2019 National Report - Sneak Peak, DAY 1 and DAY recaps - UPDATED 8/2 PM

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OK - as promised, some pictures from the Sneak Preview Day on Wednesday.

Here is the entrance to the show, floor layout pretty much the same as other years.



This was pretty cool - Wilt Chamberlain ROOKIE jersey! Just WOW!


Some big dogs, this is some pretty serious cardboard.


A few more. That Matty is one of my favorites.


Some tough stuff here, really cool items.


Cool or creepy? I'll let you decide. These are some Michael Jordan items from middle school, one is a love letter to a girl? ...I'm probably voting creepy. "Unique" is probably how I would describe these.


This is a pretty cool set of autographs.


And yes, PWCC is here. Not really interested in talking about that in this thread other than to acknowledge attendance. I did think this Cobb rainbow was pretty cool, no two ways about that.

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And last but not least, my one acquisition from Wednesday.

This guy is going in my set, I'm down to less than 10 for a fully graded 1954 set. Super happy with this one, and got it well under VCP. Best thing about it, it's centered slightly DOWN which is somewhat uncommon on this. Most are centered up with just a sliver of white between the border and his name.

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I'm running a little late today, so I'll post Day 1 and Day 2 later tonight.

Got some good stuff and good stories coming, and I'll also address a couple of the comments so far.

ENJOY!

[chalupacollects]

Nice Banks!

[Ricky]

Thanks for your updates and photos! Much appreciated and enjoyable.

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Going to update two days tonight, so here goes with Day 1 (Thursday).

I was focused on getting through the rest of the show, since I only saw about 20% or so on Wednesday. Instead of picking up where I left off, I went to the far end of the show out of gates instead. As I've mentioned, the Chicago floor layout is not my favorite, as the sponsor booths are in the middle and it cuts the floor up. I'd much prefer if they had all these at one end. I'm sure the guys near the Topps booth would like that, as well, since multiple times a day Topps is screaming at the top of their lungs for the various give aways. I know it's fun for the people around the booth looking to win, but it's really tough on the dealers near them as a lot of people just walk away mid sentence because of the volume.

I wanted to drop by a couple of the auction house booths today to view some of the auction preview items, and it did not disappoint. These were at the Mile High booth, it's always cool I think to see these types of things in person. If you've got a few hundred grand to drop, I guess it's really a choice of these cards, or a house...or two houses...





Ran across this guy as well, I know they are rare, I like pitchers, a lot of people don't like the black and white cards but I thought this was pretty impressive and would definitely make a top 20 list for me.



I haven't yet taken the plunge on something like this, but I really think these packs look great and really would make a super display with some of the cards. They weren't that expensive, so I'm sure I will own some soon (just not today).

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This is the other auction house preview I wanted to see. There are so many awesome cards, it's hard to really appreciate them all. It's somewhat overwhelming when they're all together. It's a really great display if you're looking for ideas for your man cave at home.





Switching gears a little, I realize certain cards are definitely iconic cards. Even in the modern era, the 93 SP Jeter, 2011 Topps Update Trout, 89 Upper Deck Griffey. I get the appeal of owning the card, but not sure I get the prices - and yes, I've owned multiples of all three of these in the past, but don't own them anymore. Part of the reason? Check out the pop reports on these cards and then try and tell me how rare they are. Then look at cases like this - it's one where supply and demand don't seem to really work in my view, but I guess that's part of what makes this hobby fun.

This isn't the only case like this that I saw, just the one I took a picture of. There were several others that looked similar, full of 2011 Update Trouts.



In the "sad but true" department, I guess he's really selling all this stuff off? Maybe it shouldn't be a surprise, I don't imagine Rickey is really about "things", but still this is a pretty awesome item. For some reason I don't really like guys not having their trophies, but I guess at some level they "lived it", so maybe they don't need the "stuff" as reminders.



A couple other things that I found pretty impressive. BBCE has teased a "monster" for the show, I'd say they delivered. 1952 packs - WOW! They were still there on Friday, so at least for the moment price exceeds demand for unopened.



They also had this set, no idea if the price is right but as a fully graded set collector, it's always impressive to see these in person. And with the centering issues 1957s have, this is a pretty impressive accomplishment. This one will get you tied for 22nd on the set registry. Only 22nd? I'm a little surprised.

[samosa4u]

I love your Banks rookie. And yes, you're right, most of them are nearly miscut (at the top).

Here is mine I recently got in a trade:

I cracked it out and submitted it to PSA, and it came back a 4 VG-EX.

[rjackson44]

Terrific

[bobbyw8469]

I cracked it out and submitted it to PSA, and it came back a 4 VG-EX.

That's a helluva nice looking '4' then.