You never know who you'll meet at a card show. I found some great cards over the course of the weekend. I filled in some holes in my Pirates collection. But the most enjoyable part of the weekend for me was taking the time to get to know some of the folks at the show.
Early on the day on Friday I came across the dealer from Boston who I bought a ton of stuff off of last year. This year he drove down with his buddy, who deals in pretty much nothing but 1952 Topps cards, and has one of the most impressive collections of graded and signed 1952 cards I can imagine.
I spent a good chunk of the weekend talking with them, working out the occasional deal, and then talking some more. They Jimmy and Tom are two great guys, and it was a real pleasure getting to spend time just bullshitting.
I even ended up getting some professional contacts out of it, since Tom's brother is in education and is doing the kind of work I'm hoping to eventually move towards.
After spending three days talking and even watching their tables a few times, I figured I couldn't leave empty handed. Most of Tom's collection cards were well above my usual price point. But for just $14, I couldn't pass up on this signed Ed Fitzgerald. I already have an autographed Fitzgerald Bowman card in my collection, but you can't beat the iconic Topps set. Better yet, the colors on this card are by far the best on any of the 5 '52's I own, and looks amazing. There are a couple spots of paper loss on the front, but I think the overall condition of the card and the boldness of the colors more than make up for that.
The cardboard itself is great. But the quality of the company and conversation was a big part of what made this past weekend so enjoyable for me. It sure as heck is a nice change from the usual array of card dealers gruffly grunting or avoiding eye contact at local shows.
After spending three days talking and even watching their tables a few times, I figured I couldn't leave empty handed. Most of Tom's collection cards were well above my usual price point. But for just $14, I couldn't pass up on this signed Ed Fitzgerald. I already have an autographed Fitzgerald Bowman card in my collection, but you can't beat the iconic Topps set. Better yet, the colors on this card are by far the best on any of the 5 '52's I own, and looks amazing. There are a couple spots of paper loss on the front, but I think the overall condition of the card and the boldness of the colors more than make up for that.
The cardboard itself is great. But the quality of the company and conversation was a big part of what made this past weekend so enjoyable for me. It sure as heck is a nice change from the usual array of card dealers gruffly grunting or avoiding eye contact at local shows.
I think that's the same guy I bought a couple low grade PSA '52s from at the last big show I went to. Nice card!
ReplyDeleteSmall world! I know they do a decent number of shows in the NY/New England area. I don't know that I've met two guys who I enjoy talking with more (through the hobby, at least) than those two.
DeleteI don't get to chat about cards in my day-to-day live very often, so it's always a treat to talk cardboard with fellow collectors at a show.
ReplyDeleteI'm lucky to have a couple of friends that collect so it gives me to opportunity to talk about cards pretty often.
ReplyDelete