Notes from the National 2022- Part One: Disarray

 

The last time the National Sports Collectors' Convention was in Atlantic City, it was summer 2016. I had just finished the coolest summer job I'd ever had, the Yankees had just brought up Sanchez, Judge and Austin, and we were all looking forward to having a good laugh about this whole Trump thing in December. It was a different time.

Attending this year's National in AC, which is my favorite location for the National because I don't have to drive more than an hour to get there, I noticed a drastically different convention climate than I had at my two previous Nationals. The National, as it stands now, represents San Diego Comic Con as it does now. Corporate had more of a presence at the National than it ever did, and there were large swaths of the room where I didn't find many independent mom'n'pop dealers. While I am fine with corporate presence if it brings hobby insiders who I am mutuals with on Twitter to the convention, it does emphasize that the hobby is embracing the ebay bro population in a way that could edge out the low-budget, 'look what I found' type collector [read: me]. 

I had a very, very good time at this year's national, and over the course of these overstuffed posts, you will see now. FOR INSTANCE:

Dealer #...uh...1, or possibly Dealers #1 through 3 or 4: Dimeageddon

Folks, if there is one thing I can claim to be as a blogger, collector and person, it is well organized. I have several binders arranged by team, and subsections by active, inactive, retired and enshrined. My friends have described me as one of the most structured and plan-oriented people they know. Blame it on the autism, I suppose. But for the first time in my career writing up card show posts, my organization has failed me.

You see, because of how I threw my findings in a paper bag, and subsequent containers, but also because I looked for a lot of similar stuff at these boxes...I am not 100% sure which cards came from which of the first three or four dealers I bought from at the National. There was so much stuff, and with so many different themes, that I cannot distinguish where one dealer ended and another began. And so these first few dealers, all of them dealing 10 cent bins, sort of blend into each other like a giant, massive blob of cardboard. 

Not that there was no quality. There was some excellent stuff in these boxes, and a GREAT DEAL OF IT. I just...can't tell where a lot of it came from. Hell, some of this stuff may have been bought at a table that I'll detail during TOMORROW's post. This is...a mess. But it is worth it, because there was SO MUCH GOOD 10 CENT STUFF AT THIS SHOW. I was genuinely worried that because of the onset of mojo collectors, there'd be less for bargain collectors like me, but that was the FURTHEST from the case. First table I went to was a mess of cards that, for the majority of the show, were priced at 25 cents each but were cut to 10 for the last day. Lots of guys with plenty of dime material to spare. One guy with stacks upon stacks of dime boxes of different sports, who was glad to help me move some out of the way. 

Okay. Let's examine some of these findings. I had no idea that Topps did inserts in flagship as early as 1996, so just the sight of a Robin Ventura Road Warriors insert was cool enough to start off.

A lot of these early bins did deliver some of the gems of 90s cardboard, like Upper Deck's excellent checklists. There were one or two Aaron Baseball Heroes ones around as well.

LOTS of 90s inserts abound. I had no idea Score's Dream Team used that design later on. I knew that Fleer's Pro Visions eventually went to the Lisa Frank zone of 90s vibrance, so I'm glad I got one of the 95 ones. I friggin love the 90s Dick Perez Diamond Kings as well. And I knew about 1992 Pinnacle's Sidelines subset, but not that there was a picture of Randy Johnson previewing his lifelong joy of photography. I love that. 6 foot 10, throws smoke, loves taking pictures. 

Pinnacle's The Idols subset has also gotten some play around here, but I didn't have many of them. I love that Larry Walker, ever the Canadian, picks an Isles guy. 

Lots more Big Units as well, from lots of different points in his career, including a rare Astros one. Also...yes, more 1995 Fleer. I know. 

How's about this- 2002 Topps Ichiros and Albert Pujols for 10 cents. That never happens, even if they're just award cards. 

Lots if different fun 2000s stuff. I have a ton of 2009 Sweet Spot and didn't have that Ortiz. Don't have a ton of 2006 Sweet Spot though. 

Speaking of Pujols and Ichiro, these cards represent the fact that their prices are going down, despite being less-than-common for their careers. I figured I'd never get the 03 DK Pujols because it was always priced too high, but here it is.

One dealer just had a ton of star cards from 2004 Donruss Throwback Threads. A set I rarely find anymore.

