On Thursday I was able to attend my first National! I thought there was a good amount of vintage, and like others have said you almost never paid sticker price. Even just asking "whats the best you can do on this piece" knocked 15-20% right off.
About 24 aisles of tables. I walked briskley thru, only stopping when I saw something vintage of interest. Started when they opened the gate at 10am and got to the end around 4pm without sitting down once, then went back to a few spots before I had to leave at 5pm. By the end my head was definitely spinning from seeing so many cards haha. I didn't like, though, how the last 10 or so aisles were no long aisles cuz some of the big guys took up 2 or 3 aisles so it started getting confusing to remember which tables you'd been to already.
Two items I picked up (below):
The Matty is the same image used in the Aug 5, 1909 M101-2 Supplement, but doesn't have the "Supplement to the Sporting News" caption at the top, but does have a caption along the bottom. If you were to take off the caption at the bottom, it'd be the same exact size as the Matty M101-2. I got this from Bagger77.
The Schulte is similar, but I don't think they are from the same "series". Not only is the Schulte image different from its M101-2 counterpart, but its also printed on a thicker paper stock. The gentleman I bought it from also had a Wagner (batting action pose similar to one I've seen on a postcard) and a Collins, and another common that I saw someone buy. He said when he got them they were strung together at the top, thus the hole at the top.
Anyone have any info/insight on either of these?
I met a few Net54ers:
Ken Cohen
James Feagin (sp?)
Leon Luckey
Scott Brockelman (thanks for the net54 pin!)
Chris (from Imperial Sports Auction)
Also picked up my winnings from the recent H&S Auction. Thanks to Josh Wulkan!
One quick little story ... a run-down setup was asking 10x going price for some M101-2 Supplements. $170 for a common in average condition. I offered $20 for it. He laughed and said something to the effect that he'd pay me $50 to let him keep it, and the lady (his wife?) kackled and said she wanted to meet my grade school math teacher so she could slap her. I smiled, told them to have a nice day and walked away.
In all, I had a great time. I saw some nice gloves and bats and jerseys and equipment that were really neat. And a few of the items that Bryan Dec and Kirk Kovacs had were amazing. Old photos and Supplements that were out of my reach, but great to look at. Even though I don't conversate much, I met lots of nice people and saw some great things. Hope to go to another National in the coming years.
Rob
