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National Grades
Mantlefan
Posts: 1,079 ✭✭
Just got back to my hotel from the show. First time at a National....kinda what I expected. Not very crowded there, but it's not the weekend yet. Highlights/lowlights:
Meeting B.J. and some other Forum members...A+. B.J. was great. She really takes an interest in the registry and was actively seeking ways to improve the site.
Exhibits...B+. Nice to see John Branca's 1951 Bowman and 1955 All American sets up close. Also the PSA 8 Gretzky Wagner was there. Up close, the bad right upper right corner earns it a "7" in my book!
Graded Vintage material....C+. Lotsa PSA BB cards, but prices way over EBAY.. Plenty of SGC and GAI also. Bought some PSA 9 1957 Topps BB. Not much Graded FB.
Ungraded Vintage material....C. The usual binders with ex-mint cards.
On-site grading....B. PSA was the most crowded. The GAI and Beckett areas were empty. Got my cards done in 2 hours right on time.
Dealers....C. They're all here with their usual stock at somewhat higher prices. Nice though to meet some people I've dealt with before in person.
Giveaways...D. The VIP bag had some racing card packs, a 2002 All-Star MLB showdown game, a pack of 2003 Leaf BB and an SMR. Nothing special.
Overall a B-. I was neither overwhelmed or underwhelmed. Glad that I got a chance to go.
Meeting B.J. and some other Forum members...A+. B.J. was great. She really takes an interest in the registry and was actively seeking ways to improve the site.
Exhibits...B+. Nice to see John Branca's 1951 Bowman and 1955 All American sets up close. Also the PSA 8 Gretzky Wagner was there. Up close, the bad right upper right corner earns it a "7" in my book!
Graded Vintage material....C+. Lotsa PSA BB cards, but prices way over EBAY.. Plenty of SGC and GAI also. Bought some PSA 9 1957 Topps BB. Not much Graded FB.
Ungraded Vintage material....C. The usual binders with ex-mint cards.
On-site grading....B. PSA was the most crowded. The GAI and Beckett areas were empty. Got my cards done in 2 hours right on time.
Dealers....C. They're all here with their usual stock at somewhat higher prices. Nice though to meet some people I've dealt with before in person.
Giveaways...D. The VIP bag had some racing card packs, a 2002 All-Star MLB showdown game, a pack of 2003 Leaf BB and an SMR. Nothing special.
Overall a B-. I was neither overwhelmed or underwhelmed. Glad that I got a chance to go.
Frank
Always looking for 1957 Topps BB in PSA 9!
Always looking for 1957 Topps BB in PSA 9!
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Comments
It sounds similar to every Chicago show. The best part is always meeting the dealers and other board members. My show purchases are always extremely rare as its the same stuff time after time.
Its interesting that the other grading booths were empty.
Please keep us updated, especially if you are going to the luncheon.
Thanks!!!
If you go to try and score nice vintage cards at a great price, your in for a hurtin'.
I'm always surprised how many dealers are selling stuff like autographed glossy photos inside simulated wood displays with bright brass trim.
Between the table fees, food, and hotel costs, how can they possibly profit?
Maybe they go just to see the folks, like us.
(yeah right)
Hey Murcerfan, you out there?
See any Dan Dee's for me?
This totally depends on what you're looking for. I live in Chicagoland and considered going to National this year, but took a chance that I'd do at least as well at SportsFest. I look for high-grade raw cards for my sets (72 and 75 Topps baseball) with the intent of submitting them myself. This year's SportsFest was phenomenal for me - exceeded only by last year's Chicago National. I found 150-200 raw 1972s I felt could be submitted. I couldn't have been happier.
Mike
Vintage Baseball Cards
Sales and Ebay Consignment Service
email
Lloyd_Taylor_Vintage_Cards -- on Ebay
I didnt mean for my purchase point to make the Chicago shows sound as negative as it apparently did. Its simply that I have a narrowed focus for cards that I need (primarily graded cards) and rarely see what I need there.
However, I go in every single time and enjoy myself tremendously meeting new people, re-meeting other people and just taking in everything that is there. I think we are spoiled by having those shows so close to home.
