reports from the 2017 National
 

So I'm waiting for my carry on bag to go through the scanner. The TSA agent grabs my bag, takes it to a secure area and says follow me. So I'm plenty early for my flight, I've not packed anything illegal, and I appreciate TSA security. The agent pulls out a stack of 100 sixteen pocket Ultra Pro sheets wrapped in Saran Wrap. Gives me a look like cocaine? Stacks of cash? I admit it looks very suspicious and state "Ultra Pro plastic sheets that hold 1948 Bowman baseball cards". She points me to another TSA guy, who proceeds to pat me down in all the wrong places.
It's gonna be a hell of a week!
Larry

LOL..>Them damn baseball card nerds...lol

Wait, they make a size for 1948 -50 bowman?

No dinner or movie before the " pat down "?

exactly what I was thinking!!!!

It could be this.

Ultra Pro makes a 12 pocket 2 1/4 x 2 1/2 that fit my 49B perfectly
Attachment 281776

That's them. 12 pocket sheets. ORD
Larry

Geez, Larry is getting the pat down of his life and you nerds are jealous of his ultra pro sheets.

I've got your back Larry. If the TSA agents forgot their Ziplok doggy bags, part with a few sheets and you'll be fine.:D

TSA screenings are pretty much useless and only serve to delay and embarrass travelers.

For those who did not already know -- https://www.citylab.com/transportati...ective/394778/

And theft by TSA employees is commonplace -- https://www.rt.com/usa/tsa-stealing-from-travelers-358/

I always thought the 12's were a bit loose

TSA can bite me.

I hope you didn't get too violated.


On a hobby related note, I do like those pages!

TSA: Touch sensitive areas.

Yup, I've begun using those sheets for my T36 set. So far, so good.

Oh yeah, I despise TSA.

-kin

I just got back from the national. Some very nice vintage down there. I seen a guy have a 1952 mantle topps psa 9 and a 1953 topps mantle psa 10!! Bring the checkbook for those bad boys. All in all lots of nice stuff.

That's crazy. I can't wait to see

Heh. I went on vacation a few weeks back and bought a bunch of baseballs, postcards and other assorted memorabilia items. I packed them in a backpack for carrying on the plane. I noticed that my family sailed through and they set my backpack aside. They were seemingly ignoring it so I asked them if I could get my backpack. Then another TSA agent appeared out of nowhere and took me to a station where she unloaded my backpack in a not so nice manner. I had to ask her to please not open the sealed vintage baseballs in original boxes. She ran some machine over it a million times and then put a "swab" in a machine and I guess it came back negative for whatever bad stuff she was looking for because she told me to pack it back up and be on my way. I was hoping for a patdown. :D

I was beginning to think going through the line at Ontario California that I would have been smarter to show up naked. Spending some time down state but will be there Friday and Saturday.

They have lines at Ontario?! :D

(Copied from the OBC site sorry)
Spikes flight landed about 1/2 hour after mine, so I waited for him at baggage area #9. Then Taylor picked us up, and we drove the ten minutes right to the show. Many dealers still setting up as it was six hours before the show actually opens up. But plenty dealers were ready for business too . Ran into many OBC members and also several OBC dealers.
Prices seem so cheap on the regular cards we all know and love. I found a ten cent box with 1972 Topps baseball hi numbers ten cents each? I went through six or eight monster boxes and bought all he had (I thought) 38 cards $3.80 also these 1975 Topps football checklists these are pretty scarce as you had to mail off to Topps for the uncut sheet and most kids cut them up. They have team schedule on front team checklist on the back I got 44 of them .10c each a good find for me. Later in the show I saw Ken M in the same bargain box and he found more '72 highs that I missed plus he pulled lots of '73 baseball hi numbers he said were costly all .10c I need to be more tenacious lol!
One of my first stops was Tim Newcomb who mentioned he was breaking up a set of '33 Goudey and I picked up several hits with a great discount including Rogers Hornsby with a thumbtack hole. Looks like I brought in 17 cards for my set and need around 25 more to complete.
'66 Fleer Weird Ohs, and lots of hits to my non sports sets '56 Bubbles Elvis especially but finished of '64 Munsters with the needed variation, also finished off '66 Thunderball on the cheap, and took '63 Popsicle Space cards down to just one needed. Found several needed '55 Rails and Sails hi numbers which are tough $3 each!
So it's 5:55 the show closes at six and I have spent my daily allotment. I visit William Chappells table and see a stack of '35 Goudey 4in1 I am trying for the master set four Babe Ruth cards in the master set. William has one of the two I need exept previous owner wrote "Kenny" on the back! So I was able to pay via PayPal F/F $415 for the Babe bundled with another needed '35 with Cochran and Gehringer. So I had to dig into the reserves but you make exceptions for Babe Ruth.
To bad more dealers dont accept PayPal cause I really hate to carry all this cash cash is king I guess.
Sorry for typos as I am on my phone. Up and ready for another long day!
Larry

Sent from my iPhone

They do!

When we were leaving Disney World in February coming home, my backpack set off the TSA machines. I had a souvenir baseball in it. They opened it and ran the baseball through the machine. They said they had to do so because it's hollow inside and people could hide things in the baseball. I was like really? People will actually do that?

