It was at this point in my Philly Show journey that I began to grow slightly despondent. Yes, there had been some good stuff, and I'd fulfilled a lot of recent needs in my year or so since actively going to shows, but there weren't any true oddball, wtf finds in any of these dime boxes I'd found. And if I know the Philly Show dime boxes, I know they've gotta really wow me.
Needless to say, these last two did the trick.
Dealer #4: The Guy Who Must Have Known I Was Coming
Seriously. Some of the stuff in here, I was doing double-takes. I definitely scrounged the most stuff out of this one vs. the other dime boxes I'd went towards, a good 140 cards from this one alone. What impressed me about this dealer was just the unrelenting variety of stuff. Not just recent stuff, but products from my collecting blindspots. A Sweet Spot Classic Dave Winfield, for instance.
A lot of the stuff in these dime bins probably should have been priced higher. All four of these impressed me. Crucial rookies from 2022 Heritage, and a sunset card of an MLB legend.
This dealer also had, at LAST, my first real taste of 2022 Archives, a set that seemed to avoid me at every turn. This is another set where I applaud the extensive legends selection, as seeing Satchel Paige and Thurman Munson here really impressed me.
A few early-2010s inserts I didn't have. Breaking Out is such a cool design.
This guy also had a surprising amount of numbered Topps cards. Maybe a few odd corners here and there, but these are always fun dime box finds. Especially of great players like these three.
These two, though, were numbered to 399 and were copper parallels, which I'd never seen with my own eyes before. I admittedly didn't know they existed til I found these two, including newly-minted HOFer Scott Rolen.
But the real fun was in all the 90s and 00s stuff that was in here. Finding a 1995 Leaf Hideo Nomo rookie was just the beginning.
Two sets I'd never seen in the wild: 1999 Fleer Sports Illustrated, and the 1992 Fleer Ultra awards subset. Both cool player selections.
Both ends of Donruss's initial Studio run. I think 1997 Studio is underrated. Again, Bobby Abreu's Houston tenure showed up a lot at this show. I also love Larkin's. Who's he looking at? Is he auditioning for a Bangles video?
92 Studios I somehow didn't have yet. What a fun set.
Here's what amazed me: 1998 Pinnacle Inside cards. SANS CAN. The edges weren't even too screwed up. This is an intriguing set, and I like the close-up static photos we have here.
Both these sets, '93 SP and '93 Flair, used to be very hard to come by, but I've found more and more of them in recent years. I love Rickey's.
1996 Circa! Man, these sets were wild. I kinda dig' em though, just as a timely sort of glimpse into what graphic design was back then.
1997 Finest! There was a BUNCH of these.
Assorted early-2000s picture-centric sets. Lots of 2001 SC, somehow.
Assorted mid-2000s sets. Again, dime-box peak Albert, used to be WAY rarer. And it's always cool to find a new 2004 Skybox Autographis, I have a lot of sentimentality towards that set.
But here's where I emphasize that this guy MUST HAVE known I was coming:
...cause there were a TON of Yankees in there. Yankee hero cards. Guys I collect. A bunch of Pettittes.
A good amount of Jorge Posadas, including 2004 Fleer Splendid Splinters, a set I'd never seen before.
A bunch of Mos, which, again, used to be way rarer in dime boxes.
A WHOLE MESS OF MIKE MUSSINAS. I'm so glad it's become cool to like Mussina again in recent years.
And, of course, too many Bernie Williams cards. I didn't even scan all of 'em. I love that 2000 SC one.
Dealer #5: The One That Almost Got Away
When I came into the Philly Show yesterday, and did my initial scouting, there was a dime box not too far from the entrance that looked really nice. The only issue was when I passed by at 11ish, it was mobbed. Absolutely mobbed. So I had to bookmark it and come back later. Sure enough, on my way out I passed it, and it was...slightly clearer. Still mobbed, but I could find a space to slide in.
It was tricky, because in order to get a good vantage point on some of these bins, and there were MANY, I had to sort of trickle along the edge of the vender next door, who wasn't getting half as much business. I'm in mid-sift and the guy next door tells me to move. I motion to the packed front of the table; "to where?". Eventually the dealer I was buying from muttered 'he's been like this all weekend', and his perennial sifter was able to move inside of the booth to accommodate my perusing.
I am very glad I came back for these bins, because, like the 4th dealer, this guy had a lot of stuff that really should have been worth more. And it's funny, because he had large 50 cent bins as well, and they were lined with stuff I'd expect in dollar bins. I think he just wanted to get rid of a lot of this stuff. Which is fine by me.
I somehow had never come across this 1996 Bowman Kirby Puckett. Beautiful card.
There was some requisite recent stuff, but even this felt better. An actual Kelenic rookie in one of these. A star card of a Philly hero. Something was up.
Same goes for these Ginters. Maybe he wasn't from around here, because a Stott or Marsh rookie for 10 cents here is a steal.
A few SC legends I forget if I had or not. I'd seen the Boggs on some blog, I just forget if I pulled it. That Maddux is great though.
A few Pro Debuts from last year. All but Luisangel are up in the majors.
10 cent inserts of players worth a damn. Bieber and Soto, 10 cent Stadium Club inserts. Yeah, I was impressed.
A smattering of recent Topps inserts. I absolutely love these All Aces ones, they're genuinely awesome. I had no idea Topps even did WBC inserts this year. More inserts need to embrace the shiny like All Aces and the Oneil one do.
Speaking of embracing the shiny, a pair of Panini inserts. Those Unleashed ones are usually hard to find, so getting one for 10 cents was pretty cool. And though Keuchel's kinda cooked, getting a low-numbered card of his was a nice perk.
Like the last box, there was a wonderful amount of 90s stuff. And not just usual finds. 90s Topps Gallery star cards. And yet another Bernie as well.
Hall of Famers from 90s Topps base. Surprised I didn't have that Randy already.
Pinnacle was underrated at just putting out solid base cards. That Ripken's a beaut.
SKYBOX METAL UNIVERSE. SURE, MAN. All of these are absolutely wild, and I'm kinda shocked I was able to find some.
Two cards that used to be worth more than 10 cents. Weaver's rookie used to be high on my wantlist, but he sort of fell apart over time. Nomo's SC RC I already have, but I needed one for my player collection.
VINTAGE FOR 10 CENTS. I was floored. Even a 1981 Topps Traded card for a dime. Awesome!
This one appealed to me on a number of levels. I was recently down in Ocean City, Maryland for a few days, me and the family like it there. On a drive, it dawned on me that the Delmarva Shorebirds, an Orioles A-affiliate, are down there, and that could be an option if we ever go back again. So seeing a minor league issue from the 1998s with a Delmarva Shorebird was cool. Even cooler that it was a minor league rookie issue of Jayson Werth, who'd become one of my favorite players as a Phillie. I thought this was a cool find, and it's a nice addition to my small collection of minor league cards of players I love.
All in all, a very nice Philly show. Just enough 'omg' pulls, and a lot of variety among the dime boxes. Not sure if I'll go to the one in December, but I'm glad I went to this one.
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