Enough chit chat... let's check out the affordable treasures I found at the show...
In the moment, I was pretty excited about finding all of these for a buck each. Figured $5 was about how much I'd have to pay for a retail pack and at least I was getting cards that I wanted.
Here are my favorites:
Ichiro broke Sisler's single season record in 2004. Pete broke Cobb's record in 1985. But Jack and Cy still have a grasp on their records.
The whole lot was low grade vintage with some decent names sprinkled in there. My favorite was this oddball Reggie:
The second box was even cooler. Here's the contents:
Although most of the cards are well loved... at less than 4¢ each... this might just be my best bargain of the year.
There were a bunch of vintage hall of famers and perennial all-stars in this batch of cards.
Purchase #1: Shiny Topps Chrome $5
The first dealer I stopped at had four or five 3,200ct. boxes filled with sleeved rookies, inserts, and parallels from a variety of sports. I only flipped through the box with dollar baseball and it was loaded with shiny treasures.
2024 Topps Chrome All-Etch #CAE-14
This was the first card that caught my eye... and essentially motivated me to flip through the rest if the row. I'm a huge fan of etched Chrome refractors from the 90's and this card reminds me of something from that era.
He had a few different players from the set, but Soto was the biggest name and the only one I deemed worthy of the one dollar price tag.
2024 Topps Chrome 1989 Baseball #89-CB1
2024 Topps Chrome Refractor #250
2024 Topps Chrome Strokes #S-1
2024 Topps Chrome Refractor #110
Sadly based on COMC prices... I overpaid. But a buck a piece is still affordable.
Here's a peek at grab bag #1:
Purchase #2: Grab Bags $2
Next up was a gentleman with dollar grab bags. Most of them contained newer stuff, but there were two vintage ones sitting off to the side. I grabbed them both:
1979 Topps #411
1979 Topps #416
1979 Topps #215
1979 Topps #201
1979 Topps #95
The whole lot was low grade vintage with some decent names sprinkled in there. My favorite was this oddball Reggie:
1980 Topps Burger King Pitch, Hit, & Run #17
1977 Topps #120
1977 Topps #580
Plus some Oakland A's:
But my favorites were the league leader cards:
These are the affordable treasures I dream of finding every time I walk around the flea market or card show. Not sure if this dealer is a regular or not... but I'll definitely be on the lookout for him at next month's show.
A shiny Mays for a buck? I'd buy that for a dollar!
A serial numbered Betts? I'll take that too.
1975 Topps #45
1975 Topps #461
1975 Topps #535
1973 Topps #67
1963 Topps #6
1970 Topps #61
Purchase #3: Another Dollar Bin $5
Grab bag guy also had a dollar bin. Pulled these from it...
2022 Topps Platinum Anniversary Fuchsia Refractor #121 (#'d 028/100)
Beltre is one of those guys I grew to love over the course of his career. It wasn't just the fact that he had hall of fame numbers. It had to do with his personality, his relationship with Elvis Andrus, and his shenanigans on the field.
1963 Topps #126
As much as I loved those two vintage grab bags, this card was the highlight of the day. It's damaged (paper loss on the right side of the card), but it's a sixty-one year old card of Bob Uecker for a buck! This is the epitome of an affordable treasure.
2022 Topps Platinum Anniversary Blue Prism Refractor #24
2019 Bowman Platinum Purple Foil #74 (#'d 191/250)
2019-20 Panini Hoops Premium Stock Green Prizm #59
I may or may not already have this card from one of Xavier's care packages, but for I'll grab multiples of shiny Curry cards if they're a buck each.
Purchase #4: The Quarter Bin $5
The final purchase of the day was from a friend of mine who recently purchased a bunch of 5,000ct. boxes filled with baseball and football. They were quarter boxes, so I didn't find anything too crazy. But it kept me engaged for close to an hour.
His boxes were semi-sorted by teams... and as you'll soon see the Reds, Tigers, and Phillies were the ones I was able to look through before my back started hurting.
Here's what I pulled:
Joey Votto is one of those guys who never failed to entertain... which is why I have a small collection of his cards. I missed out on a lot of his early cards... so I grabbed these three and the nice color-matched 2014 parallel. Sadly... none of these are his true rookie cards.