Im glad you had a good Sportsfest. I had to smile a little on the Friday morning of Sportsfest. As I was walking into the show, you were just getting into line to buy a ticket (I recognized you from the picture from last year's national). I was at the Set Builders booth in about 2 minutes and you were already there hard at it. I would have introduced myself but you were really in a zone
Take care.
I've found that if you're looking for graded cards, you're probably going to be disappointed by shows in general. Occasionally I find something, but usually graded cards from the 70s are scare at shows - and if you do find them, they tend to be priced a bit too optimistically. At least that's the case for vintage. . .I'm guessing modern would be a different story though.
See you in November at the next Sun-Times show
Mike
So far - I grade this a "B", and will await my bids on some Superior Auction stuff and will also be a very interested observer at the registry lunch.
<< <i>Graded Vintage material....C+. Lotsa PSA BB cards, but prices way over EBAY >>
Shocker!
<< <i>Ungraded Vintage material....C. The usual binders with ex-mint cards. >>
Double Shocker!
John
Nice Pickups on Lots #299 & #300..69% and 61% of SMR after buyers fees. These lots really give you the flexibility of break up or starting the set with very nice start!
John
Always looking for 1957 Topps BB in PSA 9!
MS
Mike,
Gaspipe26 and I were watching the 1972's in the Superior auction. I thought Bob was going to pull the trigger on that lot. It went for about half SMR.
<Glad I didn't bid on the 57 Garcia though>
I bid on the card but backed off after it passed $1,000. Glad I lost ...I didn't see it before bidding.
With respect to vintage raw material...I found a some nice 1967's that should 8 or 9. It is getting tougher to find nice raw...but part of it stems that we're going back to the same well that everyone else knows about. Also, smarter dealers are now making a rush to other dealers who don't support grading and wiping them out before guys like me get there. I was talking with ejguru about this at the show. These dealers who don't believe in grading need to at least be more educated about it because they're getting fleeced. They end up getting stuck with a book full of lower grade material.
Regards,
Alan
Thats to funny, last year that was the highlight for me as me and pops
watched one of his kocur tapes.
Boy them were the days
Gator
Corporate Booths: PSA was the winner by a long shot. Great service, BJ & Joe availbale for everyone and by far the most active of the third party graders. A+
Dealers: Happy to see some familiar faces and I was able to find some nice raw 1969 cards. These cards were primarily in the PSA 7/8 range, but still pretty nice. B
The show itself: D.
I made the mistake of not staying at the Sheraton. I visited the national on Thursday and the bulk of my transactions took place at this time. I arrived at 10:15 AM with a prepurchased VIP ticket only to wait in line for approximately 45 minutes for my ID badge and a package containing a schedule of events (a schedule I previously received in the mail). As a result, I gained no advantage over general admission in terms of entering the show. In addition, I could not find an outline of where tables were and how to locate dealers. Later, I discovered a booth that was not easily seen from the entrance that was selling programs. However, I had already wasted hours wandering around trying to find dealers and it was time to head out. I also went to dinner with the group at Sabatini's.
Getting to the national on Friday was a logistical nightmare. I arrived to find that there was no parking available (~ 11 AM). I asked the security personnel where to find alternate parking, but they vaguely suggested the casinos. I drove around aimlessly for about a hour and pulled up to the convention center and pleaded for help. They then advised me to park at Trump Plaza and catch a shuttle. The parking at the Trump Plaza was a nightmare. They area was dark and lacked any signs for direction. When I came up to the first level to catch this "shuttle", I spotted 6 other hobbyists who were wandering around trying to figure out where this shuttle was. When we asked the folks at Trump Plaza, they had no idea what we were talking about and instructed us to wait by the "Jitney" stop and ask them. Two jitneys stopped by and told us to wait for the #4. After 30 minutes, all 6 of us flagged a cab and split the cost. By this time, I arrived at the PSA luncheon about a hour late and exhausted, but I still enjoyed the festivities. I visited the floor for about 3 hours afterwards and then left.
After Friday's debacle, I decided not to deal with that headache again and I chilled out at Ocean City, NJ to salvage what was left of my weekend. I had a budget of about $1600 and I went home with close to $1200. This has never happened at a national I attended before. I usually withdraw more money out of the ATM! Lessons learned:
1) Book the hotel nearest to the convention.