Once they swabbed and scanned it, it came back clear and I was allowed to go on my way. But they patted me down and acted like I was up to something bad before I was eventually cleared. I was pretty upset.

(Copied from OBC server)
Opening bell found me sorting a big stack of exhibit aircraft cards both white and black numbers buying 66 cards for about .75c each. Two more sets to chase lol. The show seems pretty busy all day to me. To mix things up I got three free autographs NBA Bill Cartwright, Fritz Peterson, and Scott Williamson also PSA took my picture insert into a baseball card and slabbed it kind of fun plus they gave me a mini bat of some kind labeled "Submission Stress Stick" lol I am not kidding!
Visited Net54 member Taxmechanick (Glenn) and bought an 1887 Gold Coin N284 card of Bushong slabbed SGC 10 what 1887? Thanks Glenn I love it!
Met lots of old and new friends both OBC and Net54 then pulled the trigger on some kind of game card featuring the Adams kids Pugsley and Wednesday it just drew me in for three dollars lol!
Finished a bunch of sets today '61 Nu Card Scoops baseball, 1959 Topps Wacky Plaks, 1966 "007", 1967 Topps Maya, 1971 Fleer Drag Champs, 1972 Donruss Choppers and Hot Bikes, and brought several sets down to one or two. I did buy a nice stack of original 1969 Donruss Odd Rods happy to get those.
Eleven hits total now 1934 Diamond Stars baseball and 23 hits 1933 Goudey baseball really gaining some ground on these sets.
Also finished 1953 Topps World on Wheels with two low grade high numbers which are not seen much, one dealer had three high numbers and I needed two. I nicknamed this dealer "half price Harry" cause I would request a price half of what was listed on his already discounted prices and my technique worked most of the time.
As you can see plenty of non sports cards here on the show floor. No gripes from me at all I think the show has been solid. I did start to hear the roar of the crowd over at the box breaks or pack wars area but although it's not my thing plenty of collectors like this fine by me.
I need one card to complete 1966 Philadelphia Green Beret set but bought an unopened wax pack for $10 gonna open that baby up one in sixty-six chance I pull the card I need, don't worry I won't attempt the Gum.
I cancelled on the trip to downtown and had a nice dinner across the street with Taylor, Bob, and Spike with a Van Halen cover band performing on the green they are called Atomic Punk 23 years a cover band? Stopped at Walgreens Bob/Cigs Spike/Pepsi Taylor/nothing Me/Haagen-Dazs I win that version of pack wars!
Exhausted and ready to sleep its 11:18 PM. Got to be ready for tomorrow!
Larry



Sent from my iPhone

That was a pretty stupid statement by TSA but is not atypical of their modus operandi. Baseballs (regulation ones, anyhow), have a cork center that is surrounded by layers of yarn and rubber. They are not "hollow inside." If they were, they would permanently deform when hit with any type of substantial force.

Great update Larry, thank you for sharing.

The Chicago National is the nicest show I have been to. This is my 3rd NSCC and by far the most productive for my collection. I arrived at the GA opening at 10 am. With having such a small focus I was able to check all the tables for a initial inventory of T cards in about 3 hours. About two hours in a think I was struck with card blindness and it became a little overwhelming just the sheer size of the place. I will say it is a T206 collectors dream come true. Some for fair prices, some for card show prices.I saw a lot of rare back T206. Many from just one dealer. I met for the first time and also reconnected with a few members. I have to admit its good seeing people after years of digital communication.

As far as my purchasing went I finally broke my streak of maybe 5-6 shows without a Red Border pickup. Happy to add a Series 8 Pepe from Ed Hans for a fair price. It will fit nicely in my low grade Series set. I have a nice upgrade reserved from MPeich and have my eyes on a couple N172 for my two player runs. Sadly I didnt come across a single T209-2. Those as well as new to the market T210's are getting harder to come by. All in all a outstanding show and im looking forward to day two as well as the Net54 shindig!

So far I have bought a nice orange borders Eddie Collins and a couple nice T205 commons for my set. Also, on the sales side someone wanted my 1860 ambrotype and snapped it up before the show opened the first day. I also sold my Goudey Ruth to a board member and the tintype of the game in action. That person who bought the Ambrotype wanted it too. Just as in selling my initial collection I always think the chase is, actually, most of the fun. Now I will have my sights on another Goudey Ruth. And I have seen at least one coming to auction I have an interest in......and later tonight I am looking forward to another great Net54baseball banquet. Hope to see all who can make it.

And a shout out to Lucky Larry who may be the nicest person in the hobby. And also to Brian Drent at Mile High Card Co for allowing me to have a case at his tables. Heck, I might think about this as a strategy going forward....( a case instead of fully setting up)

Was there Thursday for a while. Leon, looked for you a few times where Scott and Mile High was. Sorry I missed you. Saw a number of board members and most of the famous/infamous sellers. Probstein, Levi, PWCC folks. Said hello to many of the dealers I've done business with. Ted Z., stopped by a few times and you were deep in conversation so didn't bug you.

My impression overall was that it looked exactly the same as Atlantic City last year. I'm sure the consensus of the majority of board members will be that it was far better than last year, particularly among people who didn't go east last year. To me there was no difference. Foot traffic was impressive but I'm sure Thursday is the slowest day. I heard from a number of dealers that Wed. night was crazy.

