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metallicalex777
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Hello Ladies and Gentlemen!
I thought I would take a little time to recap my National Card Convention recap. Before showing scans of the cards I picked up, I would like to write up a slight blurb on how I thought the show went. If you don't like reading that kind of stuff, feel free to skip past but I hope you enjoy the scans even though it isn't "big" stuff you would expect from a show of this nature
This was the VERY first time I have ever attended the National and I had been looking forward to it over the last few years. Many of the FCBers that attended this year who have attended in the past confirm this show was a bit smaller all around and loaded with the most vintage versus modern cards compared to prior shows. I must admit with that being true, I was completely overwhelmed the first couple of days.
I arrived on Wednesday morning and left on Saturday afternoon. After arriving to the hotel I met a few other collectors from out of town, none of them were members here on FCB but I certainly passed on the word to join many times I got all settled in, ate some lunch as it was a 5 hour flight, then took the shuttle from the hotel to the convention center around 2pm. I waited in line to grab my VIP and package and as I was waiting, I thought the guy standing in front of me looked familiar. It was none other than Ken AKA Moxcaine We formally introduced ourselves even though we have been friends on FCB and the Morning Thread since the existence of the board. He was AWESOME and grabbed a dealer pass from the FCB booth which got me in early before they opened the doors for VIPs.
Walking in for the first time was quite the experience. I had no clue where to start, let alone how to ensure I would hit every single table available. The first spot I went to was with Ken to the FCB booth where I met the famous Chris Gilmore and Tim AKA Phillyfan. During that time I also met Wes and another famous FCBer/Morning Threader Eric AKA Those Back Pages After the meet and greets I started walking around for the first time.
The only structure I was able to remember and follow (I am HORRIBLE at directions by nature) was the fact that all the manufacturers/sponsor booths and tables were in the center of the building on blue carpet. That was a slight help as well as the large banners that were placed above each area. Other than that, it was tough to remember where each dealer was after looking at tables for the first time. Towards Friday I had a much better grasp on what cards/dealer tables I liked and where they were located. I saw a Warren Spahn/Stan Musial dual wool patch /15 card on Friday night and could not find it for the life of me when I returned on Saturday morning. That is probably the biggest bummer for myself as I wanted the card, but debated too much the night before telling myself I would think about it and pick it up the next day.
Richard AKA Pinetar and I hung out for a bit one of the nights. We both got a box of 2012 Bowman Draft. My box yielded squat, but his had a couple of pretty great hits including a Mike Zunino red refractor! He gave me a bunch of Taiwan Walker base and insert cards which was great as I have been picking a few of his cards up lately. Thanks again for the beers and dinner Richard!
Away from the show I had a ton of fun going out for lunch/dinner and drinks with quite a few members here. BIG shout out to Ken, Tim, Wes, Richard, Eric, Brad, Josh, Lisa, Pete, Ralph, and Chris for the time spent!!! I know I have forgot a couple others as I am bad with names so I apologize if I have unintentionally skipped you. Pleas post so I can remember who you were and give proper thanks as well
Here are a few pictures of some cool cards and such. My favorite case was all of the Ruth/Gehrig/old timer cuts:
ONTO THE CARDS/SCANS!!!
The very first card I got was actually an autograph on a card I already had. I was lucky enough to get Dwight Gooden's auto during his signing time at the FCB booth. The line moved quick and there were no inscriptions nor poses which helped keep the pace up. I was able to thank Dwight for his performance and career and he took the time to shake my hand which is now unforgettable! I had a patch card numbered 18/25 that I got signed by him:
After meeting Eric (Those Back Pages) I showed him a 1961 Topps Mickey Mantle MVP card that I had acquired from my LCS earlier this year for a pretty cheap price. He took the time to put a grading eye on it which I thought went well. He then offered to let me piggy back on his PSA submissions which I took his offer in a heartbeat! Thanks again so much Eric @Those Back Pages for your time and generosity with the grading! My expectations were having this grade as a 5 or a 6 (I really have no clue on what to look for)...this was the outcome:
The next few days wer spent going through tons of tables. I was able to find some good cards and the dealers for the most part were okay at cutting deals that were either at or below Ebay value which was shocking! I was able to pick these cards up...
