A Card Show 30 Years In The Making

Hope you have your coffee ready today, because I do.

If you read this blog title and no you didn't read it wrong, I was able to go to a card show. And yes, it was the first time in 30 years of doing so.

*sips cheerfully*

Locally, there are no LCS'. There are no card shows. And that's the way it has been for 30 years.

But, this past week, I kept getting a Facebook ad for a Card Show that was about 45 minutes from my house. I spent the week debating on whether I was going to go or not because I knew my sister-in-law was coming up from Mass and didn't want to lose out on family time.

However, when I mentioned said card show to her, she actually jumped in on going with my nephew since they both partially collect Pokemon and we went in the pouring rain.

The building wasn't too hard to find as it was right off the exit north of where I live, it was held at the usual Elks Club where I think most small shows are held everywhere.

I had no idea what to expect and how card shows even were ran in today's times. I also knew I had a very tight, small budget to work with so was hoping to find some dollar bins or dime bins and load up like I see other bloggers accomplish.

I did know that admission was $10 per adult. Far cry from the $3 it used to be in the 90's where your admission also counted as a raffle ticket, and you could win hourly prizes. This one was just paying the $10 and you are in.

Not sure if all card shows charge or not but I felt that was a little steep. 

I felt like a rookie right off the bat.

I walked past the check-in table and was greeted by the room and took a quick walk around to take pictures before going back to the beginning to start "my business".

There were roughly 25 tables set up with a variety of sports cards, Pokemon cards, memorabilia, products, coins, and even a gaming table.

Now it was time for me to go attack the room.

I didn't have anything specific I was chasing but was taking a look at everything I could at the tables that attracted me.

The first table had stuff I jumped on immediately. One-dollar 90's packs, but the guy threw in a ton of free ones since his son opened the tops of them.

 

He also had this Terrell Davis in a box I couldn't say no to. Rest of the box was boring, overpriced stuff.

The card I really hated no to at his table was one he whipped out of his safe. A Leaf trio autograph that had Phil Simms, Eli Manning and YA Tittle numbered to 2. But, I don't have that kind of money.

I hit up a few more tables and looked through their stuff but hitting a dry spell. I saw Eli Mannings I already had, a hockey table, a Wrestling table, a vintage table, a Pokemon/TCG table but no other 90's related inserts or anything that I really needed.

Then I came upon a table in my last row of tables to search where a guy had a stack of Donruss Rookie Sweater cards. I was able to wheel and deal and fill in some set needs.

Of course, he didn't have any values on these, so he had to whip out his phone for "comps". Last time I went to a card show guys were whipping out their Becketts.

He also had an Eli Manning relic card I wasn't sure if I had. But it was Super Bowl related, so I added it to the stack anyways.

It's still a nice-looking card.

The next table was where the real magic happened.

They had a box with 90's inserts sorted by player, and I went to town.

(pretty cool error card)

And fortunately, the guy cut me a pretty good deal on them all. Like less than $1 each. I haven't done my research to see how "rare" any of these are yet, but I will. I think I fared well with his table and that one alone was worth me taking the trip.

Finally, I hit up one last table which had a Malik Nabers I didn't have.

Come to find out, the seller was the guy running the show and he also is starting a card shop up in his Cigar Shop. He is moving away from tobacco and moving onto cards. That's kind of cool. An LCS! But, it's still 45 minutes away and I don't head north too often, a few times a year, so maybe when I do, I will swing in. He also mentioned having more of these card shows so maybe I will get to go to another. Just hopefully with more funds.

Overall, I spent two hours there searching through everything, talking to people and not spending too much. It was a little overwhelming at first getting into a groove of digging through others card collections, just felt odd picking them up and looking at them, but I had a great time and some fun conversations. 

Before I close up today's post, here are some other things of note.