I great mix of old, new, memorabilia and of course cards. Same trends we talk about all the time. Photos have taken off in popularity and price. Older exhibits were few and far between. Just don't see many of the 4 on 1s anymore. Most everybody was friendly and accommodating, though most dealers are reconnecting with friends and buying themselves so a lot of rushing around.

I actually spent time monitoring a few ebay auctions.

Didn't spend a dollar which was a little odd. Found three great high ticket cards and considered them all. All overpriced. A 34 Gehrig Caramel PSA 6. A bunch of 21 Ruth Exhibits. And a Maple Crispette Ruth 5. All big ticket and came close to buying the Gehrig but the dealer (a nice guy) started dicking me around about taking a credit card and splitting fees and I bailed. No, I don't carry $7,000 in cash with me often. Nice guy and I guess I just wasn't in a high end buying mood.

The one dealer that blew my doors off was Card Country. The had a case of green Cobbs and a case of red Cobbs. Are you kidding me? They had 4 21 Ruth Exhibits and I considered their PSA 4. Card was beautiful.

Saw AL from LOTG and a lot of the cool stuff in his upcoming auction.

Saw the maven of Ruth photos himself Ben and met some of his friends.

Be nice if these convention centers had decent food. Had the worst slice of pizza I've ever eaten. Deep dish is bad enough. This would have worked as a door stop perhaps.

Probably won't be in a rush to get to next years. There really isn't a deal to be had, and if there is believe me it's been scarfed up before the doors open. It's an overwhelming experience and I didn't see a single really rare card that grabbed me. Coolest stuff there is being displayed by the auction houses for their upcoming auctions.

Over and out.

Nice summary Steve

Our fellow board member with the Japanese related auction house had an awesome set up. Really cool stuff. And someone had a booth of all Cuban stuff which was nice to see. Not the usual stuff. Did not see a lot of Negro league or Women's league stuff, but I blew threw pretty quick and may have missed it.

Some dealers shoot themselves in the foot but just having way too much stuff shoved in piles and all over other stuff. Hard to see sometime what the heck people actually have. Most dealers are smart enough though to put their best stuff in the dead center of their display case.

One thing that seriously irked me yesterday on a few occasions is guys who show up with a bag of cards to try to sell and then proceed to dump all their stuff on top of one of the dealers cases and negotiate at length over why their cards are worth a lot. I realize this is some folks idea of fun, and more power to you, but why would a dealer let you take over one of his areas for 40 minutes to bicker over trades. Seems stupid from the dealer's perspective if people can't see what the hell you are selling.

I'll second what Steve said. I brought plenty of cash plus some nice cards to trade or sell if I saw stuff to buy. I brought it all home. I just visited with dealers and auction houses. I will wait for future auctions, it seems like that is where the hobby is headed.

This is a pretty dead-on synopsis of what the National has become and why it's difficult to find cards to buy -- unless you want to overpay just to buy something at a National. Nevertheless, I've always found some decent stuff but very rarely a card that I had never seen before and bought. This was the one exception:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7272/...95daf897_b.jpg

national
 

love the updates and opinions guys..keep them coming !

Cash machines ran out of cash, so did I.


Some dealers don't accept credit cards, which is inconvenient, especially when there are only two machines available at the convention site....two that I saw and I asked the concierge desk.

I think it's worth the price of admission just to see the auction house displays. I tend to gravitate to the dealers that have a price on their cards, at least it's a starting point. The over crowded display cases are annoying, it's just too hard to go through things. Many of the less "corporate" dealers get my attention, they're easier to talk to and deal with although that's probably because of what I'm interested in and dollar level I'm playing.

Also, saw one patient mother with three young boys looking at cards, it made me smile. So much different than riding your bike to the corner store.

Yup. Ebay and auction houses trump the Nationals. Airfare, hotel, admission and hassle of dealers/travel ... or just bid and get it sent to you. And honestly in the course of a year ... more is offered in the other venues at better prices.

Of course this is just the bitter point of view of a West Coaster who's annoyed that the Nationals won't set up out West anymore.

Here's a hint to the people who run Nationals ... if you just set up in the same three cities ... you're just going to have the same darn show year after year. If you rotate North South East and West, you attract different dealers (who have different stuff) and different buyers (in addition to the loyal ones). You expand the hobby with a rotation. You kill the hobby with a 3 city loop.

The Nationals is in the early stages of dying ... because it's being managed poorly.

Cheers,
Patrick Prickett (Leon will probably make me put my name on this anyways! ; -)

I think it may be slightly smaller than the last one in Chicago...not sure, but it had a curtain across the far end of the hall. It seemed the last time the entire room was used.

Relatively successful day today. Bumped off 1 card from my list in a trade. Got my Evers T205 AB back stabbed. Found some cool boxer cards with Boston Terriers on them. Made some contacts to consign my W572 cards to major auction houses. Life is good.