2) Don't waste your money on a VIP ticket. (I couldn't even find the VIP lounge to claim my free gift, whatever it was?)
3) This is the first national that logistically prevented me from spending my money. I am not wasting my time on Atlantic City again if a national is held there in the future.
Ron
Ron,
I'm sorry to hear your logistical problems. I knew Ocean City was a poor choice, as was the guards advice on the Trump Plaza. It's not the closest, and by far the hardest casino to figure out parking. If it makes you feel better, on Thursday I turned down a one-way street THE WRONG WAY, and I live here. Next time the National is in A.C., I'll personally make sure you get from hotel to show on your first shot each day. If you stay at the Sheraton, that'll make my job real easy.
I thought the VIP pass was great, but I was also able to buy it on-site on Monday, and was able to take advantage of all the "perks". However, if I was only coming for a couple days, I would agree that it wouldn't be worth it.
Currently collecting.....your guess is as good as mine.
When I got to the center around 3 Thursday afternoon, they still had the "Lot Full" sign posted at the main garage entrance, but I went in anyway and found tons of parking in the nosebleed section. On my way into the main hall I suggested to a security type they might want to take it down. I hope they did.
Atlantic City: D
I had originally planned to take my family, and then decided not to and I'm forever greatful I didn't. There's lots of boarded up buildings and tons of street people. What a shame. The place has so much potential.
The Convention Center and Hotel: A-
I did stay that the Sheraton and liked it and the Convention Center is fine too. The only problem is that it's isolated from the casinos and the Boardwalk. Still, I was overall very happy with the set-up.
The social aspect: A+
The Thursday night collectors dinner, the PSA Luncheon and meeting dealers and collectors from all over the country were all fantastic. With not one single exception, every person I talked to was well worth the time. My only regret is that I didn't meet more people. Where was Jay Wolt (qualitycards)?
Finding raw cards at the show: C-
I sort of expected this. I went to the 2000, 2001, and 2002 Nationals and each year I noticed a steady decrease in the quality of the raw cards at dealer's tables. I only bought 120 raw card during the entire trip and the vast majority are probably solid 8's and if I'm lucky I may pull about a dozen 9's, but mostly on '72s which are pretty plentiful. At the rate this is going, will it really be worth going to the future shows for finding cards? I'm not optimistic. What was also sad was that I did not find any decent raw vintage football cards. My '67 Philly Football set has been stagnant for the past year.
Finding graded cards at the show: B-
I bought a dozen cards. Four were bargains and the rest were slightly over eBay prices but I least I could view them thoroughly and that's probably worth the extra 10-20%. I really expected to see a lot more graded cards and it really didn't seem like a lot was out there. Maybe the supply is shrinking up.
(edited for grammar)
Atlantic City: C-
I can tell that Dan hadn't seen Atlantic City 3 years ago!!! Yes, the place is a far cry from Vegas. Heck, its a far cry from Hoboken, New Jersey!!! But, they are actually starting to make some progress at revitalizing lots and buildings away from the boardwalk. The Borgata and the Convention Center are creating a "zone" between the boardwalk and inland that are certainly on the way up. Should rate a solid C to C+ next time the National is here!
The Convention Center: B
I liked the Convention Center, but as other people found out (as did I) that their alternate parking plans stunk. The Convention Center itself was big, clean and well lit (comparatively) with plenty of places to sit and go through your cards, reasonably priced food (compared to Giants, Yankee and Shea Stadium) and enough room to move around.
The Hotel - Resorts: A+
What can I say? 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners, 2 late night snacks, 2 nights stay and some time at the bar - total $17.85. High Roller friends are a wonderful thing!
The social aspect: A+
The first hour at Set Builders table, the PSA Luncheon and meeting dealers and collectors from all over the country was all fantastic. I was finally able to answer that age old question... "Who is gemmintman????" Would have liked to have finally met more of the 72 crew - Erik Jarvi, Eric Olander, Dave Read, Chris Renaud and Mike Castaldi. But, I did finally meet the ever popular King Kellogg and one of the up and coming 72 guys Ron Crane!
Finding raw cards at the show: B
I did pretty well... I haven't tallied everything up yet because I don't want to handle them again until I have Card Saver I's to put them in... I figure that I plucked about 300 - 71's, maybe another 150 - 72's and another 150 - 63's, 64's, 66's and 67's that should be around 85% 8 and 9. I only stopped because I ran out of cash!
