On Saturday I got up knowing that the monthly card show was taking place on the other side of town.
I looked out the window. It had snowed steadily the day before, very lightly but with the wind the inch or two stuck to everything and it had grown colder, too. It was maybe 10 degrees out and the cars were coated. It was my day off. Ugh, I don't know if I want to go across town.
This is a terrible attitude for someone who was once willing to drive through less-than-ideal weather for more than an hour to get to one of two shows a year. So I showered, got dressed and had a bite to eat while the car warmed up. The plows had been through a few times, most of the roads should be fairly clear.
I stopped at the ATM for some cash and wondered when all dealers would take nothing but cards or a cash app and then drove the rest of the way to the show. The parking lot was pretty full.
I walked down the hallway and to the check-in table and paid my five bucks (still too much). I knew what I wanted. Would he have it?
I found the aisle where the dealer usually set up. I saw his stuff. Good. He was there. I stared at the vintage he had under glass and the off-condition stuff on display that I usually sifted through. He stepped out from behind his display. He recognized me. "Hey," he said.
"Hey, how ya doing," I replied. "Do you still have (card omitted for dramatic effect)?"
"The graded one? Yeah," as he pointed to it under the glass.
I looked through the glass at it. "I can't believe it's a 2. I was so disappointed when I got it back," he said as if he was talking to someone completely different who cared about that stuff. I didn't care.
But I could tell the card looked terrific. The centering was spot on. Again, I almost never turn away a card based on centering unless part of the photo is missing, but I can appreciate a well-centered vintage card.
"I thought it'd at least be a 4," he continued. He took the encased card out of the glass case -- a card inside a case inside another case -- and flipped it over. "This is what they probably took off for."
I saw glue or tape residue on the four corners. I remembered the 1969 Topps cards I bought from him the previous month. Some of those cards had some tape remnants as if they were briefly affixed to something but not for long enough to lose any paper. It was enough for me to pause but not enough to not buy them. They're now in my collection.
This didn't bother me either. "Yeah, I'll take it," I said and pulled the bills out of my pocket.
I had saved up. It cost just south of 100 bucks. I put the graded card in my coat pocket. It barely fit and I was afraid it would fall out when I wasn't paying attention. I stuffed my left hand in my pocket to hold it into place.
There was no sense in scouting out what else was at the show, I didn't have much money left. But as I was circling around the venue and heading back to the exit, I saw the guy I worked with who is a dealer now. I stopped at his table and chatted with him. I took out the Reggie and showed him.
"I thought you collected Dodgers!" he said. I told him I'm trying to finish the 1969 set. Then I looked at the Dodgers he had. I pulled one out that I liked.
And that was it. I talked a little more and then left and headed for my car. Total time at the show had to be maybe 10 minutes?
That's the most efficient use of my time I can think of -- maybe if I could've gotten the Reggie Jackson rookie card for free, that would have been more efficient. But still, getting out of bed and walking out into 15-degree temperatures to land Reggie's rookie is pretty exhilarating. That will wake you up!
I haven't gotten around to removing the card from its prison. I may save that for Christmas Eve. Seems like a festive thing to do. Merry Christmas, Reggie Rookie! You're free!
So that's one of the big dogs down in the 1969 Topps set. I need 35 cards to finish the '69 set and four of those are Mantle, Ryan, Rose and Aaron. But I'm not concerned. I have a lot of practice with this over the last several years. It'll get done.
My year-end wrap-up will detail it, but I've blown through several big cards in 2024. I plan on that continuing through 2025.
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