Flea Market Finds #169: Cheap Wax, Dime Cards, and A Piece of the Past

Not sure about you, but Mother Nature has been messing with us here in the Bay Area the past week or so.  One week it's freezing.  The next week it's hot.  Yesterday it rained.  Whatever she decides... I just hope it stays cool for another three or four months.  

Temperatures rose into the low 80's last week.  Luckily it cooled off in time for the weekend and the De Anza Flea Market.  When I arrived there on Saturday at around 7:15am... there were already people parked and walking around.  People are catching on to the "early bird catches the worm" philosophy.  The only downside is that half of the vendors aren't completely set up, so you either miss out on some stuff or you have to go back and see what you missed.

All of my purchases took place within the first hour... which is normal.  That being said, one of my best deals was found on the last row of the day.  But let's check out the other stuff first...

Purchase #1:  Japanese Postcards Book  $2

There's a longtime vendor on the first row that sells used books for great prices.  Back when I taught fifth and sixth grade, I filled out my classroom library with their books.  In recent years, I've purchased a Wayne Gretzky signed autobiography and Michael Jordan's first Sport Illustrated cover from them.

This time around... I found this cool book of postcards.  There are twenty-our perforated postcards inside.  Here's my favorite:

Here's a look at the back:

No way I could pass up twenty-four postcards for two bucks.

Purchase #2:  Handful of Matchbooks  $1

A few booths down was a guy who brought a bin filled with matchbooks.  The San Francisco Giants one caught my eye, so I asked him how much he wanted.  He told me I could pick twenty-five for $5.  After I told him, I really only wanted the two Giants matchbooks, he told me I could have them for a buck and I could grab a handful as a bonus (no cherry picking).

I lucked out, because there are a few that are from places I've been to in the past:  Coco's, the Crow's Nest, Alpha Beta, and Harrah's (South Shore Lake Tahoe).

Purchase #3:  Pair of 1990 SI for Kids Magazines  $20

Whenever I hit up De Anza, I always make time to hang out with some of my friends who set up on a regular basis.  I've been waiting to see Tony, because he opens up a lot of blasters and I was hoping he'd sell me an Update Skenes rookie for my set build.  Unfortunately he didn't have one.

But he did have two copies of Sports Illustrated for Kids (October 1990) that he thought I might be interested in.

Here's the 9-card sheet in that month's issue:

Most of you know how much I enjoy collecting SI for Kids cards, but this sheet was actually only the appetizer.  The main thing I wanted from this issue was this four card panel of McDonald's Michael Jordans:

You might notice that the numbering is a little weird.  That's because the other four cards in the set were on another panel.  I had hoped to find it in the other issue, but they were duplicates.

Honestly... I wasn't too disappointed.  I kept one of the magazines intact and I cut the cards out of the other one.

Purchase #4:  1989 Pro Set Football Series 2 Wax Box $22

A few vendors down from my friends was a guy with a bunch of toys, magazines, and movies laid out on a table.  Underneath a stack of comics, I noticed this box.  The guy was asking $25 which I was willing to pay.  However I didn't have a five dollar bill, so I gave him a twenty and a ten.  He didn't have change and I only had 2 one dollar bills, so he took $22 instead.

This product is loaded with some hall of fame rookie cards like Troy Aikman, Barry Sanders, Thurman Thomas, and Deion Sanders.  But I'm equally excited at trying to build the announcer set.

Purchase #5:  Auto Relic of a Hall of Famer  $10

2012 Topps Triple Threads #TTAR-206 (#'d 10/18)

I struck out on the next three rows, but as I turned the corner on the final row, I found this shiny card sitting on a table in a penny sleeve next to the box it was pulled from.  I'm no longer actively chasing sticker-graphs, but when they pop up at a flea market for the right price, I'll pick them up.  Not gonna lie... in this era where most vendors think every card they own is worth stupid money... I was pretty shocked to hear him say he only wanted ten bucks.

I pulled out that ten dollar bill I had originally given to the 1989 Pro Set guy immediately before he could change his mind.

Purchase #6:  Dime Cards  $2

A lady who was selling some crafts had given her teenage son part of a table and he put out a few boxes of cards with a sign "10 for a dollar".  I picked out twenty... highlighted by the nine cards above and this card of my favorite football player in the 90's:

2022 Panini Legacy Decade of Dominance #DD-7

That's wraps up another trip to the flea market.  The next one is two Saturdays from now and I'm planning on being out there... as long as Mother Nature cooperates.

Until then...

Happy Thursday and sayonara!

Memoirs of an Ice Cream Scooper

Back in my junior year of high school, I got my first real job at Thrifty's with one of my best friends from elementary school.  Two years of scooping ice cream, working in the electronics department, and sweeping the aisles after the store closed provided a lot of fond memories.  I wanted to share two of them today.

One of them is hobby related.  The other isn't.

The year was 1989 and collectors were hunting for Ken Griffey Jr. rookie cards.  Unfortunately the Thrifty's I worked at didn't have any boxes or packs of Upper Deck.  But they had everything else... with an excessive amount of Bowman... which wasn't very popular among our card collecting customers.  Even after they were marked down... the sat on the shelves for at least another year or two.

Personally... I liked the set.  Sure they were a pain in the butt to store... but they were cheap and the simple design resembled something from the 50's.  Can't remember if I ever built a set, but I definitely opened a fair number of 1989 Bowman packs.

Thrifty's also carried Kenner Starting Lineups.  Back then... I wasn't super interested in them (like I was in the 90's), but I did purchase a few of them for family members.