Finding graded cards at the show: N/A
Didn't even bother looking... I figured that the prices would be ridiculous and I pretty much know that big dealer website inventories by heart.
So, all in all - a weekend that I would do over again this coming week if I could....
Edited because Dan uses the formatting better than I do!!!
Sets - 1970, 1971 and 1972
Always looking for 1972 O-PEE-CHEE Baseball in PSA 9 or 10!
lynnfrank@earthlink.net
outerbankyank on eBay!
Did you win the 1972 PSA 10's in the Superior Auction? We had a contingent of people watching those closely figuring that you probably won them.
Regards,
Alan
Here's how I grade it.
Atlantic City-C, Better than Cleveland but not as nice as Chicago. I like it though.
Convention Center-B, Nicer than anyone I've been too.
Hotel-A+ (Bally's) I love the place. Stayed 3 days and didnt spend a dime on the room or food. I only lost $400 playing too.
Social-A+, Thursday was the highlight for me , along with the auction.
Raw cards-C-, Its getting thin.
Graded-D, I didnt see any buys or anything that seriously interested me.
Atlantic City : B+. Close and convenient for me. I unfortunately had no more than a day to spare, and the closeness factor allowed me to attend the show. Had it been a plane flight away, I am confident that I would have had to miss yet another National.
The Social Factor : A+. The PSA Set Registry Luncheon was great. So many people I got to meet and interact with -- so many that I have spoken to through these forums, e-mail and telephone. I only apologise that I was unable to spend more time with the many people I met. I was very happy to have finally met dude -- Dan is a world class gentleman. Mitochodria was also another great fellow collector to speak with. I enjoyed meeting Ray Boehm, and I briefly met thegemmintman and KingKellogg. I really wish I had had more time to speak to both of the latter gentlemen. I was happy to meet Riccaboni, 1954, FB, Alan Cowart, Neil Downey and Son and numerous other PSA Set Registry members and luncheon guests. BJ and Joe Orlando were great to speak with and finally meet in person. CU's CEO was very energetic -- I almost thought that I would be walking out of the luncheon with a used car. CrazySC -- you should really book him for Shop at Home!
I was furthermore happy to meet many dealers who I know very well through e-mail, telephone, etc. I finally got to meet Louis Bollman, and had a nice, albeit brief conversation with him. He always has material that I wish I had more money to obtain! He is quite a resource for vintage information -- and he has a great eye for cards to boot. I was very excited to finally meet Ron Hobbs. Though Ron collects many sets -- I was able to engage him on the 1955 Bowman baseball set for a good half hour or so. Though I wish we had more time to chat, I was happy that he can now put a face to my name, and I am confident that we might make some mutually agreeable trades in the future. I also spoke with Ric Snyder for a short while, which was an engaging conversation.
Finally, I was happy to meet other collectors all through the show. I met Howard Goodman, who is a fellow 1955 Bowman baseball afficianado. I spent a good deal of time talking with Dave Lemon, who shares a Mike Schmidt fascination with me. I have talked to him multiple times over the years, and am again pleased to be able to put a face with the name. Slightly older than me, he has vivid memories of Schmidt's first decade in the majors, and he even named one of his old dogs "Schmitty" in honor of the great third baseman. Finally, I was able to meet Brian Seigel, who I have spoken to a few times before. Brian is quite the gentleman, and he is such a great resource for vintage material. I cannot thank him enough for donating his many great cards and bats to PSA to showcase in their booths -- seeing the wide eyes of younger collectors as they see the T206 Wagner, Clemente's flared bat or Frank Robinson's heavy barrell bat, children and adult collectors alike seem to walk away a little dazed at seeing the items that Brian so kindly shares with the rest of the hobby. He also is great to talk about vintage Philadelphia baseball. Those he likes the Athletics more than the Philadelphia Nationals, I really enjoyed hearing him speak of the 1913 A's, etc.
Finding Raw Cards at the Show : C-. To this day, I have not found a single raw 1955 Bowman baseball card at a show that would grade out as NM/MT. Though I still find some nice raw examples through dealer contacts, I am left with the notion that it is a terribly sensitive issue where the slightest of wear or imperfections in cut are very noticeable. Oh well. Saw some other nice raw cards for some specific issues that I follow, though.
