Cleve's Auction Night- $11 HOFers

I did something Tuesday I hadn't done in a while: spend a leisurely 30 minutes shooting the bull with Cleve at Cleve's Collectibles, my LCS.  By the sheer volume of mentions of Cleve's I've had over the course of this blog, that might sound a little surprising.  But typically, I'm darting in during a lunch hour, checking the weekly auction fodder, saying hello to Cleve and some of the regulars, and then getting on my way. 

But the Lovely Wife is in wine country right now, my kids were both in school today, and I had taken the day off from work.   I understand 30 minutes really isn't that long, but it was a mountain of time compared to what I've had lately for this hobby.

I had put in a few write in bids last week, but had 0 expectations that I had won anything.  I didn't even ask about my results when I came in and started looking over this week's stuff.

So when Cleve said, "By the way, you won the '61 Banks and the '62 Robinson," I was stunned and surprisingly overjoyed.

These are great adds to my Sampler Album:

I have to make yet another disclaimer- these are not nearly as mis-cut as my scanner says they are.  Both cards are in outstanding shape.  There are no creases and the corners and surfaces are quite good.  It felt great to win a couple of superstar vintage cards.  I know they aren't super expensive in book value, but I love em anyway.

Grades:

1961 Ernie Banks:  $6  A+  I'll take this deal every day

1962 Brooks Robinson $5  A+  I'll take this deal every day

Listia-ing Wins, And Some Are Not Crap!

Wow, I've only written 9 posts this month.  This will be my lightest month by far since I've started this thing.  I don't know if I have just hit a max on my bandwidth this month, or if my interest is starting to fade in keeping up this blog.  I don't think it's the latter.  I think I'm just maxed out, but bear with me while I list out what I think are the contributing factors to my slow-down for my own benefit:

• The Rangers are playing horrible baseball this month in general.  It seems likely that my boys will be on the outside looking in for the post season this year.   That kind of dampens my enthusiasm for anything baseball right now.  However the Rangers did give me at least one more thrill last night.
• We had the inside of our house painted last week and I had to move all my cards into storage temporarily.  Out of sight, out of mind, no posts.  The cards are back out now, ready to be played with.
• We are two people short at the office and at the same time we are wrapping up the fiscal year.   Lots of projects, ridiculous timelines and pressure.   DING DING DING, we have a winner!  I guess work truly has had my full attention, which explains the lack of desire to post, or do anything with cards right now.  I haven't even been to Cleve's in 3 weeks.  Now that I'm coming out of the work black hole, I'm starting to feel my interest in cards picking back up.

Something else that's been nagging at me is that I feel like my blog has become stale.  I need something new and different to do, but I don't know what that is yet.

So allow me to be stale for at least one more day and simply show my recent Listia wins, some of which are really great cards:

 

 

I need to figure out how to get my scanner to stop cropping the hell out of my cards. That way you could better view this great lot of Adrian Beltre cards I won.  The top 3 are all rookie cards that I didn't have.

This Manny Machado was the most "expensive" card I got, at around 2,000 credits I think, but I'm still happy to have it.



 These "Greats" inserts from 2013 Topps are fantastic.  I think I managed to get this Ernie Banks for only a couple hundred credits.

 

 

I also won a lot of Texas Ranger cards, but this Ian Kinsler base card was what I was after.  I realized after looking through my Kinsler album, that somehow I didn't have this base card from 2012.

Ah, that felt good.  I think I'll go to Cleve's now.

Cleve's Auction Night: Shabby, Yet Not Too Shabby

I had every intention of blogging last week while I was away at my company sales meeting.  However, that sales meeting was in Las Vegas and, well, I don't really know what happened but time (and my money) got away from me, and I haven't posted in a week.  As for my trip to Las Vegas (we stayed at the Palazzo BTW, and holy crap was it nice), I fully expected to come back with a fat wad of cash.  I put together what I considered a fool proof method for the roulette table.  I taught it to a 4 of my co-workers and they decided to try it too.  The good news is that my method works- for 4 out of 5 people.  The bad news is that I was that 5th person. 

The night before we came back home, I was actually up pretty big overall.  I was imagining the satisfaction of handing over a roll of twenties to the lovely wife upon my return, and then taking the rest to Cleve's for a spending spree.  My roulette system was on fire.  And then..... I hit a losing streak that should be considered statistically impossible.  I crashed so hard and my profit disappeared so quickly, I didn't know what hit me. 

