Nolan Ryan opinion

[Joeybats]

First flea market of the season. Still freezing in New England but went out searching anyway. Picked up this Ryan ball for $3. Looks good to me but hoping to get your expert opinions. Thanks as always.

[7nohitter]

Perfect! And for $3????

Wow.

[Scott Garner]

100% genuine :)

[Joeybats]

Thanks guys, appreciate the feedback. It was one of those weird days, two autographed balls, including the Ryan, and 2 autographed 8x10's...total cost was $8. I'd call it a good day.

[7nohitter]

Thanks guys, appreciate the feedback. It was one of those weird days, two autographed balls, including the Ryan, and 2 autographed 8x10's...total cost was $8. I'd call it a good day.

Brimfield?

[Joeybats]

No, Brimfield is in early May. I need a second mortgage on the house to buy anything there. ;)

[Michael B]

2018 Brimfield Antique Show Dates
May 8-13 • July 10-15 • Sept 4-9

I would not be so quick to dismiss Brimfield. If you are willing to go on Friday and get there early, 9 a.m. or so, you can find bargains. I never had a problems finding nice items for reasonable prices. My personal suggestion would be to park at the church on the east end of town across from the Library. Walk to the last fields on the west, about 1/3 mile, and work your way back. I like to use the smell test. If I look into a tent and all I see is glass, silver or furniture I move on. The last field at the western edge on the north (right) side of Route 20 has a building which is all paper dealers. There are some hidden gems there. It is also worth paying go into J&J, the first one on the south (left) side of the road as you enter from the east. Most people don't pay since all of the other fields are free, but that weeds out a lot of the crowd that just gets in your way.

July is a great show to go to as many people are scared away by the heat. Just carry water. I have noticed that many years there is a thunderstorm either Thursday morning or Friday morning of the May or July show, but never when I was there in all of the times I have gone.

My best ever sports find there - 1939 Baseball first day cover signed by Johnny Evers for $5.00. It took a bit to recognize at first as I had never seen his signature. It was in a stack of covers. I paid exactly what the person asked. Sometimes you keep your mouth shut and pay quickly. As I walked away his wife was nagging him that I had ripped him off. I got home made one phone call and sold it for a massive profit.

[johnmh71]

2018 Brimfield Antique Show Dates
May 8-13 • July 10-15 • Sept 4-9

I would not be so quick to dismiss Brimfield. If you are willing to go on Friday and get there early, 9 a.m. or so, you can find bargains. I never had a problems finding nice items for reasonable prices. My personal suggestion would be to park at the church on the east end of town across from the Library. Walk to the last fields on the west, about 1/3 mile, and work your way back. I like to use the smell test. If I look into a tent and all I see is glass, silver or furniture I move on. The last field at the western edge on the north (right) side of Route 20 has a building which is all paper dealers. There are some hidden gems there. It is also worth paying go into J&J, the first one on the south (left) side of the road as you enter from the east. Most people don't pay since all of the other fields are free, but that weeds out a lot of the crowd that just gets in your way.

July is a great show to go to as many people are scared away by the heat. Just carry water. I have noticed that many years there is a thunderstorm either Thursday morning or Friday morning of the May or July show, but never when I was there in all of the times I have gone.

My best ever sports find there - 1939 Baseball first day cover signed by Johnny Evers for $5.00. It took a bit to recognize at first as I had never seen his signature. It was in a stack of covers. I paid exactly what the person asked. Sometimes you keep your mouth shut and pay quickly. As I walked away his wife was nagging him that I had ripped him off. I got home made one phone call and sold it for a massive profit.

Wow. Nice Find. I live in Central MA, so I have been numerous times over the last 15 years. I agree that if you are willing to spend some time and dig that you have an opportunity to find some things. Many dealers have so much stuff that they don't know what they have, so you really need to look.

[Michael B]

John,

I first went in the 1970's when J&J was the only field. I have not gone in a few years as I now live in Virginia. It takes a lot more planning. The last place I lived up there was in Worcester. It was great as I could get there in 30 minutes, well ahead of the traffic on Route 20 coming from Sturbridge. I could also be gone before the backup going east in the afternoon. It also wasn't hard to cut up to Rte. 9 or down to Rte. 84 if there was traffic.