Despite the protestations of the National Weather Service that the summer still has a few more weeks of life, area schools are resuming classes and I am calling the end of the season for 2024. I'm ready for it, having just returned from a family vacation that took place at a beach cottage that had been "renovated" via the owner's hilariously inept DIY skills.
I made a few card-related moves in the past weeks. The aftermath of the National Card Collectors Convention provided some inventory shifts among sellers, bringing to light some cards I would have not otherwise seen. I added a '52 Topps high number rookie of Dick Groat after finding a seller seemingly content to offer pre-pandemic prices on her cards. A quartet of mid-grade1949 Leaf commons were acquired from a dealer working through the remnants of a collection that had been described as a "find" in various hobby publications a couple years ago. I checked a very tough serial numbered '90s Canseco card off my list and even landed my first Shohei Ohtani card (2018 Bowman base card w/pitching photo).
A little buying and selling for personal profit helped these transactions come about. At the same time I added the Groat card I added a mix of low grade '52 Topps stars and high numbers. Some were slight condition upgrades and the net result is a small pile of expendable '52 duplicates that are now in the process of being moved to other collectors. I have previously graded several raw Charlie Bishop cards in the hopes of attaining of completing a high grade run of his cards. One of these earned the description of "duplicate" after matching a previously graded example in my collection, allowing it to be sold to a rather ambitious set registry collector. The resulting proceeds and anticipated gains from those duplicate 1952s should offset a large portion of this month's purchases.
I am back to posting on a reasonable frequency on the main CardBoredom site. Most of what was written concerned cards appearing in the 1952 Topps set. Topics covered included electoral shenanigans at the 1957 All-Star Game, a reliever who was released after one inning of work in 1952, the sunset card of a catcher kept out of the World Series by his battery mate, and a high number with a singularly unique base on balls to his credit. In addition to '52 Topps, I took a look at a 2001 Finest Origins insert of a once promising Dodgers hurler who came very close to spending the majority of his career on the disabled list.
A big card from one of my set building projects gets profiled next month. In preparation for this I recently visited the local library and picked up a biography of the card's subject. In the interim, I want to leave you with a recommendation for some fantastic discussions of card history. Do yourself a favor and look at what is being put out by History Through Cards on YouTube. Have you ever wanted to know more about the 1941 Goudey set? How about the myriad of legal battles between rival manufacturers in the early postwar period? He's got you covered without yelling "BOOM!" or employing annoying clickbait thumbnails. It's just video of a guy talking about cards after putting in the research hours that make him worth listening to. I'm all ears if you have any similar suggestions.
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