Finding Graded Cards at the Show : B. Would leave a higher grade here had my budget allowed me to actually purchase some of the graded card finds at the show.
Finding Other Stuff at the Show : A-. I am always amazed at how many neat things that I find that I never saw before or would love to add to my collection. My neatest 1955 Bowman peripheral was a 1955 Bowman Gum contract addendum signed by Edward Yost (Eddie was #73 in the 1955 Bowman set). A neat little addition to my 1955 Bowman peripherals, something that I have not had anything similar of before.
All in all, I went to the show for the people, and was extremely glad that I was able to. I am only sorry that I was unable to try and attend Thursday evening's dinner, and that I did not have more time to meet and interact with other collectors, dealers, etc.
I walked over to the Boardwalk Wednesday night. I walked out of the hotel by myself but there were a lot of other people walking out at the same time including Mr. Mint and his wife. Everyone was pretty much minding their own business walking towards the casinos and then we saw some strange looking men walking our way, and then everyone suddenly huddled up in a single group and walked together. I actually chatted with Mr. Mint for awhile. He's actually very personable. Once I introduced myself he always mentioned my first name when he had something to say to me.
The group split up at the boardwalk. That place was a little weird. I went into a pizza shop and the menu on the wall didn't have prices. I asked the man behind the counter how much a slice of pizza with mushrooms is and he told me $5. When I started walking away he said, "oh, I'm mistaken, I meant $4.00". When I stood silent for about 10 seconds he then said, "for you I'll make it $3.50". I thought to myself, what a racket. But since I was hungry, ordered 2 slices. But when the pizza was ready he charged me $3.00 for a bottle of rootbeer. When I sat there eating the pizza, he pulled the same stunt on a couple that walked in. I guess that guy preys on tourists and doesn't hope for any repeat business.
The other weird thing about that trip is that I flew on Delta, but it really wasn't Delta, it was ComAir. The planes are small. Only four seats across and only 20 or so rows. On the trip from Cincinnati, just about everyone on the plane was going to the National.
Atlantic City- B
Hasnt changed a great deal in the last 10 years. For me I got around pretty easy. I stayed at Caesars so I left my car in their lot all the time I was there. I walked across the street to the Convention Center and didnt find that a big deal; saved a few sheckles too. Even Sabatini's was right next door to Caesars so I guess I just lucked out. I could see how first timers would get frustrated and on Friday morning there was no sight of a shuttle to the CC. all in all AC is not a bad spot for this sort of show with the casinos and all but I am glad I did 2 days and not 4!
Convention Center - B+ I did the general admission thing and was pleased to find out that Thursday entry was free. I had no problems with tickets and i bought my Friday entry on Thursday. The CC was plenty spacious. It's proximity to Caesars made it work for me location wise.
Social Aspects - A The Thursday night Sabatini's summit was the highlight! PSA's well run Friday luncheon was a huge success and also the set registry members dream...100 or so major collectors in the same room! My card needs were indeed secondary to making the acquaintance of so many of this boards visible members. I t was great to meet them all.
Raw Cards - C+ Most of what I found was in the 7/8 range potential rather than the 8/9 with the 69' Topps baseball I was looking for.
Submitted what I found after a scrutinous look while filling out my invoice at the PSA booth. Will report back.
Graded Cards - B+ Thanks mostly to Ron Hobbs who set up a booth. He brought along all of his collected PSA 7/8/9 1969 Topps Baseball dupes. I was able to add 12 new cards to my set and upgrade an additional 6 more including 180 Horton, 390Freehan, 460Torre, 160Pinson, 453Cuellar, 547Billy Martin and a tough Paul Lindblad #449 in PSA 8. Some of these were cards i routinely get outbid on with ebay. Thanks so much again Ron. Other than those I was only able to upgrade 1 additional card to 8 from another source. I did add 7 more nice PSA 7 1966 Topps baseball to my NRMT set including Boog Powell and M. Alou for distressed prices. As a general rule though I would agree with the impression that there werent as many graded cards displayed as I would have expected.
