It has been quite a long time since I last attended a card show. Years, in fact. So long, that I can't even remember when the last one was. I've gone to a few anime and comic cons over the last few years with my middle daughter who is really into the Anime world, but as far as a straight-up sports card show, I can't even remember.
Well, this past weekend, there was a one-day show Sunday in Fargo, ND, and I wasn't scheduled to work, so the stars aligned just right to allow me to attend. Now, I will say, the advertising for this event wasn't great. In fact, the only reason I knew about this is that I just happened to drive by this particular Holiday Inn a couple days earlier to buy movie tickets. Even still, when I tried to look up more information on it, I had an almost impossible time getting any information on it, other than hours and location. In fact, I still have no idea what company or organization put it together, or even when the next one will be.
I knew this one would started at 10:00 Sunday morning, and I showed up when it opened, but it didn't take too long for it to get pretty packed, which is a great sign! A successful card show will hopefully mean there will be more in the future.
I figured the best thing to do would be to at least go into the show with a goal in mind, or at least some kind of focus. The card I would be looking for would be a 1956 Ernie Banks.
Since returning to blogging and refocusing on my card collection, I know it will take some time to get things where I would like them, but I figured the best thing would be to just start and let the organization happen as it does along the way. One thing I would like to do, is put together a top 10 Most Wanted List for some cards I hope to one day add to my collection that I feel are actually attainable.
A big part of that list will be to complete the playing-days Ernie Banks Topps run. I had already gotten a good chunk of them taken care of, with 1955, 1957-59, 1962-64, 1966, and 1968. Even at a low grade, his 1954 rookie is out of my current price range, so next on the list would be his third-year card of 1956. I had lost an eBay auction for a low-conditioned raw card a week earlier, so I was happy to find two dealers with graded copies of that very card.
I will say, at this point, I'm not too concerned about the condition. Of course, I don't want the corners so rounded it looks like a playing card, but I also know and accept the fact that with my budget, I will have to make quite a few concessions when it comes to condition, and I'm ok with that. I figure I can always upgrade it later if I find the right deal, so I decided to pick up a PSA 1 copy of the card from one of the dealers. As you can see from the scan, there is a crease down the middle, which obviously gave it the 1 grade, but while it looks pretty prominent on the scan, it doesn't seem as bad in person when looking at it in my display case.
While the crease doesn't bother me too much for the price I paid, one thing I would not compromise on is the border. These cards have a tendency of being horribly off-center, and in some cases, the border on one side of the card is entirely cut off. I didn't need perfect centering, but I did need at least some of the border visible.
The same dealer also has a number of signed baseballs at an incredibly affordable price. There were a lot of Hall of Famers and stars from the past, and of course, a bunch of former Minnesota Twins players. They were at such a good price, I had to ask the dealer about them, and he said they came from an estate sale of a guy with a massive collection, but most don't have a COA, as the collector didn't choose to go that route. Many of them did have a small clipping about the signing itself, and a few had a hologram sticker on them, but I'm not sure what they specifically mean.
While there were some very big names and cool items, many of them had some kind of imperfection that greatly diminished their value, like the Whitey Ford ball that had ink so faded you could barely see it, or the Don Larsen "Perfect Game" inscribed ball that was heavily stained. I did find two, though, that were big names and looked great: Billy Williams and Bob Gibson.
The balls were $20 a piece or 2 for $35. It was the same dealer who had the Banks at $45, and when he offered me the three of them for $75, I was happy to add all three to my collection at what I thought was a great price.
I did get one more item toward the end of my time at the card show, coincidentally from the same set as the Ernie Banks with 1956 Topps Harmon Killebrew. Growing up the son of a Twins fan, and now living in Minnesota, I've always had a fondness for the Twins legend, but I still had not, up until now, added an individual card of his from his playing days. This is a second-year card of his that I picked up from a different dealer for $40, and while I might be able find one on eBay for a few dollars cheaper, I love being able to hold it and examine it in-person and in the moment, it was a deal I was happy to make.
In all, I spent about two-and-a-half hours browsing around until I decided I was done. It also made me consider getting a table at a future card show to try and move some of the extraneous items in my collection, but that will have to come at a later date, and after I do a lot more organization.
Still, I would say this was a pretty good haul for $115, and I look forward to the next one!