(Copied from OBC report)
Doug DeJong arrived bright and early this AM from his drive in from NC and joined Spike, Taylor, and me as we enjoyed the free breakfast at our hotel. Off to the show!
As soon as I entered I went right to the line for the free autograph Rico Petrocelli and only had to wait fifteen minutes.
Then I hustled back to Net54 member Taxmechanick (Glenn) table. Yesterday I bought a slabbed 1887 Gold Coin N284 card of Bushong. Today I bought a slabbed 1888 Scrapps tobacco card of Bushong so excited to get these cards.
I spent most of the day shopping for bargains. My new dealer friend in the back of the room said any Donruss Odd Rod I wanted for $3, so I bought 2 hits to one of the later issues I needed, then 16 duplicates of the tough to find originals from 1969.
Time to get serious with my 1960 Leaf baseball. Way on the other side of the show floor, picked up 14 high numbers most were $7 some were a bit more.
Picked up some random non sports hits, then back to the autograph area and got Steve Trachsel free no line. Forgot about his wife swapping scandal until Spike just reminded me. That might have been an interesting personalization lol!
Bought seven hits 1966 Topps Superman cards the ones that only have the copyright line on the back.
I found a stack of Bond Bread baseball cards eleven different paid $20 I'm like 90% sure these are legit plus the dealer told me they were lol!
Back to my new dealer friend in the corner I picked up a 1985 Topps WWF set of 66 cards 22 stickers I looked on eBay and I think $40 was an ok price Weird I know.
Next got Gary Beaman free autograph he beat out OJ for the Heisman Trophy in 1967. We shut off the lights as we left the show.
We attended the Net 54 dinner thank you very much Leon! Enjoyed the food and I enjoyed one bottled water and a Diet Coke as I am the designated driver cause I don't drink lol!
The speakers were all really great Brian Drent from Mile High told some good stories on acquiring all that unopened wax.
Al Crisafulli educated me on what Lina Blackburn has done for baseball.
Finally thanks to the last speaker Brian who investigates fraud in the collectibles market he is an FBI Special Agent.
I still have cash and a PayPal balance I'm ready for Saturday!
Larry





Sent from my iPhone


Sent from my iPhone

I hope everyone has a grand ole' time at National. Perhaps I can attend someday and meet all the guys with whom I've been corresponding.

-Raymond

Hoping for a little luck here... I had heard that a dealer has a Napoleon Little Cigars box at the national that's not for sale, and propped up behind the table (it's supposed to be near Levi's table). I've never come across one before and wanted to see it and possibly photograph it for my cigarette website, but after a day of searching yesterday, I couldn't find the sucker. Any chance someone saw it and knows where it is?!

I saw it Jon; I might be able to find it again today and if I can I will take a few pics for ya....He had some Napolean T207s too...

Thanks so much Leon. Feel free to drop me an email as well - I'll be around the show today and tomorrow as well.

Im not sure if its the same dealer or not, but I saw one case with packs from late 1800's to the 1910's. I had to resist the temptation to purchase the Old Mill pack. I can see adding one of those in the future to accompany the set.

John I really like the website. Great work!

Jason-

Thanks for the kind words. I believe that table is Mike Golsteyn's table. Unfortunately not the right one, but he had some great packs for sale! Besides the Old Mill, the Tolstoi is very rare. He also had a nice Creole slide.

- Jon

Thanks for the info I do want a period one when the time comes.

Lots of great stuff for sure. Kind of cool to see a professional football player who's into collecting. Memory lane said they sold the psa 2 wagner. They also had the psa 4.5 cobb back and a PSA 8 Joe jackson rookie for sale.

Im sorry to say I did the same. I almost bought a card at the end just so I wouldn't leave empty handed. But it wasn't quite what I was looking for so I passed. I did see a few cards I would have tried to buy had they not been on display for an auction. Hopefully I will pick up one or two of them by bidding.

I spent the better part of the day there Wednesday. I understand you can generally buy more cards at "reasonable" prices through eBay and auctions, but I just love the National. It's the one day a year I feel like a kid again. I learned a couple years ago not to bring a want list because I could never check any boxes and often bought stuff I never knew I wanted. So I went with a little bit of cash and an open mind.

I also went with the intention of meeting more board members and had a great time meeting dudes like Corey (Addie Joss) and Chris (the-Illini). I found the collector dudes like these to have nice cards at reasonable prices. I was fortunate Chris was willing to part with a nice Goudey Ruth 181.

At the Mile High booth, there was a case with 4-5 cards in it including a PSA 7 E-90-1 Cy Young that I swore I had seen before. Beautiful as it was, it was a bit out of my price range, so I ended up buying the card next to it, a 33 Ruth 144 PSA 2.5 that, again, was vaguely familiar to me. Bought it from some dude named Leon. Really good guy. :D

I agree with an earlier sentiment that one of the best booths with cards for sale is Luckiest Man and Card Country. Brady and Jeff have great eyes for cards so there is some really good quality stuff there.

All in all, just looking at the eye candy and meeting some good dudes was worth the trip. Bringing some extra cardboard home was icing on the cake.

This may not be the place to ask and I might be a bit late but for the first time ever, I cannot make it to the Chicago National. UGH

My ask is that if anyone gets there early tomorrow and gets to the Baseball Card Exchange booth in the corporate area if yo could please pick me up two Don Mattingly 1984 Donruss rookies which they have them on sale while supplies last for five bucks. I know these are not pre war but I can use them for my sets. And if you get there early and happen to see that they have some Aparicio Perez Steele autos for 5 bucks (or was it ten..not sure) please pick one or two up for me. I Will paypal money right away.

Thank you!!