This was my first National so my excitement level was off the scale. For me I would grade the overall show a B+
RayB69Topps
Atlantic City (C) - The boardwalk was a bit nicer then the last time I was there. The wife and I checked it out on Wed night and although many of the shops were closed incl a Mall that looked liked a ship, the casinos were hopping, we liked the Ballys Wild West casino w/ its western theme, both inside and outside, and we ate at Trumps casino, and bet just a little, won some lost some and broke even for the night.
Convention Center (A) - Spacious, modern and clean. It was so big it looked the show was empty on Thursday. I probably missed 20% of the tables since I was always circulating around the same section. The Wednesday dealer set up day was like looking at cards in a boiler room, they turned off the AC so that trucks can drive in, I saw more then 1 dealer setting up with no shirt on, unfortunatly they were men.
Hotel (B) - Stayed at the host hotel the Sheraton, very modern and clean and it was a stones throw from the show. Room rates were high, $8. daily for parking and everyone had their hands out for tips. Checking in was a bit of a headache double parking the car while a bellhop retrieved the bags, but at least my room was available. On Thursday, I was to meet thebobs for a Red Man trade and went to the desk for his room # and Dave Parker was in front of us, he learned that they had no room for him. He was nice and I talked to him for awhile. Figured the wife woudn't want him sleeping on our floor.
Social (D) - I turned down Gaspipes Email invite to attend the dinner, since I was to meet a board member for dinner on Thursday night, waited in the hotel room for a few hours and even phoned the resturant twice to see if he arrived after no contact we ordered a pizza, the wife wasn't too happy that evening. Turns out he was at the dinner at Sabitini's w/ the others. I did make the trade w/ thebobs in his room that he shared w/ Wayne & Sellerman, didn't get to see Wayne, he was at the dinner too, but chatted awhile w/ Brian & Dave, and had a good time. They made a point of showing me an '86 Clemens PSA-8oc that they planned to offer to Mr. Mint. I was planning to hit the luncheon for an hour or so, but at 10:00 AM we were packed and didn't want to wait 3 hours. Nor did I want to spend $24 on admission to the show for that brief a time - so we left. I did meet many dealers that I knew and talked to Jim Spence at the PSA table (I had bought auto's from him for years) he told me that he was no longer selling autographs, just concentrating on his PSA authenticating duties. I also ran into 1 of the show promoter John Broggi who I've known for 20 years, said hello and Introduced the wife and his phone rang, he seemed real busy, understandably so. I would have liked to have talked to Dude, Gemmintman, Mantlefan and others, but at least I have seen Ejguru, Gaspipe, FB, Pekovich at Fort Washington, and will probably bump into them again in Sept.
Purchases (D) - I didn't expect to buy an awful lot, and I didn't, spent a few hundred on some PSA 58's and bought the souvenir type stuff for the kids, like a 3 puck set of the Atlantic City minor league hockey team the Boardwalk Bullies. I also had a couple of neat items that I wanted Bob Feller to sign, a 1941 magazine and a 1957 advertisement. It was wierd looking over and seeing Lou Brock, Juan Marichal, Harmon Killebrew & Bob Gibson having no one, or 1 or 2 getting autos, but then again they started signing before Feller, so I assume they were busier earlier in the day.
Overall I'm glad I went, the show was impressive, my 1st National in 15 years. Spent some nice quality time with the wife, but having her there prohibited meeting others during the show and of course away from the show. If I plan to do Cleveland next year, I'll do it solo, at least I can play the music loud on the drive over
Website: http://www.qualitycards.com
On the 72 PSA 10's - nope, not me sad to say... I don't believe that I was even the underbidder since they all went for $30 or more over what I had bid. I'm guessing that they'll show up in the collections of either Chris Renaud, Eric Olander or the new 72 sheriff in town - Brian Long.
Sets - 1970, 1971 and 1972
Always looking for 1972 O-PEE-CHEE Baseball in PSA 9 or 10!
lynnfrank@earthlink.net
outerbankyank on eBay!
Here are my views of the 2003 National...Baseball guys bear with me.
Atlantic City...same as it's ever been..usually i never leave the casino, so who cares what the neighborhood looks like 3 blocks off the boardwalk.
Convention Center...new, clean,HUGE, and surprisingly well lit and well air conditioned, made for a comfortable day.
