Unexpected Expenses & Surprises

Life is full of unexpected expenses and surprises.  Last month it was repairing my AC unit.  Yesterday it was replacing the alternator in my daily driver.  Oh man... what an adventure.

The story began on Thursday morning when I woke up early to hit up the Capitol Flea Market.  I noticed a slight hesitation when I tried starting my car.  It caught my attention, but didn't stop me from seeking treasures at my former favorite flea market.  The issue occurred again at the flea market, so I went straight to O'Reilly Auto Parts.  That's where I purchased my battery last summer.  They said it was fine, but that the alternator was dead/dying.  I immediately called my mechanic and he told me I could bring it in that day or tomorrow (Friday).

I was meeting up with some co-workers (we're all on spring break) for lunch on Friday, so I made plans to have my friend pick me up from the shop (after I dropped off my car).  We'd go to lunch and Trader Joe's, then she'd give me a ride home.

Unfortunately when I tried starting my car in the morning, the battery was dead.  Normally my portable jump starter would easily fix this issue, but it came up short.  AAA came to the rescue and got my car running.  However before letting me drive off... they had me turn on everything in my car (fan, lights, radio, etc.) and run the car for five minutes.  It lasted about three.  In other words, I wasn't driving my car anywhere until the alternator was replaced.

AAA originally sent out a truck that specializes in "jump starts", so they had to send out another truck to take me to my mechanic.  It was sort of embarrassing, because it sort of looked like my car was being repossessed.

Anyways to make an already long story... a little shorter... my mechanic installed a new alternator and had O'Reilly give me a new battery (it was under warranty).  As expected... it wasn't a cheap adventure.  Between that and the AC repair from early March... I had to dip into the rainy day fund.  But that's life.  It just means that I won't be making any large hobby purchases in the near future.

That's okay, because I have plenty of stuff to blog about... include some recent purchases I've made.  One of them was a 1996 Pinnacle Mint coin starter set I bought off of Greg over at The Collective Mind:

1996 Pinnacle Mint Football Coin Starter Set

Last month he left a comment on one of my Flea Market Finds posts where I bought the John Elway coin from this set.  We started exchanging some emails and he offered to send me what he had for free.  With the rise in shipping costs, I couldn't accept this offer unless I could pay him a nominal price for the set and cover the shipping.

I'm pretty stoked to add these coins to my collection.  I actually bought the 1997 and 1998 baseball coin sets back in 2023, but they didn't include this special coin display that Greg included.

He also tossed in a bunch of bonus material, some of which he mentioned in our emails.  The one I was most excited about was this awesome Brett Favre coin:

1996 Pinnacle Mint Nickel Coin #NNO

This shiny silver coin is so cool.  Pinnacle actually released a fine silver version of this coin, but you can easily tell them apart by looking at the back.  On the fine silver coins, they stamped the words "fine silver" under the word "CLUB".  According to this Beckett thread, both versions were inserted in packs.  However the fine silver coins came with a COA card.

The Favre was paired up with this Heath Shuler:

1996 Pinnacle Mint Nickel Coin #NNO

Pinnacle Mint also produced die-cut cards that collectors could match up with the coins.  Greg included twenty-one of them:

I'll definitely be hunting down the four remaining coins, but I'm not sure about the die-cut set.

Finally, he also sent me some cards for my PC's...

2024 Topps A&G Mini Exclusive #394

When I first pulled this card out of Greg's mailer, I just assumed that this card was your standard Ginter mini.  But in the process of writing this post, I discovered a very unexpected surprise.  This card was originally inside of his Masyn Winn rip card.

I completely forgot that he had damaged this card when he removed it and that I offered to give Shota a loving home in my Damaged Card PC.  What's even crazier is that I didn't even notice the damage and it's now sitting among the rest of my Imanaga cards.

Speaking of damaged, he also tossed in these miscut cards from the early 80's:

1981 Topps #472

1981 Topps #23

1981 Topps #323

These three look like they might have been lined up on the same sheet at one time.  Now they're lined up in the miscut section of my Damaged Card PC binder.