Now before anyone gets the idea that I lost my kid's college funds, let me put this all in perspective- I lost about $60.   If you count the amount I was up at my highest peak, it was a lot more than that, but that wasn't a true loss I guess.    And I suppose if you total the amount of jack and cokes I was given while I was playing, I came out ahead.  Way ahead, in fact. 

I came home to a couple of wins though- of the Cleve's auctions variety:

I picked up these two 1959s for my sampler album.  They actually look a lot worse in the scan than in the album.  They're not in the greatest shape, but really not all that bad.    They will do until I can get back on the horse in Las Vegas again and make enough dough to get mint versions.

Here is a Dodger relic of a Seattle Mariner card of Adrian Beltre who plays for the Rangers.   Whatever, it's a sharp little card.



Grades:

1959 Frank Robinson $5  A:  Not a mint card, but no major, major problems with it.  Great add to the sampler album.

1959 Ernie Banks $4   A:  Ditto to the Robinson comments

Adrian Beltre Relic  $2    A:  My Beltre collection is getting good people!

Cleve's Auction Night: Did I Really Buy Those?

Not only did I get bullied around at Cleve's Tuesday night, I walked out with something I had no business walking out with.  More on that later.  I did get two cards I'm happy about, and the way my night went I guess I should be grateful.  I didn't get too much of what I really wanted, so I guess August-erity is still on track.  There were a ton (around 35) of people at the auction Tuesday night, which is a pretty packed house, and many were irritatingly in buy mode.   In fact, I don't everything was bought Tuesday night which isn't usually the case.  Are cards making a comeback?  My perception, based not only on Cleve's increasingly popular auctions, is that card interest is on the upswing.  Is anyone else sensing that?

Anyway, here are the two cards I bought:

Crap, I guess I need to clean the scanner again.  Sorry for the jacked up images.  This 1959 Eddie Mathews was in good shape and I fended off the other bidders to get it for $6.

I'm very happy with this 1961 Ernie Banks MVP card at $5, as it is in pristine condition.  Banks is one of those HOF players I'd like to collect more, and this is a good start.

So, sure the card purchases were fine.  I'm also proud of myself for yet again refraining from a 3,000 count goodie box of crap.  However I did make a bit a poor move tonight.  Cleve whipped out a stack of last minute vintage comics that had pretty high book value in good condition.  Thing is, these were not in good condition.  However, everyone was getting into it and when a lot of 2 old Avengers comics came up, I got sucked into the fun, joined the mob, and made a bid.  Here's what I got:

The top is from 1966 and the bottom is from 1965.  Other than the tear at the top of the 1966 comic, they aren't really that bad, but what was I thinking?  I don't need these.

Grades:
1959 Ed Mathews $6:  A   A great card for my sampler album
1961 MVP Ernie Banks $5: A+  great value for a cool player to collect
1960s Avengers Comics $8:  C  I guess they're cool, but come on Napkin!
 

Cleve’s Auction Night- Theyrrrr'e Great

My winnings were great, that is, and they happened to be all Kellogg's vintage 3D cards.

Actually, I came home with far less that I anticipated this week.  When I went to Cleve's on Saturday to scope out the auction fodder, I was interested in quite a bit of stuff.  There were complete sets of 81 and 82 Topps in albums that I was targeting, as well as a goodie album that had about 4 pages of very interesting Perma cards from 1982 and 1983.  I don't know much about these cards, but I thought I might be able to get the album for around $5 to $7.  Unfortunately, it wound up going for $11 and I chickened out.  The $11 was a write in bid and I could have had it for $12.  It had all the great 80s stars too:  Brett, Yount, Rose, Schmidt, etc.  I'm kind of kicking myself now.  

The complete 81 and 82 Topps sets in binders went for about $25 each, and I'm kind of kicking myself for not getting one of them too, especially the 82 set with the Ripken rookie.

But, no use crying over it.  As the great Nolan Richardson used to say when the Hogs would lose out on a top recruit, "You can't lose what you don't have."  Man I miss Nolan.  But I digress.

But I did come away with a few consolation prizes and only spent $12 on the night, which was a pleasant surprise to the lovely wife.   Here's what I picked up:

I love this 1970 Kellogg's set.   It's loaded with Hall of Famers, and, as I've mentioned, I'm a sucker for 3D and other gimmicks on cards.  And, anytime I can get an Ernie Banks vintage card on the cheap, I'm going to do it.  I got this one for $4.  I like that it's graded, even though the actual grade doesn't mean much to me.  There's something about a slabbed card that I dig, even though I know it's a vulgar practice to many of you.
I also picked up 2 other non-graded 1970 Kellogg's cards:

These were the only other two 1970 Kellogg's cards available at the auction, and they both happened to be Twins.  I think these are my first Killebrew and Carew vintage cards, making these purchases that much better.  I got both for $2 each.

