Flea Market Finds #187: Superfluous Stuff

Saturday's trip to the Branham Flea Market was picture perfect.  Great weather.  Tons of vendors.  And a guy with dime boxes.

Let's jump into my finds...

Purchase #2:  Old Newspapers  $5

I'm gonna start with my second find of the day, because my first purchase was arguably the best.  A vendor I hadn't seen before had a stack of 80's local newspapers.  This one was sitting on top and stirred my curiosity enough to take a peek: 

San Jose Mercury News (10/10/89)

The 1989 World Series will always be special to me.  It featured both Bay Area baseball teams which divided friends and family for a brief period.  

San Jose Mercury News (10/15/89)

San Jose Mercury News (10/16/89)

It's often remembered for the Loma Prieta Earthquake that was captured on live tv about thirty minutes before Game 3 was about to start.

San Jose Mercury News (10/29/89)

The Argus (10/29/89)

And it's the last time the Oakland A's were World Series Champions.

Why are these items superfluous?  Because I'll never really do anything with these newspapers.  If I owned the copy of the Oakland Tribune celebrating the A's win, then maybe I'd frame and display it on my man cave wall (when I buy my dream house).  But these will remain in a box in the garage.

Purchase #3:  Topps Card Locker  $5

Remember when Topps would offer up these sports card lockers on their wax wrappers?

I'm pretty sure I begged my mom for one, but I don't think I ever got one.

I had one of the knockoff brands you could find in those Sears and Service Merchandise catalogs instead.  It took me forty years, but now I can say that I'm the proud owner of an official Topps one.

Why is this item superfluous?  This is one of those items that can no longer function as it was originally intended.  The card trays inside are cracked and even if they weren't, there are much better ways to store your card collection.  But don't worry, it's not going into cold storage with the newspapers.  I proudly have it on display in my office.

Purchase #4:  Comic Books  $2

Image Deathblow and Wolverine #1 (1996)

Image Deathblow and Wolverine #2 (1996)

These two comics were actually part of an eight comic book lot.  These were the only two that I was semi-familiar with.  I knew the vendor and we were catching up for a few minutes.  The least I could do was buy some quarter comic books sitting on his table.

Why are these items superfluous?  I don't really collect comic books (unless they're too cheap to pass up).  I bag and boarded the two pictured comic books and added it to my comic book box.  The rest are headed into the classroom for my students to enjoy.

Purchase #5:  Signed Baseball  $10

Kurt Suzuki is one of my all-time favorite Oakland Athletics.

When I saw this sitting on this guy's table, I immediately recognized the signature and asked for a price.  The vendor wanted $15, which is probably fair.  But it was a little more than I wanted to spend, so I walked away.

When I came back down the row... I asked if he'd take $10 and he accepted.

Why is this item superfluous?  It's superfluous, because I already own a TriStar authenticated signed baseball of Zuk.  Do I really need two signed baseballs of his?  Of course not.  But for the price, I figure I'll bring this into the classroom with the comics and display it on my collectibles shelf.

Purchase #1:  Dime Box Cards  $35

I got to the flea market a little after 7am and found these dime boxes within ten minutes.  Unfortunately, another guy had already purchased all of the baseball cards.  Honestly this is probably a blessing in disguise.  As much as I would have enjoyed going through boxes of 10¢ baseball cards, I honestly don't have a lot of free time right now.

That being said... I found a little over 350 singles.  Most of them were NASCAR, UFC, WWE, and non-sports inserts and parallels.  Here's a look at a few of my favorites:

There was a ton of Japanese wrestlers:

My favorite?  This shiny yellow parallel of Asuka:

2021 Topps Chrome Attax Yellow Refractor #9 (#'d 63/99)

Why are these items superfluous?  Outside of a handful of cards for my collection and some care package filler for fellow bloggers, most of this stuff was purchased because they were too cheap to pass up.

But that's the thing about collecting stuff like cards, comics, signed baseballs, and newspapers.  It's all superfluous.  I can't think of a single thing in my collection that is a necessity.  It's all extra items in my life that aren't needed or necessary to survive.  But they're a huge part of my life and have the power to turn a frown... upside down.  So I'm going to keep hunting for superfluous stuff at my local flea markets.

