They were almost unsellable 30 years ago. Modern basketball cards had all but died and Fleer's valiant attempt to bring them back in the latter half of the 1980s was met with little more than a yawn. Now, though, unopened boxes of the first two years of Fleer hoops are worth a small fortune. On Wednesday, just hours after the official opening of the National … [Read more...]
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The Man Who Wrote the Book on Mickey Mantle Baseball Cards
Like millions of other kids, he started collecting baseball cards in the 1950s. Bill Wilen really got serious as an adult, focusing on Mickey Mantle. Over the years, he's acquired virtually every Mantle card issued from 1951-2000. Now, they're all up for auction. The retired Chicago area attorney is at the National Sports Collectors Convention, showing … [Read more...]
VIDEO: 2017 National Sports Collectors Convention Opens in Chicago
From Aaron Judge to Hank Aaron. Buck Weaver to Earl Weaver. George Mikan to Michael Jordan. If he's on your want list or if he is your want list, the 2017 National Sports Collectors Convention will have something for you. The five-day show opened Wednesday afternoon with hundreds of tables inside a sometimes dimly-lit Stephens Convention Center, all … [Read more...]
Topps Phases Out Chief Wahoo From Its Card Logos
It was a subtle, quiet move, but Topps has phased out the long-standing "Chief Wahoo" logo of the Cleveland Indians with the more generic "block-C" on most of its baseball cards this year. The Indians have come under increased pressure to remove the longtime logo, which depicts a red-faced, smiling Native American that has been called racially insensitive and … [Read more...]
Bound for National Sports Collectors Convention? A Little Advice
It doesn't seem possible but the bulk of this story was originally written several years ago, just prior to the 2008 show in Chicago. "The National" is back for another go-round so it's a good time to post it again and add a few more hints to help you get the most out of the industry's biggest event. It's been around for going on since 1980, when a group of dealers … [Read more...]
FLASHBACK: Strangest Finds of the 2015 National
If you can navigate your way through autograph seekers, vintage card enthusiasts and the dozens (it feels like dozens) of companies doing live case breaks, you never know what you might find at the annual National Sports Collectors Convention. And while that’s not the most flattering lede ever…I love The National. Really…I do. It’s pretty fantastic and two years ago, I took … [Read more...]
New Stash of High-Grade W600 Sporting Life Cabinets Graded
They weren’t hiding in someone’s attic but their emergence proves there are still plenty of great cards that have yet to be graded. PSA recently received a submission of numerous W600 Sporting Life cabinet cards from the famous series produced in the first decade of the 1900s. Included in the valuable group were several Hall of Famers. Scarce in any condition, they newly … [Read more...]
1961-62 Fleer Pack with Wilt to be Opened at NSCC
They’ve been sealed away for over 55 years but on Friday at 10 AM, cards from a 1961-62 Fleer basketball pack will emerge as part of a PSA promotion. The pack, which has a Wilt Chamberlain rookie card showing through the back of the wrapper, will be opened on the Mike Berkus Main Stage at the National Sports Collectors Convention. The owner will open the pack onstage and … [Read more...]
Break and Flip: Box Breaker Launches Instant Inventory System
Call it “no fuss, no muss” breaking. A newcomer to the game has launched a new way for collectors to sell cards pulled from its daily box and case breaks within minutes—without ever touching them. The concept is the brainchild of Maine Sports Cards owner Dan DeCosta, a long-time collector and former shop owner who launched his site in May of this year. While … [Read more...]
Prescott, His People, Panini Gather for Hours-Long Autograph Session
There were witnesses. There were agents. There were a LOT of football cards... and enough markers to keep the fresh ink flowing. Hoping to put an embarrassing situation behind them, Dak Prescott, two of his representatives and officials from Panini America sat down late last week to complete what appears to have been a marathon autograph session. The … [Read more...]
