Flea Market Finds #136: A True Hidden Treasure

Mother Nature brought her 'A' Game this winter, but spring is just around the corner which means the flea market season is about to commence.

A few weeks ago, I was able to sneak out during my week off from work and hit the Capitol Flea Market.  It was pretty sad.  I'm not sure what the deal was, but there were less than 50% of the vendors that usually set up and Thursdays are usually pretty good there.  Hopefully it was the freezing temperatures that scared them away.

I was pleasantly surprised to see several people with sports cards, but only two are worth mentioning.  One had two shoeboxes filled with less than mint, overproduced cards from the 90's.  The other had six or seven 3500ct. boxes filled with 80's and 90's baseball, basketball, football, and hockey cards that were laid out on the ground.  I picked up a few handfuls, but didn't see anything of interest.

He also had a few sets displayed on a table, but only one really stood out...

Purchase #1:  1994 Topps Baseball Set  $5

Outside of Billy Wagner, there aren't any key rookie cards in this set, but there are a couple of cool factory set exclusives that make this set worth the crisp five dollar bill I handed over.  Each set contains a 1995 Topps Pre-Production set, ten Topps Gold parallels, and three Topps Black Gold inserts.  However the Superstar Sampler pack is the true hidden treasure.

eBay Images

What's the Superstar Sampler pack?  It's a three card pack in which all three cards will consist of the same player featured on three different cards:  1994 Finest, 1994 Bowman, and 1994 Stadium Club.  These cards are identical to their base cards with the exception of small Topps Superstar Sampler stamp on the back.  Collectors could only find these cards inside of specially marked factory sets.  When you consider that there are 45 different players available, you can see how finding any particular guy could potentially be a formidable challenge to player collectors.

Who did I pull?  Well... I haven't popped open my set yet.  But when I do, you guys will be the first to know.  I'm praying for Tony Gwynn, but I wouldn't be too disappointed if I pulled Cal Ripken Jr., Frank Thomas, Ken Griffey Jr., or Greg Maddux.

Well that wraps up my first and only flea market haul of 2019.  The only other thing I purchased was a $5 bag of tequila flavored pistachios... that were delicious.  My next opportunity to hit up a flea market with be the third Saturday of the month, which happens to be the last Saturday of winter.  Hopefully Mother Nature spreads a little sunshine across the Bay Area that weekend.

Happy Thursday and sayonara!

Extra Innings

Daniel over at Its' Like Having My Own Card Shop recently purchased this set too.  It was part of a very impressive Facebook Marketplace haul that took place last week.  He was able to grab 19 Topps factory sets for $100.  If you're interested in reading his post, click here.  I'll say it again... it's impressive.