Fact #1) I installed a security camera in my card room so I could keep an eye on my collection. Is this paranoid of me? Perhaps. But it's reassuring to be able to take a live look in on my babies when I'm across the country and see them safe and sound, plus be notified of any unexpected movement in the room.
Fact #2) Arriving home from a few days with a "vacation hold" on your mail means there's a good chance you've got a sweet mailday in your future. And this trip didn't let me down in that regard.
Here's the card I was most excited about. The great Sandy Koufax! And it's in perfect condition too. "Perfect" meaning it has a flaw to drastically drop the price, but barely takes away from the beauty of the card. Something like a raunchy crease across the face or some dark markings.. those could be deal-breakers for me. But a bad corner that doesn't effect the photo or any text? Hey, if the price is right, I'm totally on board for that. A recent eBay discount code and an accepted Best Offer helped bring down the price even more. Unlike my '56 Hank Aaron, no custom overlay is necessary for this paper loss. Koufax cards are no strangers to counterfeiting, so I wanted to land a graded '64 for my setbuild for peace of mind.
I also paired Sandy with the 1964 Topps card of former Dodger cohort, the Duke of Flatbush...
Looks odd to see Duke Snider as a Met, but I guess at least the uniform colors are close enough.
This is Duke's final card from his playing days. After one year back in the Big Apple, he finished up his career with a lackluster '64 season in San Francisco, but did not get a card in 1965 Topps (probably a blessing to Dodgers fans who ache at the sight of their all-time greats suited up for the rival Giants).
Cool to add these two of HOFers to my 1964 Topps setbuild. And that's a fact! :P
I'm now literally just one more card away from crossing the ⅔ complete milestone, so if you've got any '64s available and want to feel the pride of getting a fellow collector to within a third of the set left to chase, please check out my needs and get in touch about a trade. Thanks!
I’ve never thought to have a security camera on my card room but I have worried about it from time to time so I don’t think you’re paranoid. Also it’s nice to see another collector grab slabbed singles for vintage sets-in any grade. The authentication is a big reason why I prefer to purchase slabbed singles; you never know what card might be counterfeited, trimmed, or recolored (which I learned from one of my high value COMC purchases)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on approaching the 2/3 milestone for your ‘64 set! Hopefully a fellow collector will help you cross that line soon.
I want all 3! camera, koufax, duke, lol.
ReplyDeleteI can relate....I'm sitting in an airport now and when I pick up my vacation mail there should be some eBay winnings including an Edgardo Alfonzo auto and a sweet Tom Seaver relic.
ReplyDeleteFact #1: Hell no this doesn't make you paranoid. It makes you smart. We have a lot of money tied up in our collections and it'd be foolish to not protect them. I paid hundreds for my security each year (not only for my cards, but my home in general) plus have the whole surveillance on my phone app as well.
ReplyDeleteIt also looks like you and I have a back up plan as well. If anyone actually got into our collections... there's so much stuff thieves wouldn't know where to begin looking for cards. Outside of my vintage and player insert binders, all of my boxes are labeled with letters that wouldn't make sense to anyone, but me. Lol. It'd be like finding a needle in a haystack.
Fact #2: That Koufax is awesome! When it comes to spending more than a $10 or so on a vintage hall of famer... I pretty much only buy graded. Too many issues of cards being tampered with.