attempted to get a scan of it, but I started damaging the magazine, so I stopped.
If you're curious... the uncut sheet contains cards of Pete Rose, Frank Thomas, Cecil Cooper, Dan Marino, Jennifer Capriati, Emmitt Smith, Jimmy Connors, Jim Kelly, and Terry Norris.
Purchase 6a: More Laughlins $10
One of the regular card dealers had this box of 1971 and 1972 Fleer Laughlin World Series cards. Here are a few of my favorites:
The blue backs are cards from the 1970 set... and the black backs are the 71's.
You know things gotta be rough for Devers when his 1st Bowman refractor is in a dollar stack. I figured for the price, the least I could do was provide him a new home.
The guy also had a stack of singles for a buck each, so I grabbed two...
Purchase #6b: Dollar Stack $2
2014 Bowman Chrome Refractor #CTP-37
1989 Score Rookie & Traded #100T
As for Griffey rookies... unless they're damaged... there's no way I can pass these up for a dollar.
Purchase #7: Dollar Comics $4
After walking down every aisle... I started heading back and seeing if I missed anything. The guy I purchased the Legends magazine from had a buddy with comic books. I didn't notice he had Star Wars stuff the first time around, but then I saw this:
2000 Dark Horse Star Wars #23
2000 Dark Horse Star Wars #24
2000 Dark Horse Star Wars #25
2001 Dark Horse Star Wars #26
I grabbed this set of comics in hopes of reading about their relationship, but when I got home and flipped through them... I didn't see her. Oh well... it still gives me something to read when I'm bored.
Purchase #8: Baseball Glove $10
Rawlings Player's Series 10 Inch Glove
I'm a sucker for Oakland A's memorabilia, so I couldn't pull out my money fast enough.
Like I stated at the start of the post... there weren't a lot of crazy deals this time around. But for the price of a pair of blasters, I feel like I came home with some cool stuff.
This Saturday is the De Anza Flea Market. It's going to be warm... but I'm planning to kick off my three day weekend out there. Hopefully I have some interesting collectibles to share with you guys next week.
Until then... I apologize for the lack of posts. The start of the school year is always a little hectic. Give me a few weeks and I should be back into the one to two posts per week swing.
Happy Wednesday and sayonara!
18 comments:
I love seeing all the fun stuff you picked up. I'm pretty sure I once had that Star Wars paperback...
Congratulations on your new purchases. These might be my favorite posts.
My favorite “finds” are the Laughlin World Series cards. I completed the 1970 set years ago. I wish I had put together the 71 set but didn’t think I needed both sets. One of several card collecting regrets. I guess it’s not too late but I seldom see those cards in St. Louis.
I hope you have a great school year. Both my sisters are/were teachers as is my daughter. Great respect for those in that profession.
I'd be buying the Laughlins for sure, still need to finish the '71s.
I don't dig '90 Leaf. Kinda dull looking.
I still have my Star Wars novelization (14th printing) from 1977, as well as the then-canonical "Splinter Of The Mind's Eye". I knew the book wasn't super valuable, but I was thinking more than a couple of bucks. Oh well, sucks to be the executor of my estate :-D
I'd buy that Devers for a dollar all day, even if he's no longer in Boston. And that's a lot of 1990 Leaf for $2 !!!
Nice finds with the Sosa and Devers!
90 Leaf may not be as groundbreaking as '89 Upper Deck, but it was still a big one at the time. Action Packed was a cool product so the test set was a nice find! Very cool Niner police cards too, those are always interesting. You know I share your interest in magazine cards to some degree. Those Laughlins have a nice look to them for sure. I'd buy Griffey for a dollar! And that A's glove is sick! Good luck at De Anza and enjoy your brief respite from the new school year.
1) A lot of cool stuff.
2) I'd say you got several great deals (ie 90' Leaf, 70/71" Laughlin (super deal), Star Wars comic books, and the paperback too, the oddball stuff was killer too. You did well young Skywalker.
I remember buying that Star Wars novelization when it came out. I have a box of 100 1990 Leaf Tony Gwynn cards somewhere.
