I just attended a card show last weekend, but I won't post about it here, as I am backlogged with not one, but two card shows I still haven't posted about prior to the most recent one. I can't think of a better way to jump back into a few weeks off of blogging than to do some card show posts. Who doesn't love a card show post?
So, this one was in South Haven a few months back. South Haven is a little tourist beach town on the coast of Lake Michigan, and they somehow manage three or four card shows a year. They're small shows, but the dealers are all super nice and I always find great stuff.
Some sweet dime box finds:
Sweet Lou, that is.
More from the dime boxes. I snagged a bunch of Archives from the '90s, and here are a few of my favorites. Yogi and Duke earn honorary awesome-status and get to hang with the Tigers.
I also found these reprints in the dime boxes. I have a lot of trouble turning down interesting reprints for a dime.
Some sweet Pudge cards. I'm getting close to a binder page full of 1991 Topps Traded Pudge doubles. I just can't not pick these up for a dime.
And a few Ripkens I needed.
These were just random cards I liked. I love these framed Gypsy Queen cards. Intrigue caught me with the Griffey; I didn't recognize the make of it. Mother's Cookies? And this is my first 1993 Finest card. When I was a kid, I dreamed about being able to afford a pack of '93 Finest.
Last up were some of the more impressive rookies I found in the dime boxes. Believe it or not, this is not the first time I've found a Halladay rookie in a dime box. I'd been trying to find a Oswalt rookie for a good deal for a long time, but I didn't expect to get it for a dime. It's pretty unlikely I'd pick up a Shawn Green rookie, even if it was a dime, unless it's a 1992 Topps gold parallel. In my head I still imagine these as super rare, exotic cards. I remember sending away 347 wrappers for three gold cards when I was a kid.
And finally, one more rookie:
This may be the best thing I ever found in the dime boxes. A for-realsie Topps Derek Jeter rookie. The bottom isn't cut off. It was just my scanner. But you can see why this was in a dime box. There's some paper loss at the bottom. Still, what a deal, right? I can't help liking Jeter, since he's from Kalamazoo, and he's just a fun player to watch.
I actually got into an argument with a colleague of mine at the bar during the playoffs. She heard me saying I respected Jeter, and she had a little blow up. I hadn't heard this, but apparently Jeter gives the girls he sleeps with gift baskets on their way out in the morning that include signed baseballs and, I don't know, Yankee-brand bubble baths. She pointed out how insulting that is. But, hell, that's better than most of the world gets (both men and women) after a one night stand. My wife and I agree--you could do worse than getting a signed Jeter baseball after sleeping with a celebrity.
This wraps up my dime box card show post. I have one more post to do from this show, and then I'll get to the others...eventually.
I saved the best for last in my posting of birthday loot.
This was part of a birthday present to myself. I picked up a few packs at the local card shop from my hometown, Cardboard Addiction in Alma, Michigan. I've been surprised through the years to see a card shop has lasted pretty much my whole collecting lifetime, from age ten to thirty. The singles there are overpriced, and I wouldn't buy any new packs there, but they have a great box of discounted packs starting at a dollar and going up to four bucks.
One of the packs I picked up was 2003 Fleer Mystique, and this was inside:
Not too bad for a pack that cost $1.50. I've always liked Jeter, even if I'm on the bandwagon with all of the other Yankees haters out there in the blogosphere. And I like Soriano, though he probably makes the card less desirable. The Jeter jersey swatch is fantastic with the pinstripe showing, instead of pushed into the corner. What I don't quite understand is the name of this set: Awe Pairs. It just sounds stupid. I mean, I'd get awe-inspiring pairs, maybe. But this name sounds to me like, Ah, shucks, pairs.
Here's the back:
Pretty low numbering: 34/100, which is the lowest numbering I've ever scored on a GU card. Toss in the fact that the card features Mr. Jeter, and this is a pretty sweet hit.
I'm not sure what to do with it. I might keep it for my collection. I might sell it on the big ol' bay and turn it into a few sweet cards for my PC. I might be convinced to trade it, but it would take a pretty killer offer.
What to do, what to do? Anyway I go with this, I can't beat finding this in a pack. Well, unless we're talking Babe's black bat.