It seemed like the show was crowded all day today. Mostly I shopped for bargain cards to re supply my doubles box, but I did purchase the final (of four) Babe Ruth card 1935 Goudey (master set) from Net 54 member Don Hotz at a good price. '62 Topps football bucks, more hits 33 and 34 Goudey baseball, also more non sports hits today as well.
I got one free autograph Ron Dayne but the autograph area was really too busy today to attempt more.
We all had a great time after the show at the OBC Swap session.
The plan is a 1/2 day at the show tomorrow and fly home with a 6pm departure!
Larry

Sent from my iPhone

Just got to mom and dad's home from the National. Had an awesome time hunting. Bumped 1 card off of my T205 Cubs reverse list in a trade, traded for. Minor league T205, bought a Minor league T205 card to start my next project, go my T205 AB slabbed by SGC after they failed to do what I requested when I sent in and had explained to them that an A grade is fine for my needs, consigned my W572 strip set to Heritage, and met lots of board members at the banquet and on the show floor.

Went with 9 Slabbed T205 cards for Trade bait and am returning with only 2 of the original group. Who says you can't trade at the National? I did well and the dealers did well so it was a win win deal for me. Wish I could have done that well with Ebay. LOL

This was my 4th National and probably my best National. The friday and Saturday trip worked well for me and it helped break up a week long trip seeing family. Also caught up with some old friends on the way up, had dinner with a fantasy camp friend this afternoon, and having breakfast with another fantasy camp friend in the morning.

I hope everyone had as good of a week as me.

Ken

I went to the National with my dad. It feels like an annual tradition we started in 2014, yet somehow this is only the second time we did it. Last two years were some extenuating circumstances.

Back in the early 1990s, my dad bought some 33 Goudeys that sort of kicked off our hunt to complete the set. I had the great idea of getting them graded this year. So there we went to SGC with a handful of 33 Goudeys and some 1950s cards and 2 Michael Jordan rookies that he bought in like 1992.(sticker and regular issued card)

I always give my dad a ton of credit on the Jordan. He is a doctor, and as the Hollywood guys say, find doctors and dentists if you need to fund a movie, because they have lots of money and are the worst businessmen. But my dad, man, back in 1992 he bought that Jordan from Jack's Baseball Cards in Clearwater, Florida. Jack smoked like a chimney, and has to be dead by now, but I spent many an afternoon at that joint drooling over cards I could never buy on my own. My dad had the same problem, but he could afford the cards. He spent $125 on the card and didn't tell a soul. I swear I didnt know about it til we went to the safe deposit box when I was visiting from college in like 1999. He slyly pulled the card aside and I was so impressed he had the guts to buy it and not tell my mom. After all, it made up for the $125 he spent on my 1986 Donruss Jose Canseco for Christmas in 1992 or so. I still hear about that wasted money to this day.

Anyway, I stop by the SGC booth to pick up our cards, and we got some good grades on the Goudeys. Not like amazing, but slightly better than I thought on a few of them.

The Jordan: a fake! All the way back from 1992. Now my best crafty businessman dad story is yet another strike against him. I would bet I hear about that card everytime I see him for the rest of his life.

Ha, oh well. I don't like the card at all---seems they are everywhere and it never strikes my fancy. But I know it struck him through the heart like a dagger. I had prepared him based on the eye test for a 7 at best---it was nowhere near a 10--, so it wasnt the end of the world to me. I told him there's no way Jack knew, at least I don't think so. Back in the early 90s, no 65 year-old local card shop owner knew, because things were evolving so fast then before the crash.

So I bought him a 1953 Jackie Robinson because that was all he talked about in 2014 and this show he kept hunting them. We also bought a Carl Hubbell 1933 Goudey from the same guy.

I came to the 2017 National as a "Dealer" for the first time. Actually, I was helping my friends, Glyn Parson and his dad, at their double booth. I had a couple of cases to display my museum priced collection. I did sell a couple of cards, but my intention was to go and participate.

I gotta tell ya, it was more fun behind the table and occasionally walking the floor than it was just canvassing the entire National setup non-stop (as I had done in previous years). I met a huge cross section of folks (some great, some sad) and enjoyed the hustle and bustle of working the table, although my body paid the price. Anyone who criticizes dealers for sitting down and taking a load off while behind the tables should try it sometime.

Bought a few T202s from John Goodman including a rare back Factory 10 black Cobb, submitted to PSA (nightmare lines), met some board members (Val, Schwartz, Lee Behrens, Leon, Adam, etc.) and generally survived the National "food" served at the snack bars and restaurant.

Had a great time - thanks, Glyn!

The National
 

My wife and I were at the National all day on Thursday and all day on Friday. We stayed until the closing bell on both days. My wife is a saint!

I have to say that I enjoyed every minute. The cards were awesome, most of the dealers were friendly and I was able to find a couple of cards for my collection.

We were able to see the Ty Cobb w/Cobb back that was on sale for 1.2 million. I thought about buying it, but was about 1.19 million short on funds. I bought a nice Weil baking card from Ed Hans, and I met Ted Z for the first time, which resulted in two separate, delightful conversations. I regret passing up a low grade T213-2 Cobb for $950, and I can't remember the name of the dealer who had it in his showcase.

There were 1000's of T206's available. I tried to get a rough count on the T206's in Levi's showcases, and a rough guess would be 1200-1500 cards.

