Sunday, December 2, 2012, Schaumburg, IL -- Back some years ago, some sort of church rented the adjoining room from the card show in the hotel where this show has been housed for more than a decade. The church group was LOUD! They had a live band and we couldn't hear ourselves think at the card show. Well, the church is back... so to speak. It's a different church. They're Jamaican and they have a band and they are LOUD! I thought Jamaicans were Rastafarians and played reggae -- not these guys. There was someone preaching in there doing what sounded more like an ass-kickin'. It was weird. It was loud. It made the day interesting.
Crazy noise aside, I had a real nice show. A regular picked up some 1970 Topps baseball. A new customer purchased a 1967 Topps Don Kessinger. A regular picked up some 1974-75 Topps basketball. Another regular bought some 1972 Topps baseball. Willie picked up a nice pile of football cards from assorted years in the 1960s.
Then Larry made my day by picking up the remainder of my 1938 Our National Game tabs that included a Joe Dimaggio, Dizzy Dean and Bob Feller. Larry also picked up a 1952 Topps Gil Hodges. Larry is one of my oldest customers. We always do a cash and trade deal. Today, Larry traded me some 1953 Bowman football and PSA certified autographs of Johnny Mize and Hank Greenberg. I'm familiar with the autographs of these Hall of Famers. I wrote to both of them when I was a kid. I still have the Mize auto from childhood. I sold my childhood Greenberg auto during law school. I was happy to get a new Greenberg today. That's the great thing about collecting vintage sports memorabilia. You can always sell it, then down the road, if you so desire, you can always buy it back. My childhood Greenberg auto was on a Hall of Fame postcard. The one I picked up today was a cut signature.
I spent the bulk of my time today with a customer affectionately known as "Uncle Morty." Like Larry, Morty is a long-time customer. He always wants to trade. Sometimes it's not always cards. He once offered me a Cross pen for some cards. Granted, it was a really nice pen, but I prefer cash. I've done some trades with Mort over the years but I've learned to generally avoid trading with the man because Mort, I say this affectionately, is a pain in the ass. Mort doesn't collect mint cards but he acts like he does. He inspects cards more thoroughly than any customer I've ever had. He points out flaws but then he'll take a lower grade card as long as I give him a good discount.
I know the routine. We've been doing it for years. So after I was done dealing with Larry, I had nothing going on, so I agreed to work out a trade with Mort. It must have gone on for an hour or two. Mort went through every card in every display case. He had all sorts of comments. I like when he gives me anecdotes or some recollection about a player from the early 1950s. I'm not sure how old Mort is. He's anywhere between 75 and 85. He's sharp and shares some good memories about some of the old-time players.
At some point during my dealing with Mort, each and every other dealer in the room came by with some sort of comment or crack. Well, Mort eventually settled on several 1950 Bowman football cards. In return, I got a 1961-62 Fleer Johny "Red" Kerr and a 1955 Bowman Bobby Layne. I'm a sucker for '61-62 Fleer basketball. They're tough to find. All in all, I'm happy and appreciate the deal.
So, I'm still a couple of weeks behind on my blogs. I will catch up one day, I promise.
Quick note: my buddy Chris has a 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan PSA 6 that he is looking to sell. Let me know if you're interested and I'll put you in touch with Chris.
My next show is Sunday, December 23, at the Indian Lakes Resort in Bloomingdale. This past week, I finished reloading 1972 Topps baseball and 1969 Topps football. My project for the week is 1973 Topps baseball. I'm breaking up a complete set. Though, I sold the Schmidt rookie already. I still have all the rest of the stars and the tough high numbers. Hopefully, I'll get it done by Sunday. I've had some real nice shows in Bloomingdale lately and am looking forward to another stellar show. Hope to see you Sunday!!!!
Pictured above are the Greenberg and Mize autos I picked up today.
Crazy noise aside, I had a real nice show. A regular picked up some 1970 Topps baseball. A new customer purchased a 1967 Topps Don Kessinger. A regular picked up some 1974-75 Topps basketball. Another regular bought some 1972 Topps baseball. Willie picked up a nice pile of football cards from assorted years in the 1960s.
Then Larry made my day by picking up the remainder of my 1938 Our National Game tabs that included a Joe Dimaggio, Dizzy Dean and Bob Feller. Larry also picked up a 1952 Topps Gil Hodges. Larry is one of my oldest customers. We always do a cash and trade deal. Today, Larry traded me some 1953 Bowman football and PSA certified autographs of Johnny Mize and Hank Greenberg. I'm familiar with the autographs of these Hall of Famers. I wrote to both of them when I was a kid. I still have the Mize auto from childhood. I sold my childhood Greenberg auto during law school. I was happy to get a new Greenberg today. That's the great thing about collecting vintage sports memorabilia. You can always sell it, then down the road, if you so desire, you can always buy it back. My childhood Greenberg auto was on a Hall of Fame postcard. The one I picked up today was a cut signature.
I spent the bulk of my time today with a customer affectionately known as "Uncle Morty." Like Larry, Morty is a long-time customer. He always wants to trade. Sometimes it's not always cards. He once offered me a Cross pen for some cards. Granted, it was a really nice pen, but I prefer cash. I've done some trades with Mort over the years but I've learned to generally avoid trading with the man because Mort, I say this affectionately, is a pain in the ass. Mort doesn't collect mint cards but he acts like he does. He inspects cards more thoroughly than any customer I've ever had. He points out flaws but then he'll take a lower grade card as long as I give him a good discount.
I know the routine. We've been doing it for years. So after I was done dealing with Larry, I had nothing going on, so I agreed to work out a trade with Mort. It must have gone on for an hour or two. Mort went through every card in every display case. He had all sorts of comments. I like when he gives me anecdotes or some recollection about a player from the early 1950s. I'm not sure how old Mort is. He's anywhere between 75 and 85. He's sharp and shares some good memories about some of the old-time players.
At some point during my dealing with Mort, each and every other dealer in the room came by with some sort of comment or crack. Well, Mort eventually settled on several 1950 Bowman football cards. In return, I got a 1961-62 Fleer Johny "Red" Kerr and a 1955 Bowman Bobby Layne. I'm a sucker for '61-62 Fleer basketball. They're tough to find. All in all, I'm happy and appreciate the deal.
So, I'm still a couple of weeks behind on my blogs. I will catch up one day, I promise.
Quick note: my buddy Chris has a 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan PSA 6 that he is looking to sell. Let me know if you're interested and I'll put you in touch with Chris.
My next show is Sunday, December 23, at the Indian Lakes Resort in Bloomingdale. This past week, I finished reloading 1972 Topps baseball and 1969 Topps football. My project for the week is 1973 Topps baseball. I'm breaking up a complete set. Though, I sold the Schmidt rookie already. I still have all the rest of the stars and the tough high numbers. Hopefully, I'll get it done by Sunday. I've had some real nice shows in Bloomingdale lately and am looking forward to another stellar show. Hope to see you Sunday!!!!
Pictured above are the Greenberg and Mize autos I picked up today.
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