Next up is another card Greg pulled from his 2024 Topps Allen & Ginter box breaks:

2024 Topps A&G Foil Filagree #201

Yamamoto was outdueled last night by Paul Skenes, but he still pitched really well and is having a pretty stellar season.  This is a very nice addition to my collection.

Here's the third and final Ginter card that Greg sent me:

2023 Topps A&G Spotless Spans #SS-28

This card celebrates Rickey's 84 stolen bases before the 1982 MLB All-Star Game which took place on July 13th.  That's 84 stolen bases in 88 games.  To put that into perspective, the last time anyone stole 84 or more bases in a single season was in 1988.  The player?  Yup.  Rickey.

I don't remember this particular piece of baseball trivia, but there was a better than average chance that I attended at least a game or two when he swiped one of these 84 bases.

Oh and I almost forgot, here's another cool card from the 1996 Pinnacle Mint set that was part of this purchase:

1996 Pinnacle Mint Gold #9

I would have loved to pull this out of a pack back in the 90's.  These gold parallels were inserted into packs at a rate of 1:48 packs (or 1:3 hobby boxes).  This copy isn't in mint condition, but until I find an upgrade this card is going into my Brett Favre PC.

Thank you Greg for selling me the 1996 Pinnacle Mint Coin starter set and tossing in some really generous bonuses.  I spent about an hour scrolling through your "want" pages... but didn't come up with anything yet.  I'll start looking through your player collections next.

As for the rest of the people taking the time to read this post, I hope you encounter more unexpected and pleasant surprises in life than unexpected expenses.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

Flea Market Finds #172: Singles, Sets, Boxes, & Figures

Kicked off my spring break with a trip to the Branham Flea Market on Saturday.  Found a few vendors with sports related stuff and made more purchases than normal, so let's get right into it...

Purchase #1a:  Bay Area SLU's  $5

One of the regular vendors ended up selling the bulk of his inventory last month to one guy, so he dug out a bunch of new stuff which included a table full of Kenner Starting Lineups and McFarlane sports figurines.

He was asking $3 each for the SLU's, but said I could have two of them for $5.  I picked these two:

1989 Kenner SLU #NNO

1989 Kenner SLU #NNO

I wasn't sure if I had either of these cards in my binder, so I picked them over all of the 1988 baseball figures he had out.  When I got home I discovered that I have copies of both.  However for the price, I'll just keep them intact.

Purchase #1b: A Little League Sponsored Game $2

1989 Baseball Wit Set

The guy with the figures also had some new cards.  I already own a sealed copy of this set, but for two bucks I'm going to open this one up since there are a few guys on the checklist that I collect.

Purchase #2a:  A Bag of Bonds  $10

The figurine guy was sharing a space with another guy who only had cards.  He had this team bag filled with Bonds Home Run History cards for ten bucks.  This is a set that I'm trying to build even though I doubt I'll ever complete it.

Anyways, here are the contents of the team bag:

That's the first Chrome version for my collection.  One down.  Twenty-seven to go.

Purchase #2b:  An Overpriced MJ  $3

1995 UD Minor League Top Prospect #45

The Bonds guy had a bunch of singles.  Most of them were newer basketball, football, and soccer.  I found this 90's Jordan card that I don't think I hav.

Was hoping to pick it up for a buck or two, but he wouldn't go lower than three.  Obviously I gave in. 

Purchase #3:  A Questionable Purchase  $10

2003 Princess of Japan Barbie

This is ten dollars I wish I could have back.  What can I say... the lady selling this was good.  She noticed me looking at it (I was intrigued by the kimono) and kept lowering the price until I felt like I was getting a bargain.

Not exactly sure what I'll do with this thing.  I'd consider giving it to my friend's daughter, but the packaging isn't in great condition.  Maybe I'll open it up and display it on a shelf in my classroom.

Purchase #4a:  Another Jordan Inspired Purchase  $10

1989-90 Fleer Basketball Set w/Stickers

There was a lady selling her husband and son's collection of cards.  I saw this set for $10 and figured the two off-centered Jordans were worth the asking price alone.

I kept digging through the lady's boxes and found two more items I was interested in.  That's when I realized that I should have held back, created a stack, and made a lump offer. 