Star Wars paperback wins it.
Great stuff. The 49ers cards are terrific. I never had owned that Star Wars paperback but took it out of the library on several occasions. Just finished a novel called Star Wars: Brotherhood. It takes place right after episode II and is Obiwan and Anakin's first meeting with Ventress. Good novel, better than most of the Disney-era SW fiction.
Nice pickups! You gonna cut up the 49ers strips?
zomg the McGruff strips. Those were some of the first sports cards I *ever* got as a kid (I was a 49ers fan a couple of years before I became a baseball fan). I have 10 of the 1985s which is kind of odd if they came in strips of 4 . $10 for the whole batch is a fantastic score.
Oh and the Laughlins are great. 1990 Leaf brings back the memories as well. And Action Packed is always cool as hell.
Wow, 2$ for the whole 1990 Leaf first series set? I remember paying more than that for just a single pack of those cards back in 1990! Nice find.
I have that same Star Wars paperback. I bought it for a dime in 1982 at a used book sale at my Elementary School when I was 6 years old (along with a bunch of the Marvel Star Wars comics). I didn't actually read it until I was in High School, but I remember being mystified as a 6 year old by the fact that some of the photos in it were things that I didn't remember being in the movie.
Have to be honest, the 49ers Police sets are the best of the bunch. You found so much good stuff, but police sets I'm a sucker for. I have a few Chiefs ones that are incomplete and one day maybe I'll try to finish them.
Hope you do well at the flea market this weekend.
sorry guys... i got my dates mixed up. i thought today was the first saturday of the month, but it's still august. de anza is next week 😕
matt - thanks. i hope the streak continues. i know that i go through periods where i barely find stuff i'm interested in. but 2025 has been pretty solid
kcjays - i was pretty excited about the laughlins too. pretty sure this is the first time i've seen them in the wild as a "lot". hope your sisters and daughter have a great school year!
night owl - i'll try to see if i can help you out with the 1971 build.
anonymous - one man's junk is another man's treasure. i've always had a soft spot for that set.
shlabtonik report - i'm on the hunt for a copy of "splinter of the mind's eye". if i ever find a copy for a buck or two, i'll grab it
chris - i hope he bounces back next season. but at&t is definitely a pitcher's ballpark
jeremya1um - i just wish i had been 10 minutes earlier. i might have been able to add the frank thomas to the sosa :D
dennis - back when i worked at my lcs in the early 90's, my boss opened a ton of 1990 leaf and had me sort them. i've been a fan ever since. as for the 3 day weekend, i'm definitely going to enjoy it. hope you do too.
johnnys trading spot - lol. thanks. i try to use the force for good, not evil :D
rod - i'm pretty sure you sent me 20+ copies a while back. i ended up forwarding some to gavin so he could do some custom project
elliptical man - nice to see the paperback receive some love. didn't think anyone would even comment on it
bo - i'm such a huge ventress fan, i might have to track a copy of star wars: brotherhood down.
jafronius - i kept most intact, but i did take a few and break them apart.
nick vossbrink - i tried to find out how those 49er strips were distributed, but found nothing. do you remember if they were handed out at 7-11, at school, or at the stadium?
sean - yeah, leaf was super hot in 1990. i think my lcs sold packs for $3 to $4 each. i noticed the book had photos, but didn't actually flip through it. i'll have to check them out. congratulations on getting your copy for 10¢
jupiterhill - one of my friends told me he's interested in trading for my extra copies of those sets. since we live in niner nation, they should be pretty easy for him to move. as for the flea market, i'll have to wait another week. i didn't realize that today is still august :(
I don't remember where I got mine. Definitely wasn't at the stadium or 7-11 though (I've never been to a 49ers game and only went to 7-11 once I was in high school in the 1990s). School is a real possibility. Though I seem to remember getting a bunch of random 49er stuff from my parents' mechanic as well. Pretty sure I got a 1985 yearbook as well as a game program from him at the annual holiday party he used to throw (they'd turn the car lift into a big table and people would drop by and hang out for a bit). The 1985 card strips (possibly already ripped) are exactly the right vintage.
Post a Comment