My third day at the National was Saturday, and it ended up being my last this year. I did my best to make the most of the budget I set for myself- being able to stay with my brother, borrowing a friend's car to drive to Chicago, and then taking the Blue Line train to the show helped me cut a lot of the costs down on travel, lodging and food.
This is a complete set, which was being sold for less than half of what the set was going for at most of the vendors' tables. This means I should have a few doubles to trade!
I've been passively looking for this one for some time now - it's just odd to see Charlie Hustle in an Expos uni... This is his '84 Topps traded card. I got the Fleer Update version as well, at the request of my brother -so that one stayed in Chicago with him.
Elmer! Another Bowman! This one was chillin' in a discount bin and happened to be one I still needed!
This card is just gorgeous. Way to go Stadium Club!
Pecking away at the '56 Topps Set . . .
At this point I met up with Nick from
Dime Boxes - we traded some cards (see my post tomorrow) and then we started a joint dig in a
BIG stack of dime boxes. . .
Nick found both of these and slid them over to my stack - yep, needed those!
These were probably the most unique cards I purchased over the whole weekend. These are Japanese cards from the 40s, 50s, and 60s - they are a bit bigger than tobacco cards and they are AWESOME. The table where I found them was dedicated to all things Japanese baseball, with cards of course, but also jerseys, magazines, pennants, and other bits of memorabilia. Really beautiful items, was happy to find these!
One more Alou and that crazy KC Killer card for the road.
I made it back to the vintage vendors table from the Twin Cities. He has a display case of 20/30/40 buck cards. in the top left corner there was a stack of very old cards, and I plucked this beauty from the pile. This is a 1909 Silk Tobacco "card" of Senators Catcher Gabby Street. He was Walter Johnson's favorite battery mate, and once
caught a baseball dropped from the top of the Washington Monument! Just $30 for this card, which is the new title holder as the oldest card in my collection.
This was a great find to round out the show on Saturday. I didn't all my goals, but most importantly: I had a fantastic time, met some great people, found some really fantastic cardboard, and I don't have to declare bankruptcy!
Great stuff Brian. I have a few silk cards in my collection as well. They are so unique. Glad you were able to meet up with Nick.
ReplyDeleteIt was great to see a master at work diving through the dime boxes - I think working in a team with a buddy is a great way to find some gems.
DeleteThose Japanese cards are fantastic!
ReplyDeleteI was really careful to tell myself to stop at $20, or I might have bought a lot more. I'd never seen anything like them in person before.
DeleteI think that is what would get me in the most trouble at the National. Sure it would be neat to see tons of high end Pirates in one place, but the oddball stuff would be hard to pass up. I can't imagine trying to explain to my wife that I bought a $1000 worth of Japanese baseball cards. Probably easier just to tell her I was mugged and lost $1000.
DeleteWait, ALL FIVE of those only set you back $20?!?!?! Holy crap, I think I need to get to a National!
DeleteYep - they were listed at $5 each and I asked if I could pay $20 for 5 cards. The vendor hemmed and hawed a bit but gave in. I wanted to back up a dump truck of money on the table, but I had to be frugal to spread the love around the room.
DeleteMatthew - the only thing that saved me from spending too much was I forced myself to only use cash, and that once I ran out of cash for that day, I couldn't buy anything else until the following day.
DeleteI broke that rule to buy the 1975 Topps Mini Pack, but that was the only exception I made (I didn't want to risk someone else buying it before I could pay for it in cash the following day)
That Pete Rose Expos card is killing me inside.
ReplyDeleteIn a good way or a bad way?
DeleteIt was great digging through those dime boxes with you, Brian! Glad you found some gems in there. That Gabby Street is a fantastic pickup as well.
ReplyDeleteyeah man - if I ever find myself in Chicago at the right time, I'd love to hit up one of those flea markets with you and Jeff.
DeleteGreat, great finds Brian!
ReplyDeleteI've got something for you - I just have to put together a PWE - should be going out early next week.
DeleteAll I can say is WOW!!!.
ReplyDeleteLooks like another great day
ReplyDeleteGreat additions! Those Japanese cards are fantastic, and I probably would've splurged on a big stack of them.
ReplyDeleteI'm working on that '68 Game set as well, so if you have any dupes, please check my list.
Hopefully I can make it to the National sometime in the next couple of years.
Cool, I will take a look this weekend and see if there's a match.. I have about 5 or 6 doubles left, hopefully they are ones you need!
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