Card Show: Wonders of the Cheap Boxes

So, I kind of founded this blog on three things: Coot Veal and his awesome Vealness, Bowman Vintage, and dime box treasure. I haven't been very good about posting dime box stuff recently, yet I have all of these dirt cheap gems to share. I'm way behind on posting this batch, which I picked up at the last card show I went to, almost two months ago.

I'll try to keep this short and just show the cards.

What? Diamond Stars in a dime box? Yoinks! I didn't fool you for a second. Yes, these are reprints, but they're good reprints, and I can't pass up art deco for a dime a piece. The weird thing about these is that they're paper thin. Not like early '90s thin, but we're talking piece of cheap white paper thin. Still, worth a dime a piece.

Or, even better than reprints for a dime a piece, these 2002 206 were four for a quarter. The dealer had jammed a bunch into a top loader bursting at the seams with minis. This was such a great set. Too bad I wasn't collecting when this was out. For some reason, the newer 206 sets, while still great, don't quite measure up to this one.

These were in the quarter box, too. This is my first Masterpieces framed card. I do love framed cards, and even though I'm not a Papelbon fan, I appreciate an intense squatting pose as much as the next fella. The Jim Longborg was numbered to 50, which seems crazy low for a quarter box.

In the bottom right corner, there's the back of the Longborg card. Otherwise, some nice rookies for a quarter. I think some of these were even for a dime. But not the Machado auto. I mean, it's a Machado auto, on card! The Ludwick and Span cards are both those chunky gold versions. All of the chunky Bowmans I've seen have had busted up backs, where it looks like the black ink around the edges is cracking. Anyone else encounter this? Oh, and there was something weird about this Koji O-Pee-Chee card. Check out the back:

No, I'm not just trying to win the prize for most boring scan in history. This is the back of the Koji card. Nothing. I'm wondering if this is a promo version or something.

A few more nice rookies. The Youk can even be peeled and stuck to one's trapper keeper or forehead, if one so chose to do so. I have a double, so I just might. The Corey Hart rookie was a nickel. Nice.

You don't expect to find vintage Kaline cards in a dime box, unless they look like this. This one went through the spokes a few dozen times. Good thing I picked up this card from my LCS a few months ago:

It even came with a nifty screw-down case. If the kid who mangled the other card put this one through the spokes, he'd get a face full of asphalt, which is the proper punishment for defacing a Kaline card. Well, unless said defacement means I can buy Kalines for a dime. Then, okay, kid, mangle away.

Here's the last one I'll show from my scrounging through the cheap boxes:

1973 Topps Lou Gehrig. Hey, this card's not even mangled. Besides slightly touched corners and a bit of off-centering, it's in pretty great shape. This is a great-looking card, and maybe one of my best finds in the dime boxes ever.

Not a bad haul, eh? Most of these are up for trade, besides some of the rookies. Let me know if you need any.