The next one is less than two weeks away, so stay tuned.  Until then...

Happy Thursday and sayonara!

Four Six-packs

Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin... into the future.  But I finally had a chance to sit down in my office yesterday, open some packages, and sort some cards.

Today I'm gonna share four sports card sextets sent to me from three sports card bloggers.  First up are six new cards for my 2025 Topps Holiday set build:

Chris over at The Collector sent me these a few weeks ago... leaving me with four cards left:

As soon as I have a few minutes to update a few other sets, I'm gonna place an order on Sportlots and clear out my cabinet containing a bunch of sets in progress.

He also sent me these six cards:

The Griffey was sort of a head scratcher, since I haven't really advertised my collection of his cards.  But I'll happily add it and all of the others cards seen here into my collection.  Thank you Chris!

Next up is a six pack of cards from the other Chris in our blogosphere (Nachos Grande):

Most people know I collect A's and Padres, but not everyone knows about my Expos or Surfer PC.  Thanks Chris!

The final six cards were part of a jam packed PWE containing a bunch of Greg Maddux cards from John over at Johnny's Trading Spot:

Outside of my Steve Largent PC, I don't have any of my team or player collections listed in TCDB.  But I'm guessing Maddux is my third or fourth largest player collection (behind Gwynn, Henderson, and possibly Ichiro).  Out of the eighteen cards he sent, these six were new to my binders.

In addition to this PWE, John also sent me a medium size flat rate box that I also opened and sorted yesterday.  But it's going to take me a little more time publish the contents of that package.

In the meantime, you should head over to his blog and join in on his weekly giveaway.  Thanks John!

Well that wraps up another post.  But before I forget, here is today's question:

Most of us know each other's main PC's.

Do you have any smaller, lesser known collections?

If not, maybe there are other things you collect outside of cards.

For example, I collect cards featuring Bernese Mountain Dogs, athletes born and raised in San Jose, and a ton of non-card related stuff like LP's, Legos, and video games.

I look forward to reading and responding to your comments.

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

Flea Market Finds #186: Win Some, Lose Some

Spring doesn't officially start until Friday, but two Saturdays ago it was warm enough to wear flip flops, but not quite warm enough to make you sweat.  That's the perfect weather for a walk around the local flea market.

Unfortunately there was also a card show in the area, so I didn't see any of my friends who usually set up.  But I did find stuff from other vendors.

Let's check out my De Anza Flea Market haul...

Purchase #1:  Cheap Comic Books  $4

1985 Comico Robotech Masters #1

1992 Celebrity Comics Metallica #2

Comic books aren't really popular among my readers, but that doesn't stop me from flipping through bargain boxes in search of titles I enjoy.  Robotech was one of my favorite cartoons back in the 80's... and Metallica is one of my favorite bands of all-time.

Purchase #2:  A Rare 90's Hologram  $5

1991 Pro Set Winston Cup Hologram #NNO

Once upon a time, this card would have commanded triple digits to some collectors.  Today you can find them for a fraction of the price.

There was a gentleman with a small collection of Junk Wax Era cards scattered on his table.  This one immediately caught my eye.  The top loader had a $20 price tag, but before I could say a word, he asked me if five dollars was fair.  That's a price I could live with.

Purchase #3:  A Sweet Ticket Stub  $5

1963 Orange Bowl Ticket Stub

I found this ticket stub sitting on a five dollar table with a bunch of movies, McDonald's toys, and other knickknacks.  I decided to Google the game to see who participated.

It featured #5 Alabama and #8 Oklahoma.  When I dug a little deeper, I saw that Joe Namath was the starting quarterback.  No way I was going to pass this up for five bucks.

Purchase #4:  Pair of Hall of Fame Autos  $40

A gentleman bought a storage unit filled with football and hockey cards.  He had a bunch of top loaded cards sitting in two row shoe boxes.  My eyes lit up when I saw this:

1997 UD Legends Autograph #AL-15

I grew up listening to stories about the legendary Green Bay Packers of the 60's from my father.  Ray Nitschke was the anchor of Vince Lombardi's defense which won five NFL titles (including the first two Super Bowls) in a span of seven seasons.