But I did find a rookie card of Eric the Red:
1985 Topps #627
Let's move on to another famous Cincinnati Reds player:
Love him or hate him... he's the MLB all-time hits leader and an all-time great.
Next up are some 70's affordable treasures...
And some 80's affordable treasures...
Most of these cards were scanned back in August and I'm only now getting a chance to reflect on my purchases. The first purchase is the only one I really regret. However... it's nice to see current inserts and parallels finally returning to dollar bins.
Overall... the affordable vintage saved the day. Hopefully I'll find some more affordable treasures at next month's show.
Happy Tuesday and sayonara!
A nice haul of cards - and I love to see some Reds represented. Shoot me your mailing address, I can probably find a Votto rookie to send your way!
ReplyDeleteThose vintage dollar grab bags are incredible. The Uecker is stunning too - and living in Ranger country I'm also impressed by the Beltre.
ReplyDeleteThat 2nd dollar box was great! Especially the Braves :)
ReplyDeleteLove this post!! When I hear people talk about getting “priced out of the hobby”, I will be sure to share the awesomeness of affordable treasures. There truly is something out there for everyone.
ReplyDeletePack it up when the back hurts…I hear ya. Ha ha.
More success than I've had at my most recent smaller shows. Burger King Jackson and Uecker are highlights for me.
ReplyDeleteLove the BK Reggie and how it's a different photo than the base Topps. Second grab bag is fantastic too with all those HoFers. Really telling though how out of whack everything is when Uecker's 1962 RC is over $100 and his 1963 is in a dollar box.
ReplyDeleteReally nice vintage pickups with those dollar bags and Uecker.
ReplyDeleteWish they had mall shows like that in my area.
Those grab bags are fun. I've always been a sucker for grab bags.
ReplyDeleteI have the Soto All-Etch too...they are really good looking cards!
Man, that leaders card from 1970 is great! Probably very hard to find because of Pete Rose, but I love the photo of Cleon Jones!
ReplyDeleteGiven the empty tub space, one can't help but wonder if there might've been a few more vintage grab bags; and then of course, what might've been in those. The second bag was pretty good, so much so, that you didn't even need to highlight the '75 Yaz or Gibson.
ReplyDeletenachos grande - wow. that's very generous of you. thanks. i was hoping to see some oddball larkins for you, but the only ones he had were newer inserts (that i assume you already own)
ReplyDeletegtt - so grateful that beltre landed in texas. i feel like that's where he blossomed into the player i loved to watch. that guy was so entertaining
johnnys trading spot - even though it's damaged... i was very stoked about finding that uecker for a buck.
bamlinden - nothing worse on my back than sorting cards on the floor or standing around digging through dime boxes :D
night owl - card shows these days are hit or miss. the same can be said for flea markets. but being on a tight budget, i'm not going to complain.
nick vossbrink - dang. uecker's rookie sells for over $100? looks like it's a high number, so maybe they are harder to find.
bo - honestly though of you when i opened up these plastic cases, because i know you are okay with lesser grade vintage. as for mall shows... they've only started popping up around here since the hobby boom. five years ago, there was only one i attended and it took place 2 to 3 times a year about an hour away from my place.
the lost collector - if i was going to build a new insert set, that's the one i'd consider. especially since they're so cheap.
brett alan - that 1970 batting leaders card stood out to me as well.
jon - maybe you're right. if that was the case, i'm glad the person left those two behind. as for gibson and yaz... i considered those two... along with a few others. but i liked the red all-star stripes at the bottom of the 77t carew and brett cards
ReplyDeleteThat's a crazy-good haul of cards, Fuji! My three favorite cards are the Reggie, Eric Davis, and the Uecker. Awesome post, so many good cards!
ReplyDeleteI need to grab one of those all etch cards! Sharp!
ReplyDeleteI'm jealous of those vintage grab bags. $1.00???
ReplyDeleteChrome Platinum Anniversary has some fantastic parallels. Love that fuchsia Beltre for a buck! The Mays is a nice one as well.
ReplyDeletethe snorting bull - thanks. although the mystery bags were my best purchase in regards to value... that uecker is my favorite. love that card.
ReplyDeleteanonymous - sure hope he has more the next time i go to that show.
chris - i wish they would have produced less colors for their platinum anniversary product. feel bad for those player collectors who need to track down 25+ parallels