1. Kids were buying, selling and trading.
2. There was no wax. No packs, boxes, mega boxes of any kind other than those 90's packs above. I was shocked by this. I expected the flippers.
3. Lots of overpriced cards and I avoided the three tables that had them. I am not paying $10 for a base Mosaic Malik Nabers card or a 90's insert of Brett Favre for $40 that goes on eBay for $3.
4. Lots of good mix of new and old cards and sports and gaming.
5. There were no nickel, dime and dollar boxes
6. No non-sport cards at all
7. It didn't appear a lot of sellers were actually selling
8. There weren't a lot of people, but a decent small crowd
9. Everything was done by comps
10. Lots of friendly sellers giving cards away to kids which was great to see.
11. There were no Ken Griffey Jr cards. One guy bought out the show (I should have gotten there earlier!)
12. When I interviewed most sellers, most got into the hobby in the last five years. Interesting to think especially since most were about my age.

Let me know about how your card shows go in comparison. I would love to hear in comments to see if there is anything similar.

Thanks for reading my recap with your cup of coffee (or beverage of your choice).

Have a great first day of May.

Don't forget you can start to nominate cards for the 2025 Coffee Card Hall Of Fame!! Cards don't have to be autographs, patch cards, super star cards. It can be whatever you think is Hall Worthy! Find details and current nominations HERE.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

The Rodney Brew: 2023 Spectra Psychedelic /5

It's a Sunday without football, unless you count that horrible Pro Bowl games, so it's going to be a long wait to the Super Bowl. 

At least I have my coffee. And my cards. And Cards Over Coffee.

Then after that, a longer wait until Free Agency which I find just as much fun. Especially since the Giants have some money to spend.

Speaking of the Giants, I have a new Rodney.

This is my latest add to my 2023 Spectra chase. This chase has been a slow-go with not too many popping up and many to chase.

This is one of the rare ones to find being limited to only 5.

I now have 9 of the 13 total in this run. Who in their right mind creates 13 autograph parallels??? Especially since most look the same.

Thanks goes out to former blogger and good friend Wes for helping me acquire this one.

Hope everyone has a great Sunday.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

*final sip of this post*

It's Life

Basketball has kept me busy for the most part of the week, so blogging was put on the backburner.

It's life.

Here are some basketball updates that I haven't gotten to yet on here. Last Saturday, the first half of the team lost 28-14 as one girl took over the game like MJ. She scored 20 of that team's 28 points. The other half, the one I am head coach on when the main coach isn't available ended in an 18 all tie. We blew a 10-4 halftime lead and looked sluggish in the second half.

This Saturday it was a weird one. We played each other, so we all knew each other's tendencies and obviously the few plays we have. I was in charge of coaching half of the team (the third coach was out with the flu like a couple players too) while the main coach did the other half. I lost 24-11. However, at half time, I drew up a new play we have never practiced since we got the ball to kick off the second half which worked immediately, and we scored on it. I was stoked; the girls were as well. Maybe I got this coaching thing down some.

So far this year, the main coach's half of the team is 2-1

My half of the team is 0-2-1.

Which makes us overall as a team 2-3-1. Which isn't bad for a team mainly built of first year players. We are doing our best as coaches and the players are doing theirs as well. We are all learning together.

It's Life.

Along with basketball, I found out some health news as well.

One, the ENT called me back finally and they want me to get an ultrasound done on my face to just make sure on the two cysts and that they aren't missing anything. Gotta admit, when the big C word could be involved, it's a little nerve wracking. Though the ENT didn't originally seem to concerned.

Also, during practice last Wednesday, my stomach was bothering me with bad cramps/pain, and I felt a lot of nausea, so my wife suggested that I go to the ER just in case it was my hernia acting up and maybe tangled. Four hours, many tests later, they called it just a stomach virus. However, suggested that I get the hernia fixed this year basically as well. On top of that, the catscan I had done, showed a 2mm kidney stone in my left kidney, a partially collapsed bladder and irritation at the bottom of my left ureter. Yay!

Still waiting on my urologist to call me back to see what she wants to do.

It's life.

