Adrian, first off, I'm very glad you came back. You provide thought-provoking threads and responses. Our hobby needs that more than ever. With that, keep taking the time to stick in that 'ol punctuation; makes your worthwhile comments easier to read and more creditable.
1) I was blessed to be able to get a 1954 Stahl-Meyer Franks of Mickey Mantle in 1989. The owner gave me 2-3 months to raise the money and agreed to hold it for me. I managed to just pull it off, through SCD sales. It was easier to do that then. So, I turned $2,500 worth of cards into 1 single card. Absolutely, positively marvelous card. If a card could be breathtaking, this one has it. Eventually, in 2008, I got the Mantle graded by SGC. Because of its one problem, it received 50 VG-EX, but I figured it would. The problem is a half-inch back crease from the middle side in (you cannot see it on the front). Years later, the man who sold it to me got a chance to see it again and remarked, "I forgot how great that card looked."
2) Though not a card, I have a mint 1935 Chicago Cubs World Series press pin. I traded rather heavily for it. It was the pin issued to the AL president, Will Harridge. I never tire of looking at that gorgeous artifact. To think, the Cubs won their last 21 games of the season to take down the defending Series champions, the Cardinals. Mr. Wrigley was very frugal, and did not make pins for every Tom, Dick, and Harry. They weren't facing NY either, so the press corps attending this Series was not as humongous as would have been the case if the Yanks had been their opponent. That's why of the 5 Series pins of that era involving the Cubs, the 1935 is the toughest, and perhaps the prettiest of the 5. Sure wish the Cubs had won their last 21 in 1969. Oh well, it was great while it lasted.
Again, Adrian, welcome back and stay put. As Lionel Carter told me about his writing, I keep punchin'. So do the same, fellow collector warrior!
-----------Brian Powell