There were 100's of T206 Cobbs, and 100's of 1933 Goudey Ruth cards. It is hard to believe that the prices don't come down when so many are available. I saw more 1952 Mantles than I had seen in previous years. Many dealers had one sitting in the middle of their showcase.

I generally start the show by go to the back of the room and looking at the tables of some of the smaller, non-corporate dealers. They are mostly easier to talk to and some nice deals are available. They come to sell cards, not just display them and talk to their friends. I went to Tony Gordons table, which was way back in the corner. He was close to the Topp's area, which was noisy all day long. I'm glad that I didn't have to listen to that noise all day.

The show was smaller than it was 2 years ago. There was a large area of the convention center floor that was unused and cordoned off by a curtain. I

There is one thing that amazed me. There were dozens of tables that were filled with box after box of 10 cent cards, or 25 cent, 50 cent, and $1 cards. These tables were always packed with people going through the boxes. It was difficult to get near the tables to take a look through the boxes. It is hard to believe that someone can pay their show expenses by selling 10 cent cards, but there were a lot of people giving it a try.

The dealers that specialized in modern cards, especially autographed cards, seemed to be busy all day long. Many of their tables were packed with customers, and these dealers seemed to be focused on selling. I can't tell you how often I went to a vintage dealers table and the dealer was chatting with a buddy and didn't care that he had customers at his table. Also, there are still a lot of dealers who aren't pricing their cards, so, unless they have something that I really want to look at, I just walk past their tables.

Like I said earlier, I enjoyed every minute. We had a free shuttle from our hotel to the convention center and back, and we used Uber every evening to take us to a restaurant and another Uber to bring us back to the hotel. Another thing that we did differently this year, to avoid the traffic congestion in Chicago, is that we got on the Metra train in Harvard and took the train to a station that was 2 miles from our hotel, then used Uber to get the to hotel.
It was cheaper to take the train and use Uber than it is to drive down down the tollway and pay for tolls and gas.

My only regret is that I was only able to stay for 2 days. I have never been to Cleveland, but I am thinking seriously about going next year.

Rick

thanks for sharing your experiences, fun to read for those who couldn't make it!!

I'm loving hearing all of the descriptions of the show. I was already planning on going next year. Can't wait.

This was my fifth National. I attended with four other guys from Kentucky, all of us being 65 years old or older. I really enjoyed the Net54 function on Friday night. There three speakers: guy from Mile High auction company, guy from Love of the Game auction company, and Chicago FBI agent who spoke and answered questions about the FBI's taking down of Mastro Auctions and the resulting prison sentences of the individuals involved. All three speakers were outstanding, an Leon is to be commended! Free pizza and beer, too!!

Even though the floor space was less this year, I thought the crowds were substantial. Plenty of children with their parents, which is good for the hobby.

My big purchase was a mid-grade 1953 Topps set. Also, I bought a 1956 Jay Publishing Yankees set, a 1950s Mantle pin and ribbon from the 1950s, The Book of Baseball (large 1911 baseball book), 1950 Fawcett J. Robby comic, 1954 Post mag with Musial auto (and certificate of authentication), and several small items.

I made several new friends and look forward to Cleveland in '18.

Just curious - any E107's for sale, or coming up for auction?

Also, did anyone see any rare or interesting Joe Jackson items for sale, or coming up for auction?

Thanks
Tony

REA has a number of E107s in thier next auction. Some of them were on display at the National.

Young and Plank as I recall.

I had a great time
 

Thanks to my friend John Wondowski and my dad who were both tremendous helps. The show was excellent. Plenty of buyers for all different types of cards. It seems everything is in demand right now. I sold a nice cross section of cards. From t cards through high grade 1970s. Had some great conversations and a real fun time. I pushed myself a little to hard the first couple days and paid the price by Saturday. I am getting close to healthy but this long strenuous week showed me I'm not there yet. I am so grateful for John and my father I could not have done this alone. See everyone in Cleveland. Best sellers: t206, psa high grade cards, Cobb, Mathewson. Most shown pieces (I am a little high on some cause I don't really want to sell) T5, psa 7 and higher t206, high grade 1965 tall boy football psa 9-10. Again thanks to all my friends, customers, and fellow dealers that made this such a great show.

National Report Day 5 (copied from the OBC site)

I remember back in 2013, Sunday at the National meant BLOWOUT prices! So I was really looking forward to getting back to the show. I visited with Mike and Doug during the hotel provided free breakfast, then said goodbye to Doug as he had to drive home. Spike, Taylor and I left for a 1/2 day at the National as we had flights to catch at ORD airport.

First purchase dealer had nice stack of ’64 Beatles cards and ’66 Bat Laffs cards marked $1-$3 I offered to buy them all at .50c each so I added 26 cards to my doubles box.

Next purchase dealer had 1961 Fleer Pirates Bold cards in NM condition $3-$4 each I said I’d buy them all at $2 and I bought all 30 cards this is a good deal, only one hit to my list but all these are going to be upgrades.

As I am pretty new to baseball exhibit cards, I texted Taylor for an assist, and I purchased both variations ’47-’66 Mickey Mantle cards (batting waist up) for a decent price I was within $10 of the deal and the seller came down to my offer:) My kind of “meeting in the middle”. I also bought three other Mantle cards from him to bundle in, 2 cards 1961 Topps “Mantle Blasts 565 FT Home Run’ and also the ’61 Nu Card Scoops “Mantle Hits Longest Homer”.

