Flea Market Finds #187: Superfluous Stuff

Saturday's trip to the Branham Flea Market was picture perfect.  Great weather.  Tons of vendors.  And a guy with dime boxes.

Let's jump into my finds...

Purchase #2:  Old Newspapers  $5

I'm gonna start with my second find of the day, because my first purchase was arguably the best.  A vendor I hadn't seen before had a stack of 80's local newspapers.  This one was sitting on top and stirred my curiosity enough to take a peek: 

San Jose Mercury News (10/10/89)

The 1989 World Series will always be special to me.  It featured both Bay Area baseball teams which divided friends and family for a brief period.  

San Jose Mercury News (10/15/89)

San Jose Mercury News (10/16/89)

It's often remembered for the Loma Prieta Earthquake that was captured on live tv about thirty minutes before Game 3 was about to start.

San Jose Mercury News (10/29/89)

The Argus (10/29/89)

And it's the last time the Oakland A's were World Series Champions.

Why are these items superfluous?  Because I'll never really do anything with these newspapers.  If I owned the copy of the Oakland Tribune celebrating the A's win, then maybe I'd frame and display it on my man cave wall (when I buy my dream house).  But these will remain in a box in the garage.

Purchase #3:  Topps Card Locker  $5

Remember when Topps would offer up these sports card lockers on their wax wrappers?

I'm pretty sure I begged my mom for one, but I don't think I ever got one.

I had one of the knockoff brands you could find in those Sears and Service Merchandise catalogs instead.  It took me forty years, but now I can say that I'm the proud owner of an official Topps one.

Why is this item superfluous?  This is one of those items that can no longer function as it was originally intended.  The card trays inside are cracked and even if they weren't, there are much better ways to store your card collection.  But don't worry, it's not going into cold storage with the newspapers.  I proudly have it on display in my office.

Purchase #4:  Comic Books  $2

Image Deathblow and Wolverine #1 (1996)

Image Deathblow and Wolverine #2 (1996)

These two comics were actually part of an eight comic book lot.  These were the only two that I was semi-familiar with.  I knew the vendor and we were catching up for a few minutes.  The least I could do was buy some quarter comic books sitting on his table.

Why are these items superfluous?  I don't really collect comic books (unless they're too cheap to pass up).  I bag and boarded the two pictured comic books and added it to my comic book box.  The rest are headed into the classroom for my students to enjoy.

Purchase #5:  Signed Baseball  $10

Kurt Suzuki is one of my all-time favorite Oakland Athletics.

When I saw this sitting on this guy's table, I immediately recognized the signature and asked for a price.  The vendor wanted $15, which is probably fair.  But it was a little more than I wanted to spend, so I walked away.

When I came back down the row... I asked if he'd take $10 and he accepted.

Why is this item superfluous?  It's superfluous, because I already own a TriStar authenticated signed baseball of Zuk.  Do I really need two signed baseballs of his?  Of course not.  But for the price, I figure I'll bring this into the classroom with the comics and display it on my collectibles shelf.

Purchase #1:  Dime Box Cards  $35

I got to the flea market a little after 7am and found these dime boxes within ten minutes.  Unfortunately, another guy had already purchased all of the baseball cards.  Honestly this is probably a blessing in disguise.  As much as I would have enjoyed going through boxes of 10¢ baseball cards, I honestly don't have a lot of free time right now.

That being said... I found a little over 350 singles.  Most of them were NASCAR, UFC, WWE, and non-sports inserts and parallels.  Here's a look at a few of my favorites:

There was a ton of Japanese wrestlers:

My favorite?  This shiny yellow parallel of Asuka:

2021 Topps Chrome Attax Yellow Refractor #9 (#'d 63/99)

Why are these items superfluous?  Outside of a handful of cards for my collection and some care package filler for fellow bloggers, most of this stuff was purchased because they were too cheap to pass up.

But that's the thing about collecting stuff like cards, comics, signed baseballs, and newspapers.  It's all superfluous.  I can't think of a single thing in my collection that is a necessity.  It's all extra items in my life that aren't needed or necessary to survive.  But they're a huge part of my life and have the power to turn a frown... upside down.  So I'm going to keep hunting for superfluous stuff at my local flea markets.

