The $20 Card Show Challenge

It's no secret that I've been struggling the past few months, but I try to focus on something positive to motivate me to keep pushing forward.  Right now I'm setting my sights on Thanksgiving break.  Before that it was last weekend's Cardboard Day Trip.

Originally Ryan (aka SumoMenkoMan) had planned on flying into San Francisco International Airport and attending the Serramonte Mall Sports Cards, Toys, and Collectibles Show back at the end of September.  But that didn't end up working out, so we started looking at other possibilities.  That's when the Crowne Plaza Hotel Sports Card Show revealed itself.  We both circled the date on our calendars, Ryan made his travel arrangements, and voila a much needed break from reality came into fruition.

After picking up him up at SFO, we headed east towards Sacramento and a little under two hours later we arrived at the show.  I'm going to estimate there were fifteen to twenty dealers set up with a little bit of everything for the modern collector.  Although Ryan pointed out that the non-sports selection was a bit lacking.

Personally... this trip was much more about hanging out and talking shop than buying cards.  However Ryan had suggested a few weeks ago that we see who could get the most bang from a $20 bill.  I happily accepted that challenge.  Let's take a look at what I bought...


Purchase #1:  IP/TTM Autographs  $7

Within five minutes of our arrival, I ran into famous blog supporter... Mr. Haverkamp.  We caught up for a few minutes, then suggested I take a look at this one dealer's stuff.  He had a bunch of boxes of autographs and you know how much I love collecting ink.  I spent probably thirty minutes digging through his stuff and pulled out ten to fifteen cards.  Part of that time was searching up certified signatures online to see if the autographs were worth the gamble.

I eventually narrowed things down to these five which set me back seven dollars.  In hindsight, this was my least favorite purchase, but you gotta start somewhere and get the ball rolling.


Purchase #2:  1986 Meadow Gold Milk Pete Rose  $2

The same dealer with the autographs had a table filled with oversized items and oddballs.  That's where I found this milk carton featuring Pete Rose:

I feel like I've seen someone blog about this set before.  Even if I didn't, I like these kinds of items.  This is a really cool pickup for my Pete Rose collection.


Purchase #3:  Quarter Bin  $1

After purchasing the Rose, I spent the next forty-five minutes to an hour walking around the show looking for something to buy.  I even told Ryan that I might not be able to complete my end of the challenge.

While telling him this, I was standing at a guy's quarter bin where I found these four cards.  The purchase centered around the 1979 Topps All-Time Record Holders card of Sisler and Cobb.  Once I found that card, I was on a mission to find three other cards.

Darling is one of my favorite childhood pitchers.  The Castillo is super shiny and Griese is rocking awesome glasses.  Plus I was one dollar closer to completing the challenge.


Purchase #4:  More Quarter Bins  $5

After circling the show a few times, I came across another dealer's quarter bins that were absolutely loaded.  Unfortunately we were short on time, so I had to rush through the monster box filled with rookies, memorabilia cards, inserts, autographs, and parallels.

I ended up pulling out forty-something cards... but quickly narrowed it down to thirty.  The guy told me I could have the stack for $5... which breaks down to six cards for a buck.  I could live with that.

Here's the card that originally got me excited about digging through the guy's box:

2005 Prestige Xtra Bases Red #131

Anytime I can add a Maddux card serial numbered to 150 to my collection for a quarter (technically less), I'm going to do it.

Here are a few other highlights:

I think the hidden treasure in the box was this rookie card of Charlie Blackmon:

2011 Topps Update #US231

And the oldest card in my five dollar stack was this Reggie Smith rookie card:

1967 Topps #314

Reggie Smith was one heck of a ball player who was a 7x MLB all-star and a career .287 hitter who hit 314 home runs.  I'll buy his rookie card for 17¢ any day of the week.

Purchase #5:  1989 Topps Big Baseball Wax Box  $5

Just as I was handing over the five bucks for the thirty cards, I noticed the dealer also had boxes of Topps Big baseball cards.  One of the projects I'm working on is putting together a master collection of 1988 to 1990 Topps Big sets.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think the 1989 Series 3 set is the only one I'm missing, so I decided to buy this box and build it the old fashion way.  Actually... I grabbed two boxes for $10, but for the sake of this challenge I only included one of these boxes in this post.

After the show we grabbed lunch at Del Taco.  I was looking forward to eating there almost as much as attending the card show itself.  Then we drove to a nearby card shop where I picked up a few more cards.  Unfortunately this post is starting to drag on, so I'll share my card shop purchase along with the cards Ryan brought me on either Thursday or Saturday.

Phew.  I'm exhausted.  The first quarter ended last Friday at my school and grades were due today.  I just finished filling out over 170 report cards.

Now it's your turn.

What grade would you give me on the $20 Card Show Challenge?

Which purchases were average or above average?  Which ones were epic fails?

I'm looking forward to reading your comments... and reading Ryan's post where he summarizes his $20 Card Show Challenge purchases.

Until then... happy Tuesday and sayonara!

Extra Innings

Click here to read Ryan's post which summarizes his $20 Card Show Challenge post.  He picked up some really cool non-sports stuff... and took photos of the card show to give you an idea of the size and number of people in attendance of the show, so head over there and check it out.