The annual Lions Club Card Show was held in Ephrata, PA this past Saturday. Ephrata is between Lancaster and Reading. It's always good for lots of vintage, especially Phillies if you're into them. The show runs from 8 to 3 or so. I got there around 10AM and stayed until about 2PM.
A quick side note: They usually have one guest signing autographs. Steve Carlton, Jim Palmer, and Brooks Robinson were there in past years. (It may have been Brooks subbing for Palmer). I don't even know where that happens. This year the signer was potential top 3 NFL draft pick Abdul Carter, the Penn State linebacker. He was scheduled to start at 11 after an interview, but didn't actually arrive until 1:30. He "overslept".
Anyway, it was a decent show, although overall the prices were a bit higher than I expected. Most of what I got were vintage commons from 1965, which I hoped to find for $2 each. I paid twice that. But let me show you what I got...
Picked up these two from "the guy at the end of the first row that has a lot of vintage hockey". The LAD rookies card is a high number, so the price is reasonable. Of course, I would see that card on every other dealer's table the rest of the day at slightly lower prices. This is the theme of the show for me.
Went around to the next row and found these all marked at 50% off the listed price. The ones you can't see are also $8. Make a note of the blue ones for later. Not sure what the couple unsleeved ones were quoted. The dealer guy told me the price and I paid. Initially, it seemed like I might have been overcharged...
But then I remembered that these two were in the mix, and I didn't realize how many $8 cards I had picked out. So I did actually get a discount of close to 10%. Banks is off center, but is good enough to escape the $60-100 price point I researched. The Mets was right about where it should have been at $15 - also a short print high number.
Diverging from the vintage theme for a bit.... These were for my new collector friend Eric from the dealer I call "Brother Mike". I get his emails about all the shows. He doesn't have a huge table, but always has a diverse selection among what is there. And the price tags are "just a conversation starter". He marks them with what they go for on eBay - shipped - and you pay much less.
I found these four for a dollar each in his stuff too. The total was ten dollars. For these and the two jerseys! That's Brother Mike.
Figured I'd come across some JD5 up there. They were from a guy on the back row that was getting ready to do a giveaway of some sort. The sweater was $20 and the others were $5 a shot. Daniels' stuff is like that. There are like five more of those Topps Now cards to get.
Came back around after a hot dog lunch from the student athletic club or whoever it was selling in the other part of the building. Went to my favorite guy at that show in the back side of the first row. Wish I remembered his name. Like a lot of dealers there, he really only does that show. Got the Brewer, Shaw & Smith for a buck a shot (that's more like it), and then I "cheated with Pete" by getting this slightly well-handled but nicely centered speciment for at least ½ if not 20% of the going rate. Figure that makes up for any overspending or mistakes I've made with this set build. And there were some.
I also snagged these two fine examples of the last few SP mid-series '57s I need to finish my set. Though even if I find the others, I still have Aaron, Mantle and Brooks Robinson rookies to spend on.
Left the show and decided to make a stop on the way home at the Morning Sun Marketplace in Thomasville since they would still be open. Went to Jason's booth and found a couple more for my set build.
This shot was taken after I swapped the Briles rookie for the one I had in his PC binder. The Jordan Addison is a Wild Card National Convention parallel numbered to 15. Have never seen a current Wild Card card until this one.
Almost made the mistake of buying another '57 Pyburn from there. It was an off-center copy. But I went back to the car and confirmed the ones I already bought at the show, so I put it back.
But inevitably, this still happened....
They are virtually identical in centering and condition, and I paid the same price.
But that's not the worst of it. When I got it all home and checked off my lists, I went to put the '57s in the binder ..... and they were already there.
It was a decent show overall, though. Guess now I have a starter pile to send to COMC.
Stay tuned though - Chantilly show is this coming Saturday. Nothing like back to back big shows....