The next one is less than two weeks away, so stay tuned.  Until then...

Happy Thursday and sayonara!

Flea Market Finds #181: Dime Box Cards

This year has been one of the best in regards to flea market finds, but after two poor outings in a row... I'm starting to think the hot streak is over.

Two weeks ago, I walked around the De Anza Flea Market and didn't purchase a single item.  A friend of mine made a big purchase involving hundreds of packs and as a consolation prize tossed me one.  I'll share its contents in a future post, because I'm too lazy to run out to my car.

Two weeks before that, I walked around the Branham Flea Market and had it not been for a guy with a dime box, I would have walked away with nothing again.

Although all of these items were purchased at the same time, it's easier to split them up into two categories...

Purchase #1a:  The Oversized Stuff  $3

They're a pain in the butt to store, but I will happily purchase any box topper I come across if the price is right.  Ten cents works for me.

Here are a few of my favorites:

2020 Topps Holiday Ornament #WHO-MB

Some of you might remember my metal Christmas tree.  Well I've slowly been accumulating some of the Topps Ornament box toppers from the past five years.  Just need a few more to decorate an updated version of it. 

2021 Heritage Box Topper #OB-VG

In the midst of preparing this post, Vladito was having a monster series against the New York Yankees.  Unfortunately he hasn't found the same success against Seattle's pitchers.

2011 Topps Lineage 1964 Topps Giants Box Topper #TG9

The 1964 Topps Giants is one of my favorite vintage oddball sets.  I'm a huge fan of the simple design and was very lucky to add the full sixty card set to my collection a few years ago.  I'm not building this box topper set, but I'll happily add affordable singles when I stumble across them. 

2013 Panini Golden Age Exhibit Box Topper #25

This is probably the least interesting card for the majority of you, but it's my favorite from the bunch.  I can't tell you much about Mr. Johnson that you can't look up on Wikipedia... but this card makes me think of my father who was a huge boxing fan in his youth.

Okay, let's check out the rest of the dime box purchases...

Purchase #1b:  The Standard Stuff  $7

Here's a heads up... there wasn't a lot of baseball in this guy's dime box and the stuff he did have I wasn't interested in.  That being said, there were a bunch of other sports represented and some non-sports too.

I was a pretty diehard San Jose Sharks fan for their first thirty seasons, but I haven't really followed them, the sport, or hockey card industry in several years.  I'll still buy some Sharks, hockey autographs, and 90's inserts from time to time.  But if they started skating in the past ten years, I have no idea who they are.  That being said, I know that the Upper Deck Young Guns are popular among hockey card collectors.  At 10¢ each, I figured I'd grab every copy this guy had.

The same 10¢ rule applies to any shiny Pokemon cards I come across.  The hidden treasure in the box is political trading card of Mark Takano.  Never seen these before, but it's an interesting addition to my Japanese Pc.

There were a bunch of these Disney cards in the guy's dime box.  I picked up a bunch for one of my co-workers who is a huge Disney fan.  However I held onto a few including the Beagle Boys and Goofy cards above.

I was also happy to find a bunch of new Jon Jones cards for my collection:

I don't consider myself a huge MMA fan, but I did enjoy following Jones in the UFC Octagon.

Here are a few more singles I found in the dime box.  Honestly there wasn't anything too mind blowing in this guy's box... but I had fun flipping through it.  Hopefully he'll be out there again this Saturday.  If not... I'm hoping to find at least something card related to purchase out there.

Until then...

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

Flea Market Finds #169: Cheap Wax, Dime Cards, and A Piece of the Past

Not sure about you, but Mother Nature has been messing with us here in the Bay Area the past week or so.  One week it's freezing.  The next week it's hot.  Yesterday it rained.  Whatever she decides... I just hope it stays cool for another three or four months.  