My BIGGEST steal which happens to fit both my Felix Hernandez and HOF collections nicely:
2012 Triple Threads Felix Hernandez/Bob Gibson/Josh Johnson triple patch autograph 3/3
I also got some other cards as well for both the PC and for trade:
2003 Fleer Lou Brock/Bob Gibson dual patch 47/50:
1994 Upper Deck Willie Mays certified autograph:
2009 Ultimate Zach Greinke dual patch autograph 24/26:
Panini had the redemption replacement program that I took part in as well. I had a 2012 National Treasures Trevor Rosenthal Rated Rookie jersey autograph /99 that I had redeemed. They stated it was a $70 value card and upped it to $100 value which was nice. They had all sports to choose from so I chose baseball. They had a sheet with 51 or so items and said to pick a number. I always have to go with #34 for King Felix...I was pretty happy with my replacement
2012 National Treasures Luis Aparicio jumbo jersey cut autograph 5/5:
Chris Gilmore hosted an after the show meet and greet which was fun! He handed out prize packs which I got a Logan Forsythe Bowman autograph graded 9.5/10 (which I gave away to Richard for the hospitality) and a 2013 Museum Collection Jason Heyward jumbo jersey /10. I also won a raffle for a box of 2013 Goodwin which was a BLAST to open. I got three hits as well as an Animal Kingdom common card which I gave to a dealer that had most of the set on display and he did not have that one yet.
I also got a box of 2013 Platinum that I was hoping to be able to get the Topps 25 card set /125 but the dealers were all lined up every single morning. I tried for 3 days in a row and the last day I was close but was about 5 people to deep in line. That was by far the largest waste of time for me but an experience to be had (I guess ). Nothing much out of the Platinum besides these:
Overall I had a phenomenal time at the show! I really want to go again but I will most likely wait a few more years just to ensure it stays fun. Thanks so very much for looking and reading everyone. Comments are always greatly appreciated!
Alex
I thought I would take a little time to recap my National Card Convention recap. Before showing scans of the cards I picked up, I would like to write up a slight blurb on how I thought the show went. If you don't like reading that kind of stuff, feel free to skip past but I hope you enjoy the scans even though it isn't "big" stuff you would expect from a show of this nature
This was the VERY first time I have ever attended the National and I had been looking forward to it over the last few years. Many of the FCBers that attended this year who have attended in the past confirm this show was a bit smaller all around and loaded with the most vintage versus modern cards compared to prior shows. I must admit with that being true, I was completely overwhelmed the first couple of days.
I arrived on Wednesday morning and left on Saturday afternoon. After arriving to the hotel I met a few other collectors from out of town, none of them were members here on FCB but I certainly passed on the word to join many times
I got all settled in, ate some lunch as it was a 5 hour flight, then took the shuttle from the hotel to the convention center around 2pm. I waited in line to grab my VIP and package and as I was waiting, I thought the guy standing in front of me looked familiar. It was none other than Ken AKA Moxcaine We formally introduced ourselves even though we have been friends on FCB and the Morning Thread since the existence of the board. He was AWESOME and grabbed a dealer pass from the FCB booth which got me in early before they opened the doors for VIPs. Walking in for the first time was quite the experience. I had no clue where to start, let alone how to ensure I would hit every single table available. The first spot I went to was with Ken to the FCB booth where I met the famous Chris Gilmore and Tim AKA Phillyfan. During that time I also met Wes and another famous FCBer/Morning Threader Eric AKA Those Back Pages
After the meet and greets I started walking around for the first time. The only structure I was able to remember and follow (I am HORRIBLE at directions by nature) was the fact that all the manufacturers/sponsor booths and tables were in the center of the building on blue carpet. That was a slight help as well as the large banners that were placed above each area. Other than that, it was tough to remember where each dealer was after looking at tables for the first time. Towards Friday I had a much better grasp on what cards/dealer tables I liked and where they were located. I saw a Warren Spahn/Stan Musial dual wool patch /15 card on Friday night and could not find it for the life of me when I returned on Saturday morning. That is probably the biggest bummer for myself as I wanted the card, but debated too much the night before telling myself I would think about it and pick it up the next day.
