[Vintage in Baltimore]

I'm a newbie to the forum and very much new to vintage baseball card collecting. I'd appreciate your thoughts regarding some cards I’ve recently obtained, and specifically how I might be able to grade and/or sell them at the upcoming National in Baltimore.

I recently acquired my father’s collection of baseball cards from the mid-1950s. There are mostly 1955 Bowman and Topps, 1956 Topps, and 1957 Topps cards in the collection, with a smattering of 1954 Bowman and Topps cards, too. He also collected some football and non-sports (war, car, movie and Western) cards from the era. There are plenty of well-known players’ cards and many of the cards are, at least to my untrained eye, in quite good condition.

While I plan to keep some of the cards for their sentimental value, I’d like to sell most of the cards. I’m reasonably convinced from a few days of perusing the forum that I’d be able to make the most money by having at least the more valuable cards graded prior to selling them, so that prospective buyers could be reasonably assured of the cards’ authenticity and condition. (If you think that is incorrect, I’d be interested in hearing so.) I live in Baltimore and understand that the National will be held here in early August. It seems likely to me that the main grading companies like PSA, SCG and Beckett would be present at the National.

Does anyone know of any way that I could have my cards be both graded and auctioned (or otherwise sold) during the convention? I’d like to think that I could make appointments with the grading companies early in the convention, select one of them, have the cards be graded, and then be able to auction or otherwise sell the cards during the National. This strikes me as a way to not only avoid the shipping costs of grading the cards, but also to have an opportunity to have a large group of avid collectors and dealers simultaneously be in Baltimore to actually buy the cards.

Perhaps the timetable I’ve suggested is too ambitious? Maybe the grading companies don’t accept cards at the National? If anyone has any thoughts about how I might best use the presence of the National to accomplish my goals of both grading and selling the cards, or if what I’ve suggested is even possible, I would be very grateful. Thanks for any advice.