Card Show on Trading Card Day

I took off work Friday afternoon a few hours early.  My wife and I had a quick baseball getaway weekend before school starts on the 14th.  She will be starting her 26th year of teaching elementary PE.  I would not have the nerves or patience for that job.  We drove to Peoria on Friday to catch a Chiefs game.  They lost 6 to 1, but we enjoyed the post-game fireworks and also received 2 Ivan Herrera bobbleheads.  

After the game, we drove to our hotel in Champaign.  There was a card show I wanted to attend on Saturday, and also a card shop I wanted to visit that was participating in National Trading Card Day.  I was not expecting much from the card show, as it was a small 60 table show in an old car dealership.  Lots of slabs and unpriced cards.  2 of my least favorite things.  I did manage to find a few cards to buy from 2 different dealers.

This dealer had a few quarter and 50-cent boxes.  Most of the cards were Donruss parallels, but I did manage to find these 4 cards for $1 total.  The 2 2022 Chrome Sky Blue refractors are well worth that.

The next dealer had a couple of vintage showcases and a 1600-count box.  I found three Cardinals from the 1960s for $57.

The 1960 Gibson is off-center, but not as bad as my scanner made it out to be. Otherwise, it is very sharp. The 1960 Flood is almost perfect. Only one corner is a little soft. The 1965 World Series Highlights card has a small crease, but otherwise, it is in decent shape. The Gibson was the big draw for me. His second-year card for less than $50 is a win in my book.  

We ate a quick lunch and headed to the card shop.  I have driven by this store several times, but I thought it was an antique shop.  Inside the store, there was a small corner with 2 showcases of cards and boxes.  I also found a few monster boxes of various sports.  One of the workers made sure we saw the free packs as soon as we entered.  

These were the best cards we pulled.  She also said we could have the Elly De La Cruz and Ohtani cards without making a purchase.  

I only grabbed the Cruz.  I am not sure the worker fully understood the program.  The store had a 1600-count box full of packs and promo cards.  I am betting most are still sitting there today.  I did pull a couple of cards from the dollar box.

The Molina is an A&G back mini.  Not the greatest bargains, but I felt guilty getting the other cards for free.  I know another shop in town was playing it by the book and not handing out the Cruz or Ohtani unless you bought $10 worth of Topps packs.