When trying to find a new post to put up, I was searching for pictures and realized that I never posted all of my Christmas mail day from Dennis of Too many Verlanders fame.

Along with the amazing cards he sent, he also included something for me to rip since 2024 was a year I barely ripped anything.

It was nice he did that.

This is some form of blister pack that included 5 retail packs. I haven't ever seen one of these before.

Here were the packs within. A nice variety.

This is what I found in those packs,

Silver parallel.

Rookie Carroll!

I would had been stoked about this before he went all P-Diddy.

 

Purple parallel.

Some fun stuff. A couple I am adding to my PC.

Thanks again Dennis for this! Sorry it got missed in my original post. I am just busy, health stressed and very forgetful at age 41.

It's life.

Hope all of the readers tonight are having a good 2025 and thanks for reading. I truly appreciate the time you take to read this gibberish.

But cards and coffee are both good gibberish.

It's life.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Don't forget you can start to nominate cards for the 2025 Coffee Card Hall Of Fame!! Cards don't have to be autographs, patch cards, super star cards. It can be whatever you think is Hall Worthy! Find details and current nominations HERE.

3/6/2023

March 6th 2023.

What were you doing? Do you remember?

I don't. I am lucky if I remember what I did two days ago at this point in my life. Yes, I even forget about the good cups of coffee.

All I can recall though is that I was counting down to turning 40 in 13 days from that date.

Otherwise, blank.

But, apparently with a recent, yes RECENT mail day I was reminded I was waiting on a mail day as well.

That mail day was coming from @tacocarebear and she had mailed me a Jasson Dominguez card for free for my PC. The card had never arrived and the tracking had never been updated. I kept in contact messaging @tacocarebear back and forth about it for a few months and by late summer last year, I had completely given up and forgotten about the card.

And then out of nowhere last week, it arrived.

A year and a half later.

 

The tracking for the card showed no history other than it arriving in CT on July 23rd 2024 and if I wanted to do an expand search on it for tracking, USPS wanted to charge me. Though I was curious, I wasn't going to give the USPS any further funds for their mess ups.

I was just happy the card actually showed up.

 

Funny enough, the card is a 2021 Mosaic International Men Of Mastery. I guess he was a master of going into hiding....maybe Internationally. Who knows.

I know USPS has been bad recently but didn't expect this bad. I don't think I have ever seen this level bad before.

Thanks to @tacocarebear for the card.

I may not have remembered much about 3/6/3023, but now it may be a date I never forget.

Just Some Stuff

*coffee is ready and so am I, time for some cards over coffee!*

Sorry, but today's post won't be as cool and creative as yesterday's post. Though I am a little disappointed more of you didn't check it out and that none of you at the time of me putting together this post had commented on it. I expected that to be in the running for my post of the year!

Anyways, today is one of those "I have cards in my drafts that I have no creative ideas for" kind of posts, so I am just showing them off.

*takes a sip*

The following cards are recent adds to my collection for a different reasons.

This 2018 Marvel Metal Purple PMG is my newest addition to my Marvel Purple PMG chase and marks my first Black Panther one from the chase.

I finally was able to land a Malik Nabers autograph for my Giants collection. I like to try and add the top pick of my team's draft pick before the season begins. Nabers so far in training camp appears to be the real deal and the most diverse weapon they have had since Odell.

 

With my buying freeze of not being able to open up packs and boxes the last two years, it's really put a damper on my collection when it comes to my rookie card collecting (from all major sports) and my Bowman 1st non-pitcher chases. I was finally able to add these Spencer Jones, one a base chrome 1st and the other a mojo refractor. This is one of many players I lacked in my collection. Still so many more to go especially from 2024 that I have little to none of. 

If anyone has an extra Bowman (non-pitcher) rookies and 1sts from this year from any team, I would take 'em!

*takes a sip before finishing up today's post*

Well, there you have it. Just some stuff.

Hope everyone has a great Monday. I think I only have one other post scheduled this week because otherwise my drafts are empty again like my cup of coffee. I need a refill on both.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*