Hotel..i stayed at the Borgata, a mere 10 minutes and $8.00 cab drive away.
National..i was there 11-7 Thursday and Friday (Free admission Thurs, $12 Friday)
Vintage Basketball Graded...not much, Some beautiful cards were found at Mint State (as usual) and Ninth Inning (as usual)..Rick (Mint State) consistantly comes up with the best 69/70 and 70/71 cards and has solid stock of 71-79 in very high grade.
Vintage Basketball Raw...tons and tons of raw cards, 10's of thousand, unfortunately 99% were in the ex-mint to nr-mint range. (PSA 6 to PSA 7). A mid-garde raw set collector's dream.You could have built 100 1971 Topps sets in ex-mt shape if you wanted to.
Vintage Football Graded...lots of cards from all years (most priced way over SMR)..one stand-out Peter Lalos (Champs and Bums) always has great stock.If you didn't mind dropping the cash there were many nice cards to be had.
Vintage Football Raw...much like Basketball, tons of raw cards but most were off condition, saw many many people working on mid-grade 1955 AA sets and 52 B (large and small)..the best quality raw football was at Vic Stanley's booth (always has high quality raw).
Hockey cards...with AJ and Platinum production, i saw the most vintage hockey cards i've ever seen at a show, some very nice items.
Overall a decent show, after searching through raw cards for 16 hours i only bought about 100-150 cards and i'm hoping (praying) half come back as PSA 8's.
Well, thanks for listening..and as always...enjoy the hunt.
Atlantic City: B It was actually nicer than I thought. the boardwalk was wide and safe, adn the casinos were all I expected them to be. The area between the Boardwalk and the Convention center is under construction with lots of shopping coming in. Since the show is the main focu s anyway, it is nice to have the csinos to go to at off hours, if you like that sort of thing. I was lucky enough to hit a hot streak at the BlackJack table, that more than paid for my 2 rooms for 2 nights.
Convention Center: B Very nice for a card show, Not as nice as some other big cities like San Antonio or Denver or DC. The VIP lounge was a joke. In fact the whole VIP ticket was a waste, unless you wanted autographs of nobodies. The one hour early admission was the only thing worthwhile for me.
Hotel B
I booked a room at Bally's, but was put up in there Claridge wing. Actually, that was probably a plus, because the rooms were very large and it had high speed internet access! IT was a 10 minute walk to the convention center, but at night, it was a little scary. I was glad I had Acowa to walk with Thursday night, particularly since I was carrying lots of $$$$.
Social: A- The best part of the show. It was great to meet Acowa, Mitochondria, King Kellog, Gaspipe, RayBShotz, MikeSchmidt, ejGuru, Gemmintman, Tipem, Dude, Wayne####, Ron Ritt?, Wolfbear, Frank Bakka, and many others.
There are two reasons for the minus. First, I had my wife and son and his friend along. They had no interest in the show or gambling, so for them, it was a bust, and they just wanted to leave. I was only able to stay until early Friday afternoon, because after they checked out of the hotel, they just wanted to leave town. I would have loved to have stayed and socialized more and gambled with some of you guys. Second, I am sure that I saw many other people I knew, but didn't know that I knew them. Neil Downey had a nametag on that looked very official with the PSA Set Registry logo on it. Hopefully, BJ will be able to work up something similar next year so that we can recognize people and talk to them. I never did link up with The Duke of Mint, though I heard he was there Thursday.
Show material B- Not too much high grade raw stuff around that I could find. There is more graded stuff on Ebay than I saw at the show, but I was able to pick up two nice cards for my 61 set. It was great meeting dealers that I had dealt with before. Particularly nice were Peter Lalos, Paul Starx, Joe Taurellio(Norty), Kyle of Kyle's cards, Kurt of Kurtz Kards, Marc Perno of Vintage Sports Investments, and Bob Kaiser of Kaiser cards.
Overall, I loved the show and learned a lot. I will definitely be in Cleveland next year!
Rob
however it sounds like atlantic city kinda of sucks ... why dont the promoters ever set up in places like south florida? the town cant be beat, the weather is usually great, beaches and other family things to do and the convention center is big enough to hold the biggest boat show in the world.
oh well...so next year it will be held in cleveland? is that right?
Groucho Marx