Purchase #4b:  36 Packs of Oversized Baseball  $10

1989 Bowman Baseball Wax Box

I was pretty excited to see this unopened wax box.  Most collectors seem to stay away from these oversized cards, but I have a soft spot for 1989 Bowman.  Seeing this takes me back to my days working at Thrifty's.

The problem is I didn't want to pay the $20 price tag, so I paired it up with a small factory basketball set and made her an offer...

Purchase #4d:  The Final Jordan Inspired Purchase  $10

1989-90 Hoops Super Stars Factory Set

This had a ten dollar price tag, so I asked her if she would take $20 for this and the Bowman box.  She gladly accepted.

We started talking about her stuff.  She asked me if I was a dealer and if I would be interested in purchasing everything.  I told her that I was just a collector and didn't have the room to store all of the stuff she had.  I also explained that I normally just pick up a few cards here and there.

She pulled out a small box of singles she was selling for a buck each...

Purchase #4d:  The B&W Bo  $1

1990 Score #697

There were a ton of 1991 Upper Deck basketball and football holograms, but the Bo Jackson was the only card I was really interested in.  I will buy this card for a buck every day of the week.  I think this is my 4th copy.  Maybe one day I'll fill a nine-pocket page.

Purchase #5:  Cheap Autographs  $2

Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg Programs

A lady a few spots down from the card lady had two signed programs from the 2009 Strikeforce fight between Gina Carano and Cris Cyborg.  This was the first major mma fight to headline two women and it took place at the San Jose Arena.

I didn't attend the event, but I remember people talking about it.  Unfortunately both programs are pretty beat up.  But each of the covers were signed by Cyborg.  She also signed each of the biography pages inside each program.

Plus there was a bonus 8.5" by 11" signed photo inside one of them:

Not exactly something I collect, but I couldn't pass up five signatures for two bucks.

Purchase #6a:  Oversized Baseball Set  $15

Remember the guy with the Sears football posters from last month?  Well he was back and I picked up two really cool sets from him.

First up was this 70's oddball issue: 

1976 Lauglin Diamond Jubilee Set

I have been looking for two singles from this set for quite some time.  However before we take a closer look at them, here's the set in its entirety:

I first discovered this set looking for this card:

1976 Laughlin Diamond Jubilee #16

Back in 2020, I learned about an interesting piece of baseball history involving Stan Musial and Nate Colbert.  That's also when I started targeting this card.

I've been also trying to track down this card:

1976 Laughlin Diamond Jubilee #26

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to pick up the pair plus the other thirty cards in the set for fifteen bucks.  I honestly would have paid twice his asking price.

Purchase #6b:  Big Baller Set  $70

The other set I purchased is possibly the most I've spent at the flea market on a single purchase in years:

1984-85 Star Court Kings 5x7 Set

While I was there, I quickly looked up the checklist and completed listings for this set and discovered this was too good of a deal to pass up.

I was originally going to open it up and take out the Magic and Kareem for my Lakers PC, but after seeing sealed copies of this set sell on eBay for $400 to $600... I won't be opening it.

Purchase #7:  Football Food Issues  $6

I've written about how my interest in 7-11 Slurpee discs dates back to my childhood, but I don't remember ever seeing football versions.

Found a guy with about ten different ones, I grabbed these two:

1984 7-11 Slurpee Discs (West) #VII

1984 7-11 Slurpee Discs (West) #II

I asked if he'd take two for $5, but he wouldn't budge.  Figured I had dropped over $100 already that morning.  One extra dollar wasn't going to stop me from adding these to my collection.

Purchase #8:  More Starting Lineups  $5

This flea market is pretty small, so I always go back to the beginning and walk around one more time.  The guy with the baseball SLU's also had these two Gretzkys:

1997 Kenner SLU #NNO

1998 Kenner SLU #NNO

Originally he didn't want to sell these two at the 2 for $5 price, but when I went back he said they were all mine.  I already own the 1997 card, but I don't have the 1998... which means I'll likely open it up.

Well that's it for now.  I spent way more money than usual and some of these purchases are head scratchers.  But overall, I'm very happy with this week's flea market finds.

Happy Wednesday and sayonara!