Three stars of a different sort

What's great about the vintage dealer that I've found at the card show here in my new neck of the woods is that he doesn't just have 50's and 60's cards to choose from, there's a whole cavalcade of great cards at his tables to go through.

The three cards I'm going to show off on this post are a great example of this. 

I've seen quite a few of these cards on the blogs lately, and when I saw this at the table for a buck, I figured why not.   Maybe someone will need/want it as part of a trade.

Like a lot of other cards I've seen from the other bloggers, this isn't perfectly cut.  But maybe out there, someone needs card #3 from the '76 Hostess set.  Let me know if it's you....

The other two cards are hockey legends, and just happen to be two of the 3 cards that I needed to finish the 1987-88 OPC set.   I had no intention what so ever of looking for these, they just fell into my lap.

A very nice condition 2nd year Patrick Roy card!  Remember when goalies and goalie equipment looked like this?  Yea, I thought not.

Even better, I got the Mario Lemieux from the same set.   This might be the only year that I can ever remember Lemieux wearing the 'A' on his jersey.  Plus, this jersey he's wearing here is similar to the 3rd jerseys that the Penguins now wear.  One of the best designs the Pens have ever had in my opinion.

These 2 cards knock down the 87-88 OPC want list to just one card.  It is #53.

Anyone have a spare Gretzky to trade?

thanks for reading, Robert

Three Stars

Usually a phrase used in the hockey world to describe the top 3 players of a hockey game, the 3 stars I'm going to feature in this post are from 3 eBay auctions that I won last weekend.  I spent a few bucks under one week's budget (including shipping), but for me to add these cards at such a reasonable rate was worth it.

 
This McCovey might be the most beat up of the 3, but for me it is still in nice enough shape to add to the '64 set build.  Small crease on the left, corners are soft, but no matter.   It's mine.

This Santo was a tad cheaper than the McCovey, but there are no creases.  Love the old Cub logo on the left sleeve.  The card is off center, but the back is clean and for $5 this was well worth it.

Another off center card, but in better condition, this Bob Gibson was the most expensive of the 3.  At $13, I couldn't pass it up.  These 3 cards put me over the 90% completion mark for the '64 set.  Just 57 to go.

I have another half dozen on their way to me as well; I got those much cheaper than these 3, but the names don't have the star quality that these have. 

thanks for reading, Robert

Onwards and Upwards

The Black Friday weekend was a productive one for me, collection wise.   I took some time and money to make some purchases on both COMC and eBay.  Not only did I knock off some more base cards for my 3 player PC's, I grabbed a few cards off of a couple of vintage want lists.

Not only did I buy cards, but I actually took some time to think about the "final five".  My final five are the last 5 vintage sets that I will actively pursue in the near future.  Before I talk briefly about those sets, let me confirm that those 5 sets will not feature sets that I'm close to finishing, such as....

1964 Topps.  This is my baby, the original vintage set that I've spent the most time working on.  Going into the holiday weekend I was 60 cards away from completion, a number that was reduced with a couple of eBay purchases that feature some stars and some high numbered cards.  I'm already anticipating their arrival.

Another set that I'm close to completing is this classic...

1973 Topps.  Coming into the weekend, I was 16 cards away from completion (not including upgrades).  That number was cut in half during the holiday, and of the 8 cards that remain, only the Schmidt/Cey RC would be considered pricey.  The hunt will be on this weekend at the card show to find a decent copy at a decent price.

Finally, the 3rd set that I'm not including in the final five is the one that the blogosphere mandated I complete...1959 Topps

I also took some time during the weekend to get the '59 cards I own into a binder.  That little exercise made me realize that this is a wonderful looking set, and picking up the remaining 60% will be very enjoyable. 

Two of the final five sets have been on my want list for quite a while, so they aren't a mystery.  Two others are sets I really like from the 60's.  The fifth set is where I'm stuck; I have a couple of starter sets, but neither really jump out at me.  I'm hoping that a trip to the monthly card show on Friday will inspire me to find the final piece of the puzzle.

I'm sure that some card at the vintage table will pop out at me and say "this is the set".  Once that happens, it'll be onwards and upwards.  I'm hoping it does.....

thanks for reading, Robert