Unfortunately he passed away in 1998, a year after Upper Deck included him in their iconic UD Legends set.  This is one of only a handful of certified, pack pulled signatures out there and for $20... it's a win. 

1997 UD Legends Autograph #AL-99

Eric Dickerson was the premiere running back in the NFL during the 80's and one of my favorite players.  In the moment, I figured $20 for an on-card signature of his was a steal... but that's about the going rate.  Win some, lose some.

Purchase #5:  Hockey Hits  $50

After going through his two football boxes, I dove into the hockey.  By this time there were several other people interested in his stuff, so I settled for sifting through one two-row shoebox.  Here's what I pulled out...

1999-00 ITG BAP All-Star Teammates Relic #TM-10

Back in the late 90's, Kariya and Forsberg were two of the hottest players in the hobby.  These swatches are from their 1996 NHL All-Star jerseys when they were teammates for the Western Conference.

Unfortunately, this card was stored in a screwdown holder made for thinner cards, so I damaged it (see chipping along edges) upon removal.  Win some, lose some.

2002-03 Stadium Club St. Patrick Dual Relics #SP-CAMCJ

Patrick Roy was even more popular than Forsberg and Kariya.  This card was part of a tribute set and inserted into packs during his final NHL season.  It features game worn swatches from Avalanche and Canadians jerseys.

2001-02 Pacific Titanium Double Sided Jersey #32

I was pretty stoked to find a Mario Lemieux jersey card sitting in the box and surprised to see another player on the back.  It's a shame Aleksey Morozov was the other player and not someone like Jaromir Jagr.  Win some, lose some.

1980-81 O-Pee-Chee #140

Ray Bourque is one of the greatest defensemen in NHL history and I have wanted his rookie card since the 90's.  I'm very happy to finally own a copy.  It's even cooler that it's the OPC version.

2001-02 UD Legends Milestones Jersey #M-WG

Finally... the key card in the lot.  It's not often you find Wayne Gretzky jersey cards sitting in boxes at the flea market.  As excited as I was to see this in the box, I was even more excited when he told me I could have all five cards for $50.

Sadly... this card was also squeezed into a screwdown too.  When I took it out little specks stuck to the holder.  Oh well... win some, lose some.

Purchase #6:   8-Track Tapes  $2

Johnny Cash Greatest Hits

The Partridge Family Up To Date

Can't say I'm a huge fan of either of these albums, but The Partridge Family was sealed and the price was right.  These go into my slowly growing 8-track collection.

Purchase #7:  Junk Wax Era Factory Set  $5

1993 Topps Toys R Us Factory Set

Back in 1993, I was out of the hobby and in the midst of college.  In other words, I wasn't hitting up Toys R Us regularly and never owned this set.  However for $5, I figured it was finally time to add it to my collection.

The plan is to open it up in the near future and write up a post.  I'm mostly excited to check out the complete set of Master Photos.  Stay tuned.

Purchase #8:  Bag of Legos  $3

2019 Legos #30624

In 2019 Lego celebrated the 20th anniversary of Lego Star Wars with a bunch of cool sets and special minifigures.  This Obi-wan Kenobi poly bag was originally a gift with purchase.  I missed out back then, but was pretty happy to find one in the wild at the flea market.

Purchase #9:  My Other Dream Car  $15

2026 Hot Wheels Car Culture Team Transport #86

Two weeks ago, I wrote about one of my dream cars.  In 2022, I bought my other one.

Since then, I've tried to collect as many diecast versions as I can find.  You'd think it'd be easy to find just about any mass produced Hot Wheel on pegs at Target, but I see less Toyota GR Supras than baseball card blasters.  In fact, I have never seen one in four years.  That's why I didn't even try to negotiate the fifteen dollar price tag.

Well that wraps up my latest trip to the De Anza Flea Market.  The Branham High School Flea Market is on Saturday, but I might be going to a card show in Danville with one of my buddies.  It'll probably be a last minute decision.

Thanks for hanging in there for another long winded post.  My goal is to produce shorter posts on a more frequent basis, but that plan seems to fly out the window whenever I start typing.

Until next time...

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!