Richard AKA Pinetar and I hung out for a bit one of the nights. We both got a box of 2012 Bowman Draft. My box yielded squat, but his had a couple of pretty great hits including a Mike Zunino red refractor! He gave me a bunch of Taiwan Walker base and insert cards which was great as I have been picking a few of his cards up lately. Thanks again for the beers and dinner Richard!
Away from the show I had a ton of fun going out for lunch/dinner and drinks with quite a few members here. BIG shout out to Ken, Tim, Wes, Richard, Eric, Brad, Josh, Lisa, Pete, Ralph, and Chris for the time spent!!! I know I have forgot a couple others as I am bad with names so I apologize if I have unintentionally skipped you. Pleas post so I can remember who you were and give proper thanks as well
Here are a few pictures of some cool cards and such. My favorite case was all of the Ruth/Gehrig/old timer cuts:
ONTO THE CARDS/SCANS!!!
The very first card I got was actually an autograph on a card I already had. I was lucky enough to get Dwight Gooden's auto during his signing time at the FCB booth. The line moved quick and there were no inscriptions nor poses which helped keep the pace up. I was able to thank Dwight for his performance and career and he took the time to shake my hand which is now unforgettable! I had a patch card numbered 18/25 that I got signed by him:
After meeting Eric (Those Back Pages) I showed him a 1961 Topps Mickey Mantle MVP card that I had acquired from my LCS earlier this year for a pretty cheap price. He took the time to put a grading eye on it which I thought went well. He then offered to let me piggy back on his PSA submissions which I took his offer in a heartbeat! Thanks again so much Eric @Those Back Pages for your time and generosity with the grading! My expectations were having this grade as a 5 or a 6 (I really have no clue on what to look for)...this was the outcome:
The next few days wer spent going through tons of tables. I was able to find some good cards and the dealers for the most part were okay at cutting deals that were either at or below Ebay value which was shocking! I was able to pick these cards up...
My BIGGEST steal which happens to fit both my Felix Hernandez and HOF collections nicely:
2012 Triple Threads Felix Hernandez/Bob Gibson/Josh Johnson triple patch autograph 3/3
I also got some other cards as well for both the PC and for trade:
2003 Fleer Lou Brock/Bob Gibson dual patch 47/50:
1994 Upper Deck Willie Mays certified autograph:
2009 Ultimate Zach Greinke dual patch autograph 24/26:
Panini had the redemption replacement program that I took part in as well. I had a 2012 National Treasures Trevor Rosenthal Rated Rookie jersey autograph /99 that I had redeemed. They stated it was a $70 value card and upped it to $100 value which was nice. They had all sports to choose from so I chose baseball. They had a sheet with 51 or so items and said to pick a number. I always have to go with #34 for King Felix...I was pretty happy with my replacement
2012 National Treasures Luis Aparicio jumbo jersey cut autograph 5/5:
Chris Gilmore hosted an after the show meet and greet which was fun! He handed out prize packs which I got a Logan Forsythe Bowman autograph graded 9.5/10 (which I gave away to Richard for the hospitality) and a 2013 Museum Collection Jason Heyward jumbo jersey /10. I also won a raffle for a box of 2013 Goodwin which was a BLAST to open. I got three hits as well as an Animal Kingdom common card which I gave to a dealer that had most of the set on display and he did not have that one yet.
I also got a box of 2013 Platinum that I was hoping to be able to get the Topps 25 card set /125 but the dealers were all lined up every single morning. I tried for 3 days in a row and the last day I was close but was about 5 people to deep in line. That was by far the largest waste of time for me but an experience to be had (I guess
). Nothing much out of the Platinum besides these:
Overall I had a phenomenal time at the show! I really want to go again but I will most likely wait a few more years just to ensure it stays fun. Thanks so very much for looking and reading everyone. Comments are always greatly appreciated!
Alex
