Summer Vacation (& Baseball Cards)

This week was my annual Ashland, Oregon trip.  Four days up there with my friend and her family.  Four days of delicious food, gorgeous sunsets, good company, and excessive spending.

If you've never heard of Ashland, it's known for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival that runs from March to October each year.  We've never watched any performances, but we did participate in a Shakespeare inspired "escape room" this year.

We also enjoy walking around Lithia Park in downtown area.  That's where I took this wallet card shot: 

Downtown Ashland also has a bunch of cool stores.  This year I spent more money than usual on Christmas and birthday presents for friends and family.  While my friend and her kids were shopping for clothes and stuff, I spent time in the record and toy shops.

But we would always meet up at the book stores and a comic book shop called More Fun.  This year I promised one of my nieces that I'd buy her a comic book.  She picked out a Godzilla vs. Avengers comic that looked really interesting.  I bought a copy for myself:

Godzilla vs. Avengers #1

I'm a huge Godzilla fan, so I also bought this issue:

Godzilla vs. Spider-Man #1 (2nd Printing)

I couldn't find any card shops in Ashland, but I did manage to purchase some cards in Medford... which is about 15 minutes away.

There's an antique shop I love to visit every summer called Main Antique Mall.  I found two vendors with sports cards, so I supported both.

The first one had this set of 7-11 discs for $8:

1983 7-11 Angels/Dodgers Coins

There are twelve discs in the set with a total of two hall of famers:

1983 was the first year 7-11 created these lenticular sports discs.  Their baseball set was a regional issue released in the Los Angeles area.  Here's a closer look at the front and back of Rod Carew's disc:

1983 7-11 Coins #1

The other vendor I purchased from had a box of 2025 Bowman singles that were priced at two for a dollar.  I grabbed these two:

2025 Bowman Chrome Mojo Refractor #12

2025 Bowman Chrome Mojo Refractor #BCP-114

There were a ton of 1st Bowmans, but I'm not big on prospecting... so I grabbed a Sasaki for my Japan PC and a Kurtz for my A's PC.

The final thing I want to show off is this awesome Thrifty's ice cream scoop:

I have been looking for one of these for quite some time.  A few weeks ago, my friend came across one of these at a store near her house.  She knew I worked there back in high school, so she bought it for me.

I'll go ahead and wrap up this post with one more baseball card:

1990 Donruss #229

Why am I showing off a Junk Wax Era card of a back-up catcher?  Well... he was born in Ashland, Oregon back in 1961:

Now that I'm back home... I'm hoping to continue to organize my collection and hammer out some blog posts featuring some recent card show pickups, flea market finds, and a few care package summaries.

Until then...

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

Flea Market Finds #174b: Best Haul of the Year?

Tuesday's post was the appetizer.  Today's is the main course.

It covers the purchase of a pretty cool set, a super cool and hard to find set, and some items that take me back to my Little League days.

Considering that the next Branham Flea Market is only two days away... and these purchases were made almost five weeks ago... this post is long overdue.  Let's get into it...

Purchase #1: The Pretty Cool Set  $15 

Remember the guy who sold me the Sears football posters and the 1976 Laughlin Diamond Jubilee set?  He was back and I was very happy to see him.

The first set to catch my eye on his table was this 1978 Olde Cards Halsey Hall Recalls baseball set:

1978 Olde Cards Halsey Hall Recalls #20 Set

I had seen singles from this set before, but had no idea what they were.

1978 Olde Cards Halsey Hall Recalls #20

But with guys like Roy Campanella, Willie Mays and Ted Williams on the checklist... I was interested in it.

1978 Olde Cards Halsey Hall Recalls #21

A quick glance at the back dated it back to the 70's which intrigued me more.  When you factor in the $15 price tag, there was no way I could pass up this set.

But this purchase could have been part of the "appetizer" post, because it's the next two items that I'm mostly excited about.

Purchase #2:  The Super Cool Set  $10

1974 Laughlin Old Time Black Stars Set

The first time I met this vendor, I saw this set on his table.  However the price he quoted me (maybe $50) was a little high for a set I wasn't familiar with.

1974 Laughlin Old Time Black Stars #8

But I couldn't get the image of the Josh Gibson out of my head.  I was thinking how cool it would be to own this card.  Unfortunately the vendor didn't have the set with him the following month.

1974 Laughlin Old Time Black Stars #15

This time around he did and it was much more affordable.  He told me since I was a frequent buyer, I could have it for $10.  At the time I though it was a pretty cool deal.  It wasn't until I got home and started researching this set that I discovered its true value.  Let's just say this might just be my best flea market find of all-time in terms of monetary value.

But this isn't even the coolest purchase of the day...

Purchase #3:  7-11 Slurpee Cups  $8

If you grew up in the 80's and enjoyed 7-11 Slurpees... you know exactly what these cups are.

The best part wasn't even the Slurpee.  When you were finished drinking it, you would turn the cup over and see a false bottom.

 

The false bottom could be removed to reveal one 7-11 Slurpee Disc.  I ended up purchasing over seventy cups (about 30 football and 40 baseball) that contained these discs:

Now unlike the Laughlin set, these don't hold much monetary value.  However they hold a ton of nostalgic value to me.

Back in the 80's, I would ride my bike to 7-ll after baseball practice to grab a Slurpee.  They didn't always have these special cups, but every now and then they would.

Back then Rickey Henderson was my favorite player... and I would have been stoked to pull him from the bottom of a cup:

1984 7-11 Super Star Sports Coins (West Region) #XXI

Forty-one years later, I got the opportunity to experienced that... and it was awesome.

One of my favorite flea market hauls in a long time.  Hope you enjoyed it as much as I have.

Happy Thursday 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!