Picked up 20 to 30 misc hits to my lists, including a 1962 Tops football “bucks” Jim Brown, then found a stack of 1935 Goudy baseball cards I had not seen all week. This was a surprise all morning for me, how do I spend five full days at the National, and on day five I am seeing new cards? I picked up three more big hits too my 1935 Goudey master set including two with more rare backs! I had to come off my wallet a bit for these, but I think I got a fair deal.

Last purchase. All week I have been watching a near set 1971 basketball near set 1971 “Topps Trio” basketball cards. These are the sticker cards, black borders, in three card panels. Only missing one of the short printed ABA Team Logos sheet #24A, other than this one, all others are there. Maravich, Big O, Alcinder, Wilt, Barry, West. A quick price check on eBay shows a few singles selling for $6-$8 many above $10 each. So I thought $5 each would be a good buy for me and I offered $125 dealers lowest price all week was $160. The dealer said his rock bottom price was $140 and I think he said this is what he had in the set. So I bought them for $140 or $5.60 a card. I have been wanting to start this set for awhile anyway.

So by noon we were done, and Taylor dropped us off at ORD. I am VERY happy to report that when I checked in on the American Airlines App, I got the TSA Pre Check, and was through security within ten minutes. I did have to kill five plus hours as my flight home was delayed but between a nice lunch and watching the NASCAR race the time went pretty fast. On the aircraft, I was the only passenger in my row, and looked at baseball cards all the way home!

Larry

Loved reading your updates! thank you

I had a great time on Friday in my one day at the National. Since I have a wide variety of collecting interests, I was able to find plenty of stuff, and it was great to see and talk to so many people. I had a nice chat with Mike Peich and picked up six new T206s from him, bringing my Monster Number to 485. I also had a nice chat with Ed Hans, who was nice enough to give me a packet of hobby stuff from the 1970s, and I also talked to Scott Brockelman and Jay Miller at the adjacent table. Ed gave me a good deal on four T213s (three type 2, one type 3) to go with my various T206 back runs, and his partner Gary Nuchereno gave me a discount on a stack of 1970 and 1971 Topps I needed. From other dealers, I made progress on 1960, 1963, and 1967 Topps, and I completed my 1969 Topps set by getting the last three cards I needed (Mays, Mantle, and Reggie) for very reasonable prices. Working on those sets is just a fun thing that I've pretty much only done at shows over the past few years, but I'm close enough on 1970 and 1971 Topps that I'll probably just get the last few I need online.

I also had a nice visit with Ted Z, and with Doak Ewing of Rare Sportsfilms, from whom I got a couple of T205s and a T206 for another of my back runs (Maddox). Ted and Doak both had impressive displays of T206 rare backs. In addition, I caught up with several board members on the show floor: Jesse Arnott (pokeyplyr80), Steven (brass-rat), Justin Burleson (jburl), and jburl's friend Darren, who is not a member of the board but with whom I recently did a trade, brokered by Justin, involving some T211s and T210-8s. Steven, Justin, Darren and I had a fun conversation about T211s and related topics. That evening at the Net54 dinner I saw those three guys again, along with many other people, some of whom I've met before and some of whom I hadn't. In particular I had substantial conversations with Fred McKie (whiteymet) and Rich Klein, and shorter encounters with Dave Hornish (toppscat), Tom Boblitt (autograf), Leon, and numerous others. Lots of people had nice things to say about my hobby history posts, which is always encouraging. As others have said, the three speakers at the dinner were top-notch, and tonight I plan to post some material related to a question that was asked of the last speaker.

vttlarry
 

Active observer that rarely posts, I would like to add my comments on the National. I attended my first National in Chicago in 1983 at the ripe age of 30! Have been in and out of actively collecting several times since then, but have been actively collecting again and loving it. Love mostly the 50's and 60's cards.

A friend and I flew from Minneapolis to Chicago on Sunday for the day to the attend the conference. My recollections of the 1983 are hazy so can't make many comparisons. I was, however, quite impressed with the show and like the proverbial kid in a candy store. My friend and I bought several cards that I am sure were all readily available on eBay, but it was fun and I never want to forget to have fun as a collector along the way. Had many great conversations along the way, and with very tired feet got home about 11 pm.

that is a lot of what it's all about (to me).....it reminds me of our Net54baseball dinners 10+ yrs ago....

Larry, I see my 35 Goudey Ruth on your table, and a great looking photo, it was very nice meeting you and a wonderful talk. Good luck and see you next year. Don.

I had a great time at the National this year. I think this was my 6th, but my first time attending the Net54 dinner. I helped out at the door so it was cool putting some names with faces. Here's a pic of the dinner while Al was speaking.

http://www.collectingbrooklyn.com/ne...et54Dinner.jpg

I didn't find too much from my want list, but managed to pickup a few things. Already looking forward to next year!

http://www.collectingbrooklyn.com/ne...nalPickups.jpg

Try 15 years ago! Good times.

