saturday morning quarterboxing

a couple of fridays ago, i stopped in at a mall card show.  there were very few dealers set up when i was there (it was still early), but with an impending blizzard, i figured even fewer would have shown.  i left without buying anything, as i didn't feel like digging through boxes of modern base cards advertised as $1/each.  eight days later, i was at a different show (this one was in a church gymnasium) where i recognized some of the same sellers from the mall.  my goal had been to dig through some bargain boxes, but even the show's host - one of the regular dealers with some vintage bargain bins - seemed to have left lower priced stuff back at his shop.

i did find one quarter box along the outside row of dealers, and took 3 dodger cards from 2017 topps gallery and corey seager's 2017 topps chrome update/mega box card with me for a buck.  i began perusing the tables of wares in the middle of the gym when i walked past a table where the dealer pointed to a small, unorganized box and said "a dollar each", as if that were a good thing when one of the cards visible was a 1989 donruss kirk gibson diamond king. i was ready to be disappointed.

then i found the guy with the multiple quarter boxes.  current and retired stars, sorted by name in a couple, plus three boxes of nothing but hall of famers, and another of parallels and inserts.  the hall of famer boxes were legitimate (meaning that they weren't just filled with bruce sutter and barry larkin cards) with oddballs and early '80s topps and greats of the game type sets, while the insert box had just about everything aside from game used or autographs.

i dealt with other buyers crowding in and managed to pull 100 cards from these boxes.  i wound up with a number of dodger cards that i needed, plus some stuff to send in future trades, and maybe a card or two to flip.  here are some of the highlights:

2011 topps heritage jackie robinson story short print

this was one of the first cards i came across, and it drew me in.  a jackie sp for a quarter is a good deal, even if it had been the one of him as a baby.

1980-87 sspc baseball immortals jackie robinson

another jackie that i needed.  there were quite a few oddballs in these boxes, and i found a few of the dodgers that i needed from this set.

1996 upper deck collector's choice mike piazza you crash the game

it's cool seeing piazza cards in hall of famer boxes these days.  this particular card was a loser as far as the promotion went - piazza was 8 for 14 over the three game set in houston, but did not homer.

1994 upper deck collector's choice mike piazza checklist gold signature parallel

i found a couple of gold signature parallels in the boxes, and while this in no way satisfies the craving for a certified piazza auto that i am searching for, i couldn't pass it up.

1994 o-pee-chee ozzie smith

a new-to-me double play card featuring the wizard! oh my o-pee-chee!

1994 ted williams ty cobb

there is nothing really special about this card, but i added it to my stack in order to further investigate what appears to be a black armband on cobb's left sleeve.  the image is colorized, so i wasn't sure if it truly was an armband or a heavy shadow.  upon further inspection, i think it is an armband, and so would be the one worn in 1920 in honor of ray chapman.  according to the hall of fame's website, that would be the only armband cobb wore.  so, the card is interesting, but it won't replace the other cobb card that i have in my memorials collection.

1994 topps gold dan pasqua

some of you may recall that the pasqua card did not appear in the base flagship set in '94.  it was included in the gold parallel set in place of a checklist.

2013 panini cooperstown wade boggs color

another short print.

2003 topps retired signature don sutton

topps retired signature singles for a quarter? yes, please!

2007 fleer mike cameron mini die-cut gold

2007 fleer was the last of the brand.  upper deck discontinued the fleer name after that, and i suppose i didn't really miss it.  a mini parallel set with a die-cut rounded corner is not that exciting, but these gold parallels are pretty rare.  i don't know the print run on them, but it has got to be low.  i pulled one of a scrubby marlin a few years ago in a repack, and was able to flip it for the price of a blaster.  maybe there is a mike cameron super collector out there that really wants this card!

there were lots of other cards that i could show and write about, but i'll do just one more.

1960 leaf duke snider

i assumed that this was a reprint when i set it aside, and i am still not sure.  i couldn't find any information about an official reprint set, and it looks just like the roger craig that i have in my collection already, so... could a 1960 leaf duke snider card have been secured for a quarter?