One table only

 

I got up a little early Saturday and zipped over to the local card show. This is the one that I mentioned several months ago, how it was nice to finally have a show back in town, regardless of how limited it was.

 

Apparently they've been having monthly shows ever since my last visit but I forgot about them. Recently though, I did pick up on an increased social media presence and followed their Facebook page. It seems like they're here to stay.

 

Approaching the site Saturday, there were more signs pointing you toward the show (I had to find it almost blindly the last time). But approaching the check-in, there was no one at the table to greet me/take my admission money.

I looked around. Nobody. I poked my head into the show room. Plenty of guys standing around, but none of them seemed like they cared about the table. So I just walked in with my automatic five-dollar discount.  

I'm not good at counting tables at shows, but I'd guess there were around 20. I did the usual once-over and, like the last time, more than half contained nothing for me. Lots of graded, mostly football and basketball. Plenty of Pokemon/fantasy stuff. One or two tables selling unopened product.

That left 4 or 5 tables that catered to my interests. One table contained a few discount boxes and also a couple glass cases of high-dollar cards. I took an interest in a 1969 Topps Hank Aaron that was priced right but upon closer inspection I noticed staining. The discount boxes were just a tad overpriced, too, so I kept moving.

I settled on one dealer three tables in on the right. He had a glass case and then some small discount bins. I started looking through the 5-for-$1.00 bin and knew I'd be there for a bit. I ended up pulling 28 cards. Then I pulled four cards out of the dollar bin. I paid my 10 bucks, subtracted the 5 I didn't pay at the front desk and the cards came to just over 12 cents per.

Let's see a few that I kept (there were others set aside for trades).

 

 

This was the star of the show for me. While gathering the final few short-print cards I need for the 2023 Heritage set, I was resigned to spending almost 9 bucks for this card. I could find only one for sale online and, heck, I needed it, so I'll throw it in the cart.

 

But this is why I go to card shows, I found this one for 12 cents!! EMPTY CART!

 

 

How about a couple of key Kershaw parallels. I also added another one, but that was a dupe. I'm very pleased about the 1983 Chrome card, that's been eluding me for five years.

 

 

This was a dollar-box card. I can take or leave the Stadium Club Beam Team inserts but this one is kind of nice.

 

 

I'm not really collecting the inserts from 2023 Heritage but most of the Baseball Flashbacks contain players from when I was a kid so I can't resist those. There were also a bunch of the News Flashbacks in the bin, but those cards are so dull this year I couldn't muster the few coins.

 

 

Another dollar box card. I need to be careful about these as I grabbed so many 2021 Platinum Anniversary cards at a recent show that I forget what I have.

 

 

There was a fair amount of semi-worn vintage in the bin, including several 1968 cards. That's a set I'll never collect but I can't resist a random manager card.

 

A couple of old Red Sox on modern-day cards. I add new cards of old stars if they appeal to me, though with Ted Williams, I'm probably going to pick up his cards every time.

 

All of these cards went toward upgrades in my collection. Those 1970 cards were so sharp! I've mentioned before that I've seen so many molested 1970 Topps since I started collecting it. Just about all of these are improvements on what I had in the binder.

The '74 Kellogg's Cookie Rojas is an especially nice find as that was one of the Cracked-To-Bits Kellogg's card I owned. Also I'm not in a habit of adding 1982 Topps cards but I knew instinctively that the Guidry would be an upgrade.

After I paid up, I took another once-around and then I chatted with one of the dealers who I used to work with and I haven't seen in years. It was nice to see him again, but I didn't buy anything there. Instead, I turned around and walked out the door (still no one at the check-in).

I returned home and looked at the clock. It was exactly one hour after I had left. One hour, one table. That's about right for that show.

But I found something I wanted, so it was a success. Let's hope I remember the show exists in another month.