And here's a set that was completely new to me, 2003 Fleer Fall Classic. A green border with red highlights. That's new!

Assorted 2000s legends sets. That Sweet Spot All-Time Classics one is also new to me, I like that design a lot.

Assorted 2000s inserts. Star Attractions is from 2006 UD, those Xponentials are from the much-maligned 2009 Upper Deck X. Good to see an early Yankee Tex, though

One dealer in particular had a TON of 2000s Heritage. And not just the stuff I've come across a lot at card shows, like 2001 and 2010 stuff,

2002 HERITAGE. ROOKIE A-GON. Boston Nomo. This set's underrated.

2003 Heritage, which I also think they did a nice job with. 

2005 Heritage, which I still love finding at shows. This includes an Astros Beltran and Hudson and Chavez, which are retro logo variations, which were a lot easier to find I think back then.

2011 Heritage. Now we see what this set has turned into now. Lots of fake backgrounds.

And, as a bonus, some 2011 Heritage Minors, featuring young Jean Segura and Starling Marte. 

I actually found some set needs throughout some of these dime boxes. These two went to me 2016 Archives set.

And THESE all went to my 2017 Archives set. Including a few more I didn't scan. There were a ton of 2017 Archives 1982s in one particular box. Which is a good thing, because I've still got a lot of 2017 Heritage to go.

These boxes had some recent stuff as well, including a menagerie of legends and guys I collect from A&G

I was mostly looking for cheap inserts, and these boxes had a bunch, from Heritages even up to the current run. Also, good to see a depiction of Segura's brief run in Seattle. 

A bunch of 2020 Topps Chrome inserts. These are a lot of fun and scan well.

I scanned this one wrong, but there were a few that just stood out to me. That Luke Void Prismic Power is friggin awesome. Same with the BowChro Rhys.

Speaking of chrome, a lot of dealers had some extras from 2020 Stadium Club chrome. A lot of these were new to me. Some of these photos, like the Strasburg and Robles, are incredible. I don't even like Victor Robles [clown goofery aside], but his photo is incredible. 

Another thing a lot of these boxes had? Recent Gold Label. There was a MESS of 2016 Gold Label. I didn't have any of this. This set looks cool. 

This is 2019 Gold Label, and two retired/retiring players. Pretty cool. 

There was even some 2020 Gold Label. Even more surprising, Realmuto and deGrom are Class 3s. AND Thor's hitting! 

Onto Topps inserts. I really have to keep track of which of these 2020 Turkey Red inserts I have, but I think these were all new to me.

Other recent Topps stuff. I love that they devoted a card to Sean Doolittle's humanitarian work. Also, Harper surprisingly fits in 2008 Topps. 

Recent Topps reprint inserts abound. I'm still cool with finding new ones of these.

There were even a few from 2022 Topps, including another Cutch. Always down for new Phils Cutch cards, and this year's Topps products unfortunately have a TON.

One thing I found a ton of- PANINI STUFF. Lots of Panini stuff that was new to me, including this Marlins Marte.

Some Diamond Kings from this year, and these ones look pretty cool, complete with 90s styrofoam cup design background. 

Sets like Absolute Memorabilia and Contenders were new to me, and these looked cool.

A WHOLE MESS OF AWESOME LOOKING INSERTS. I absolutely love Panini inserts, and these have such interesting and fun designs. I think my favorite might be Modern Marvels, but Illusions is also awesome.

Recent Chronicles stuff. Obsidian is still an awesome, thick and shiny one. 

Diamond Kings inserts. Expressionists is still incredible. Also, cool that the Martinez one is a rare look at his stint in Arizona.

Legends on DK inserts. JOE JACKSON IN CLEVELAND. Ya never see that anymore. 

I did find some mojo in these boxes, though not as much as in stuff I'll detail tomorrow. For instance, I had no idea Josh Naylor started out in the Marlins system. 

Some numbered cards. Smith, who could be big in Oakland once he starts hitting, has an XRC numbered to 999. Straw's from a Donruss product is numbered to 2499.

And, as I am prone to at card shows, cheap Topps gold cards. Both of these two were numbered to 2020, and are of decent players, so I snagged 'em.

Tomorrow, you'll see the portions of my National haul that are organized, and where I can remember which dealer I got them from.