1989 Kenner Starting Lineup #NNO

One of them was a 1989 Joe Montana that I gave to my father for either his birthday, Father's Day, or as a Christmas present.  He kept it in his office in San Jose and brought it with him to Las Vegas when my parents retired.

He was my mom and dad's favorite football player.  They absolutely loved the 49ers... especially during the Montana years.

Speaking of my mom... she was a big reason I was able to work at Thrifty's.

While most of my friends got their driver's license when they turned 16... I waited until I turned 17.  Since my friends had cars and licenses, it meant I had a ride and wasn't motivated to get my own.  Unfortunately I usually worked the closing shift which meant that I wouldn't get off until 10pm or later.  Half the time I'd catch a ride with my buddy... but he didn't always work the same days as me.

That's where my mom comes into the story.  She would stay up late whenever I needed a ride, pick me up, and take me home.  Eventually she gave me a choice.  Get my license or get a new job.  I actually did both... but I will always be grateful for her going the extra mile to help me out.

Today she would have celebrated her 90th birthday.  Happy Birthday Mom!  I miss and love you!  Thank you for everything you did for our friends and family!

As for all of you who took the time to read today's post...

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

Extra Innings

The reason Joe Montana is my parent's favorite player is because he was a winner.  Well guess what Joe... I'm a winner too.  I might not have four Super Bowl rings, but I did win this hanger pack in Kerry's Mayo Bowl Contest back in December: 

2025 Topps Hanger Pack

I'm not sure if you're tired of seeing 2025 Topps flagship posts, but here are the thirty-six cards I pulled from the pack:

After two packs (one hobby jumbo and this hanger), I don't think I'll be going out of my way to purchase any blasters unless they are discounted.  I like the design, but not enough to build a hand collated set.

Thank you Kerry for hosting another interactive contest and for this generous prize!

Long Lost Canadian Counterparts

Obsessive compulsive disorder can be a pain in the butt.  In regards to collecting... my biggest struggle with it happens to be confronting procrastination.  I totally enjoy sorting and organizing... but sometimes it can be overwhelming to see stacks and stacks of cards staring back at me.  I'll just walk into my office, see them, turn around, and find something else to distract me.

Last week, I took advantage of some extra free time and broke down all of those stacks.  My reward?  I found some long lost purchases.

Today's post focuses on an eBay purchase that was inspired by Stuart over at S.R.'75 Cards.  Last June, he wrote about his new blog banner which included the famous pinch runner card from the 1975 Topps set.  That post sent me on a mission to track down Herb Washington's 1975 O-Pee-Chee card.  Well I found one and the seller had a bunch of other affordable O-Pee-Chee baseball cards from the 70's.  In an effort to save a few bucks with combined shipping, I loaded up my shopping cart.

After going back and forth on which cards were top priority, I narrowed my cart down to ten cards that set me back $25.72 (tax & shipping included).  Two of them were showcased over the weekend, but here's a look at the other eight in reverse chronological order...

1978 O-Pee-Chee #110

Reggie's 1978 Topps card is one of my favorite cards from the 70's.  It features a perfectly cropped action shot of Mr. October and was one of the key cards in the purchase.

1977 O-Pee-Chee #255

Steve Garvey has a lot of great looking Topps cards from the 70's, but this is the only flagship base card that features a well-cropped action shot with all limbs and equipment intact.

If you're a fan of the 1975 Topps baseball card design, then you'll probably enjoy the next four cards...

1975 O-Pee-Chee #561

This card looks great on the front, but that back is marked up:

I'm not sure if I knew about this damage or not.  Based on the price, I'm guessing I did.

1975 O-Pee-Chee #625

This is another classic card from the 70's.  Off-centered or not... there was no way I was pulling this out of the shopping cart.

1975 O-Pee-Chee #463

1975 O-Pee-Chee #465

Not sure if I'll end up chasing down the complete World Series subset, but either way... I'm halfway there.

1973 O-Pee-Chee #500

Gotta admit... outside of a few words written in French on the back, this A's team card looks a lot like it's American counterpart.  I'm not sure even sure if this card is printed on the usual brighter card stock.

1972 O-Pee-Chee

Not a Pirates fan, but I've always liked the Topps version of this card.  Now I have the Canadian version to go with it.

1971 O-Pee-Chee #210

If you needed a good reason to start collecting O-Pee-Chee baseball cards... the 1971 card backs could be that reason.  Seriously.  It's glorious.  Just stare into the eyes of Carew's floating head.

The best part about these vintage cards from Canada is that they're affordable.  These eight cards (plus the damaged Herb Washington and Billy Martin cards) were less than the average price of a Topps baseball blaster.

Well that's it for today.  I found a few more cards hidden in stacks that have been scanned, so you might see them pop up in future posts from time to time.

Until then...

Happy Wednesday and sayonara!

Overtime!

Hockey posts don't receive a lot of views, but I wanted to document the fact that I watched the 4 Nations Face-Off Championship Game last Thursday and it was awesome!  It was a back and forth game that was entertaining the entire time.  Unfortunately, I haven't opened up any hockey packs in quite some time.  But back in the 90's... there were years when it dominated my hobby budget.

Here are two cards from that era that represent the tournament in one way or another:

1995-96 Finest Gold Refractor #123

This is a card from my original collection.  Not sure if I pulled this card from a pack or not, but I did open up a fair share of this product.  Anyways... Keith Tkachuk is the father of Brady and Matthew who both played on Team USA in the tournament.

The other guy is arguably the most recognizable hockey player on the planet:

1996-97 Donruss Canadian Ice National Pride #1

Gretzky was the honorary team captain for Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off Championship Game.

This die-cut acetate card is shaped like a maple leaf and is from one of my favorite hockey insert sets.

Congratulations Team Canada!  Heck of a game.