The C-Note Challenge

Chris over at The Collector recently played a game based on Beckett's C-Note Challenge where collectors go on an imaginary $100 shopping spree.  According to Beckett's guidelines, there should be 5 to 15 cards based on the current month's high book value.  Chris decided to go with recent eBay sales instead, so I will too.

However I'm gonna modify things a little more for my post.  Instead of going on an imaginary shopping spree, I decided to show off the results of an actual shopping spree that took place over the past few months.  And one of those purchases forced me to go a little over the 15 card limit.

But that's okay, right?  It's all just fun and games, so let the game begin...


Purchase #1:  1990 Leaf #180  $10 ($6 + $4 shipping)

When you think about the most dangerous hitters of the 90's, Albert Belle has to come into the discussion.  It's just a shame that he made so many poor decisions off (and on) the field, because this guy was pretty fun to watch when he stepped into the batter's box.

I've been looking to add cheap PSA 10 graded rookie cards to my collection for a few years now.  Belle's character might not be worth the price of a snack-sized Snickers, but I his career numbers were worthy of my Alexander Hamilton.

Purchase #2:  2017 Archives (1988 Bazooka #15) Buyback Auto (#'d 3/6)  $15 (free shipping)

There's a chance that this is the last Tim Raines autograph I ever purchase.  I don't go out of my way to pick up his autographs, but I really liked the look of this card.

Purchase #3:  1998 Zenith Z-Team Set $18.25 (free shipping)

Back in December, I received a care package from Rod over at Padrographs that contained some 1998 Zenith Dare to Tear cards.  This took me for a walk down memory lane.  I immediately wanted to pick up some of the inserts from this product.  A week or two later, this set popped up on eBay and I was the only bidder.

This is probably my favorite C-Note Challenge post purchase.

Purchase #4:  2017 Archives (1983 Topps #586) Buyback Auto (#'d 3/85)  $20 (free shipping)

I've been putting together a collection of left-handed Cy Young Award Winners and Viola was one of the final three guys I needed (Mark Davis and Johan Santana are the other two).  Since he doesn't have a lot of signatures out there, I had to settle on one of his Archives buyback signatures.  I figured, I might as well go all out and pick up his signed rookie card.

Purchase #5:  2017 Leaf Originals Alternate Art #RS  $9.32 ($6.07 + $3.25 shipping)

Outside of a few highlights involving Asuka, I don't really watch wrestling anymore.  But I still enjoy adding new cards to my Ricky Steamboat collection, so when I saw that he signed cards for Leaf, I knew I wanted to pick one up.


Purchase #6:  2018 Stadium Club Autograph #SCA-MA  $25.50 ($22 + $3.50 shipping)

This is one of my latest eBay purchases.  I'm the furthest thing from a Yankees fan, but I wanted to grab an autograph of Andujar while he's still affordable.  I specifically targeted his 2018 Stadium Club card, because it pairs nicely with the Gleyber Torres I pulled from a blaster last year:

Well... if my calculations are correct, that brings my running total to $98.07.  Since I couldn't find any recent eBay purchases in the $1 to $2 price range, I decided to look at my recent COMC purchases.

Purchase #7 (COMC):  1956 Topps #134  $1.50

Back in January, I saw this card over at Highly Subjective and Completely Arbitrary.  As most of you know, Stan Musial didn't have his own Topps trading card until the 1958 set, so I was intrigued when I saw that he was featured on this team card.  I headed over to COMC and within a few days I had this card sitting in my inventory.

I thought it was Musial's first appearance on a Topps card, but after doing a little research, I discovered that he was actually pictured on the Cardinals' 1951 Topps Teams card:

(Love of the Game Auctions)

This 1951 Topps Teams card obviously isn't part of my haul.  These cards are pretty rare and can often fetch triple digits.  I'd like to eventually add the Philadelphia Athletics card to my collection, but we'll save that for another post on another day.  Let's get back to the C-Note Challenge.

Total Spent:  $99.57

Well there you have it.  Eight eBay/COMC purchases.  Twenty-five cards.  And almost $100 spent.  Individually, I felt like I was getting some pretty good deals... but after breaking it down and looking at these purchases a little more closely... I'm wondering if maybe I would have been better off not purchasing these cards and just doing an imaginary shopping spree like Chris.

Anyways, I'm not sure if this has turned into a Blog Bat Around, but it'd be cool to see what other bloggers would buy if they had an extra C-Note laying around.  Are you willing to step up to the challenge?

Oh... and in celebration of my blog's 9th anniversary, I'm holding a contest.  If you're interested in joining, click here.

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!