I'm wrapping up showing off my most recent card show today, which started in the last post. I did the dime boxes last time, and today will be the big-time hits. Hits for me are dollar box cards. I know, it's pretty sad how cheap I am, but finding the bargain is the thrill of the show for me.
And I found some real bargains. I also broke the bank. This card came out of a 5 for $10 box that was full of great GUs. $2 per card is high-rolling. This was one of my favorites to add to the Pudge collection. It's the first card I own with these two amazing catchers both featured. The slices of bat have a lot of personality. I dig the design of this card.
Another awesome $2 Pudge bat cards with a bunch of other great catchers from the '90s. I find these cards a little boring. For some reason, the more relics and players with threadbare connections you put on a card the less exciting they become. Still, a great card for the collection at this price.
And, of course I was excited to snag up this card from my favorite modern set: 2007 Bowman Heritage, which I'm only a few cards from finishing. (Ahem, want list plug.)
But then there were no more Pudges, and I still had two cards to finish off my $10. So...
One good Pudge deserves another. It's Pudge the first! Fisk is a player collection I've been working on a bit more informally. I'm always happy to add his cards.
Here was my last card of the deal, which I tossed in last-minute. I don't necessarily collect Juan Marichal, but I thought this was a cool card, and I love the old school jersey swatch. It's a card I picked up thinking maybe another blogger would want it and trade me something cool for it, but it's also the kind of card I wouldn't mind incorporating into the Vealtones. I'd certainly listen to offers for it.
That does it for this card show. I have another one still to post. And next weekend is my favorite yearly card show right in my very own town. However, I might have something even cooler to do on that day. Mystery...
It's time to catch up on some trades, three to be exact, from some great bloggers. First up, Spiegel over at Nomo's Sushi Platter sent me some cardboard.
A gaggle of Tigers, new and old, and a giant rookie cup Ripken. The O-Pee-Chee Whitaker was a new one for me, too, and a great action shot of Lighter-Than-Air-Lou.
Layer that with some Bowman gold, and some fine Topps Heritage. All Avila's red is making Miggy's floating head smile.
Here's the meat of our trade. I already had the Lineage mini of Austin's jersey, and this bat chunk makes a nice companion. I'm a big fan of Austin, and am still a bit irked that he got the all-star snub. Not to worry, though. Austin has many all-star games to play in his future.
The other trade comes from Tom at Angels in Order.
He sent over a ton of Ripkens for the player collection. Tons of gems and these are just a few. The phone card is especially fun.
And what goes better with a bunch of Ripkens than a bunch of Pudges? This really is only a small sampling of all the cards he sent. A very generous batch that added some weight to two of my favorite player collections.
Finally, I was strolling around the blogosphere and found a newer blog, Once a Cub, which has already become prolific. Matt was posting some pick-ups from this year's Topps rips. And I took the bait.
A manu-patch-stitches-sewing-project-type-thing of the original Pudge. This is a player collection of mine still in its infancy, and this is a great addition to it.
Topps has really gone nutty in the last few years for their manu-cards, and I dig the creativity. Well, really, I could give a crap unless it's of a player I collect. This Retired Number card is sweet, because it's Rip.
Thanks for the great trades, guys. Readers, be sure to check out these blogs and see if you have some cards they want. All excellent traders.
I've been trying to win myself a Pudge rookie on eBay for a long time. Not the usual Pudge I collect, though. I've got plenty of his rookies. I'm talking the original Pudge, who was one of the best catchers of all time, and I do love catchers.
But since I'm cheap as hell, I like to stalk auctions until I find the best possible deal. It took me a long time, but finally I ended up with the card I was after.
It's a little beat up. Looks like someone put a staple next to Garman at one point. But this stapling kid was neat about it, stayed right on the edge, was kind to the corners. Really, it's in far better shape than I would've settled for. And this is an epic add to the rookie collection.
Now, I ended up getting this card for a deal only because it was a part of a lot. The lot was all Fisk cards.
Some nice inserts were included, and a framed Masterpieces card. I dig a framed Fisk, especially in gear.
But that's not all this Pudge lot included.
My first GU Fisk card, and it's a sweet one. I tend to prefer bats over jerseys. The design of this card is nice, too. Fisk is looking very old-school in the high socks and the classic uniform. The background has a nice subtlety with the shadow of Fisk's bat grip.
So, how much did I pay for this lot, for the deal I stalked eBay for months to find? $4.99 shipped. On eBay, a Fisk rookie in fair condition runs about 4 or 5 bucks. For some reason, I find that lots like this end up getting less bids and have lower starting prices. Pretty sweet deal, right? There's something about getting a deal that makes the cards all the more enjoyable. Have you ever gotten lot deals on eBay where you get a better deal than you would on the single card alone?
It's been a while since I posted last. The rest of my life seems to pause when the end of the semester hits and I'm writing ridiculously long seminar papers on Endgame that will make Samuel Beckett roll in his grave. As Hamm says, "Outside of here is death," and I'm beginning to feel like Clov as I lock myself inside my office and tap away at my keyboard into infinity.
While I don't seem to have time for anything, I actually still eek out hours of aimless wanderings around eBay. And sharing my recent goodies from there seems simple enough to write about right now.
The Cracker Jack sets were a nice, quirky vintage set, and I was happy to snag this Cabrera bat card. The bat chunk has a loose sliver showing. Someone had a rough cut at the factory when they were slicing up Cabby's bat. I think that makes it an official one of one saw-used relic.
The card came in a lot with this one:
That's one hell of a lot to snag up two of Cabrera's more interesting bat cards for around $3 shipped.
This is my first manu-leather nameplate thing-a-ma-bob. And I have to say I dig these cards, as ridiculous as they may be. The original Pudge threatens to become a new player collection for me. I've been looking for his cards more and more lately. I actually just picked up a Masterpieces GU Fisk card for my boss for Bosses Day, and he loved it. I knew he was a White Sox and Fisk fan, but I had no idea whether he was into cards or not. Smarty-pants university faculty members aren't supposed to be into nerdy card-collecting, right? Well, turns out he's an old school vintage collector, and he was psyched about these new relic cards.
The dealer who sold this manu Fisk card to me sent me a football card on accident. I shipped it back to him, and he refunded my money, plus gave me a few bucks of Paypal credit. And then, miraculously, this card arrived a few days after the refund, but the dealer didn't want me to pay again, gave me this as a freebie in exchange for the mess up. I have to say that sometimes eBay screw-ups can be pretty great.
OK, back to Beckett, back to my office, ten feet by ten feet by ten feet, and wait for him to whistle me.