Finally, I scored this lot of 3 from the 1972 Kellogg's All Time Greats set:

This set also features 3D styling, but the cards are slightly smaller.  $4 got me a Gerhig, Wagner and Hornsby.  Nothing wrong with that trio.

Grades:
Ernie Banks 1970 Kellogg's $4:  A  This set is just cool, and so is Ernie Banks.
Rod Carew 1970 Kellogg's $2:  A-  I'll take a vintage star like Carew for $2 every time.
Harmon Killebrew 1970 Kellogg's $2:  A-  My first Killebrew card, and again, this set is just cool.

3 Card Lot 1972 Kellogg's ATG $4:  A+  It's Gerhig, Wagner, and Hornsby for crying out loud. 

Cleve's Auction Night- "Are you serious Napkin?"

Yes, the lovely wife was in for yet another shock tonight on my return from the weekly sports card auction at Cleve's Sports Cards.  I came home with quite a haul, for a small time collector.   Instead of goody boxes, this time I brought home goody binders.  Let's see how I did:

Let's start with one of the main reasons I went tonight.  I had my eye on this box of screw down cases, and hoped to get it under $10.  I did.  $7 got me this box of 34 holders, and I was very happy to see that 6 of them were the magnet types.  Full disclosure-  I spent $38 total tonight.  This particular purchase paid for the evening for me in my estimation.
Purchase grade: A+  I'll take $.18 per screw down/magnet holder any day of the week.  And they are in great shape.   I'm just ticked that I didn't jump on the box of 50 brand new 9 pocket pages that went for $3.

On to the cards:

I didn't scout this card out before hand, and didn't need it at all, but when no one else was biting for $2, I grabbed it.
Purchase Grade:  B  It is a Topps Certified auto, but I just didn't need it.  Although, if I can get something good in trade for it, I will give myself a better grade.

1956 Sandy Amoros and a 1969 Micky Mantle Checklist Card.  These were separate purchases, but in the interest in keeping the post a reasonable length, I combined these cards.  I always try to pick up some vintage of players I don't have at these auctions, thus the Amoros.  I'll take any Brooklyn Dodger I can find, and this beauty was only $3.  The Mantle was $3 as well, and it's now the only vintage Mantle I have.  Purchase Grade:  A- For the Amoros.   I'll take Brooklyn Dodgers for $3 in great condition every time.
C For the Mantle.  I didn't get a good look at this card.  It has been checkmarked.  I also would like an earlier Mantle than 1969.  I was too impulsive on this one.

1958 Roberto Clemente- $5.  This is actually the second 1958 Clemente I've got from one of Cleve's auctions.  Again, I did not scout this one out ahead of time and didn't see the big creases in it from my perch in the back of the store.  Still, I think I would have bought it for $5 anyway had I known.  It's Roberto Clemete for crying out loud.
Purchase Grade B-  It's creased, but it's Clemente and it was $5.  Hint:  I can definately see this as a potential prize should I decide to do another Big Fun Game in the near future...

1960 Ernie Banks- $7.  This was my card of the night.  I do not have a vintage Banks, and this one was in fantastic shape!  There is a little ink on the bottom of the card and some dings along the edges, but I'm very happy with it. Purchase Grade- A+  I would have had to pay twice this amount for a card in this condition online.  It was a HOF player that I wanted but didn't have yet.  Best buy of the night IMO. 

Tomorrow, I'll cover the goody binders that my wife rolled her eyes at.   She's lucky I didn't really go crazy.  I held off on a lot.  There were several pages of (9) 1956 Commons that I could have had for $3 each.  I'm starting to kick myself over that miss.  There was a Gayle Sayers autographed football that went for $17.    There was a cool ticket from a Yankee game at Yankee Stadium from the 50s that went for $10.  There were several unopened wax boxes from the junk wax years that went for $3 each.  See baby, it could have been worse.  Much worse. 

But, so far, what do you think?  Can you please explain to the lovely wife what a great job I did?  And yes, most all of this (and what I show tomorrow) is up for trade, except the Banks.