On way back from Chicago, they pulled me out the line and put me into the easy line to get through. Was so thankful I had the easy one for once :)

Arrived safely home worn and weary but, I think, happier after Thurs. thru Sat. at the National. A couple of quick, personal sound bites:
1, I thought crowd levels were good if not overwhelming.
2. PSA was beyond frantic, with collectors with foaming mouths throwing their money and their cards at terrified processors. SGC, by contrast, had far fewer submitters
3. I was pleased that Levi was sporting a new, silly hat.
4. I just wonder if the '52 Topps Mantle craze may have hit its' peak. After so many have been sold lately and still tons on show at the National, I wonder if supply has finally outstripped demand and prices will retreat from current lofty levels.
5. Maybe it was me looking in the wrong places, but I spotted little 19th century stuff just a few mangled OJ's.
6. Sadly, could not make the New54 function. Just ran out of gas after 2 days on the run. But did run into and old pal, and fellow '54er, Aaron Seefield. We hadn't seen each other in 15 or so years and laughed about setting up side by side at Ft.Washington shows and the havoc the ex wives caused with our collections.
7. I was happy to see fearless leader Leon manning a case at Mile High's booth. And there it was, Leon's signature card, the E90-1 Cy Young PSA 7 for sale at a breathtaking price. But he has promised never to sell the football helmet variation card. Thank God!
8. I brought about 6 high-value, high-graded PSA cards, all with o/c qualifiers on them to SGC for crossovers, and accepted for one full grade reduction, paying $30 a card for the privilege. None would crossover; yet all were very close to o/c grading standards and all had wonderful eye appeal. Does that matter any more? To add insult to injury, the one raw card I brought in for grading, a rare PC of Scottish golfing icon Tom Morris, which graded fine. I had asked them to put "Old "Tom" on the flip, which they graciously did; however, Tom Morris had been mislabeled Tom Miller. Must have slipped by quality control. And so it goes.

Yeah, he is getting a reach around and you guys want plastic sheets.:mad:

Thanks for all the notes and comments!

Jimmy

For my first ever National, I went all day Friday and Saturday. It was an awesome experience- my first 20 minutes of walking around I saw some incredible cards, especially the '52 Topps/'53 Topps Mantles graded 9 and 10, respectively. Then I figured I should probably get to the PSA line as early as possible. I submitted 4 cards for grading that I should get sometime next week. Spent the rest of the day (about 5 hours or so) just walking around, browsing tables. Wasn't planning on buying anything, but I noticed a lot of the stuff was definitely overpriced, which you can expect at the National I'm sure. did find a few good deals- t206 speaker, Bresnahan EPDG, 1953 Topps Paige, that I would've came back and bought the next day. But in the last few minutes I finally found some Bond Bread Jackies, and bought a cheap one that I needed. I'm now up to 10!

Heritage and Goldin were basically like walking through a museum. Some incredible items- it was awesome to see that Joe Jackson signed ball. I found it a lot more enjoyable to talk to auction house tables that were just displaying rather than having dealers trying to persuade me to buy. Did meet a lot of great people. I even met some guys I've purchased big cards from in the past.

I was surprised but glad to see how much vintage and pre-war there was. And how many guys my age were looking through pre-war. I'd say a majority of cards were older ones, but maybe it's just because I walked right by the new stuff. At the smaller shows I've been to I've seen mostly just the new shiny stuff. On Saturday I went to the Oscar Robertson signing, then walked around some more. Overall a great experience, and hoping I can make the trip to Cleveland next year

I always have a great time at the show. This year was no different. I love to dig through the mass--you never know what will turn up. I picked up about 80 HOFers from the four major sports for my mainstream postwar collection in crispy pack fresh condition for about $2-$3 each. The best of them was a 1976 Ryan that is better than my 7.5. If you are not looking at 9-10 level slabs there are really great cards available on the cheap.

On the less cheap I also picked up a 1934 Goudey Ruth premium, a 1954 NY Journal American Jackie Robinson, and a 1958 Bell Koufax. Plus a nice Wheaties series 1 Hartnett, a 1955 Topps Spahn, and I finished my 1971 Topps Supers set.

The socializing was its usual highlight of the week. Met and hung out with too many to name. Special kudos to Al at LOTG for hosting my boxing show cases. I sold all my books (thanks Justin for buying one) but few cards.

At the airport on Sunday on returning home the security guy xrayed my bag and asked "baseball cards?" I said "how did you know?" and he said they've been getting a lot of them today.

National
 

I went to my first National and totally enjoyed it. It was a bit overwhelming at first but then came up with a plan. I think I saw most of what was there. I was their from Wednesday to Friday noon not missing a single minute. What made it special for me was for the first time at a card show things fell in place perfectly for me.

My goal was to pick a graded Mantle Auto, preferably a 1994 Upper Deck! I submitted two cards for next day return to BGS. An Aaron Judge Archives Bazooka Auto and a '17 Heritage Trout Auto. The Judge came back a 9.5/10 and the Trout 9.5/9. Ended scoring an 8.5/10 '94 UD Mantle Auto and much more after trading the Judge and Trout. I am usually a reverse flipper. My wife even said, well finally you sold high!

I had heard that some members said prices where high and that dealers weren't budging on prices. I found out just the opposite. I had found some really good prices after a little bargaining. I was particularly happy with the PSA 4 '53 Bowman Color of Musial I picked up! Twins autos were also selling cheap which was great for me!

Needless to say, my first National was a blast and can't wait until next year!

JC, thanks for posting that photo. We all look so young.....where did the years go?