Temperatures rose into the low 80's last week.  Luckily it cooled off in time for the weekend and the De Anza Flea Market.  When I arrived there on Saturday at around 7:15am... there were already people parked and walking around.  People are catching on to the "early bird catches the worm" philosophy.  The only downside is that half of the vendors aren't completely set up, so you either miss out on some stuff or you have to go back and see what you missed.

All of my purchases took place within the first hour... which is normal.  That being said, one of my best deals was found on the last row of the day.  But let's check out the other stuff first...

Purchase #1:  Japanese Postcards Book  $2

There's a longtime vendor on the first row that sells used books for great prices.  Back when I taught fifth and sixth grade, I filled out my classroom library with their books.  In recent years, I've purchased a Wayne Gretzky signed autobiography and Michael Jordan's first Sport Illustrated cover from them.

This time around... I found this cool book of postcards.  There are twenty-our perforated postcards inside.  Here's my favorite:

Here's a look at the back:

No way I could pass up twenty-four postcards for two bucks.

Purchase #2:  Handful of Matchbooks  $1

A few booths down was a guy who brought a bin filled with matchbooks.  The San Francisco Giants one caught my eye, so I asked him how much he wanted.  He told me I could pick twenty-five for $5.  After I told him, I really only wanted the two Giants matchbooks, he told me I could have them for a buck and I could grab a handful as a bonus (no cherry picking).

I lucked out, because there are a few that are from places I've been to in the past:  Coco's, the Crow's Nest, Alpha Beta, and Harrah's (South Shore Lake Tahoe).

Purchase #3:  Pair of 1990 SI for Kids Magazines  $20

Whenever I hit up De Anza, I always make time to hang out with some of my friends who set up on a regular basis.  I've been waiting to see Tony, because he opens up a lot of blasters and I was hoping he'd sell me an Update Skenes rookie for my set build.  Unfortunately he didn't have one.

But he did have two copies of Sports Illustrated for Kids (October 1990) that he thought I might be interested in.

Here's the 9-card sheet in that month's issue:

Most of you know how much I enjoy collecting SI for Kids cards, but this sheet was actually only the appetizer.  The main thing I wanted from this issue was this four card panel of McDonald's Michael Jordans:

You might notice that the numbering is a little weird.  That's because the other four cards in the set were on another panel.  I had hoped to find it in the other issue, but they were duplicates.

Honestly... I wasn't too disappointed.  I kept one of the magazines intact and I cut the cards out of the other one.

Purchase #4:  1989 Pro Set Football Series 2 Wax Box $22

A few vendors down from my friends was a guy with a bunch of toys, magazines, and movies laid out on a table.  Underneath a stack of comics, I noticed this box.  The guy was asking $25 which I was willing to pay.  However I didn't have a five dollar bill, so I gave him a twenty and a ten.  He didn't have change and I only had 2 one dollar bills, so he took $22 instead.

This product is loaded with some hall of fame rookie cards like Troy Aikman, Barry Sanders, Thurman Thomas, and Deion Sanders.  But I'm equally excited at trying to build the announcer set.

Purchase #5:  Auto Relic of a Hall of Famer  $10

2012 Topps Triple Threads #TTAR-206 (#'d 10/18)

I struck out on the next three rows, but as I turned the corner on the final row, I found this shiny card sitting on a table in a penny sleeve next to the box it was pulled from.  I'm no longer actively chasing sticker-graphs, but when they pop up at a flea market for the right price, I'll pick them up.  Not gonna lie... in this era where most vendors think every card they own is worth stupid money... I was pretty shocked to hear him say he only wanted ten bucks.

I pulled out that ten dollar bill I had originally given to the 1989 Pro Set guy immediately before he could change his mind.

Purchase #6:  Dime Cards  $2

A lady who was selling some crafts had given her teenage son part of a table and he put out a few boxes of cards with a sign "10 for a dollar".  I picked out twenty... highlighted by the nine cards above and this card of my favorite football player in the 90's:

2022 Panini Legacy Decade of Dominance #DD-7

That's wraps up another trip to the flea market.  The next one is two Saturdays from now and I'm planning on being out there... as long as Mother Nature cooperates.

Until then...

Happy Thursday and sayonara!