Blog Bat-Around: The C-Note Challenge

A few months ago, The Collector brought us back to the days of Beckett's old "C-Note" column by showing us how he'd spend $100 on trading card singles. It's drummed up some interest as a blog bat-around since then, with Fuji and The Collective Mind adding their versions. As a new guy to the trading card blogosphere, I'd like to give it a try, too.

But the truth is, I'm not a huge collector. I'm not a team collector. I'm not a modern card collector. I don't have an enormous want list. When I do pick up an occasional oddball card, vintage card, or some cards for a set build, I'll try to do it through a trade. So the idea of spending $100 on cards in one fell swoop is pretty far from my reality. I might not spend $100 on cards in an entire year.

That being the case, my C-Note entry is going to be the imaginary kind. (i.e., "Gregory, you just won a $100 shopping spree at your childhood card shop! What will you buy?")

Before I get to my selections, here's a quick summary of the first few cards that came to mind, and my thought process:

Pete Rose rookie card? No, too expensive.

Ichiro Japanese BBM rookie card? No, too expensive.

Wayne Gretzky rookie card? Way too expensive.

And at that point I told myself it was time to dial it down a little bit. I started thinking about sets I needed to complete, and other cards that might be affordable and have nostalgic value.

Here's what I came up with, using the advanced search tool on eBay to find recently sold items:

(1) 1977-78 Topps #251, Bobby Orr

This is the final card I need to complete the 1977-78 Topps set, so I'd like to make it an actual part of my collection soon. The winning bidder here did very well, as this card often sells for much closer to the $10 mark.

(2) A Pierre Turgeon Autographed Card

When I was a teenager I took guitar lessons for a few years. My teacher was a cool guy. He knew I played hockey, and before we began one lesson I remember him telling me that he had started giving lessons to a player on the New York Islanders. Guess who it was?

Pierre Turgeon! 

For a couple of lessons after that I asked him to take one of my Turgeon cards with him to his next lesson with Pierre to ask for an autograph. He'd just say, Come on, I'm not going to do that. So I left it alone. It might be nice to have an autograph in my collection now, just for the good memories.

There weren't many recently sold autographed cards on eBay from Pierre's time with the Islanders, so I went with this Panini Classics version showing him in that great Buffalo Sabres uniform. Fantastic price here, too.
   

(3) 1948 Leaf #11, Phil Rizzuto RC

This one is a nostalgia purchase, for sure. I grew up listening to Phil Rizzuto call Yankees games on WPIX channel 11. And because every shopping spree should probably have at least one big-ticket item, why not a rookie card of "The Scooter"? I had to go for a low-grade version, but that's totally fine with me. I'd break this one out of its case, anyhow.

 

(4) 1952 Topps Look 'N See #18, Washington Irving

I snagged the Jules Verne card from this set a few months ago, and now another author jumps into the C-Note pile in the form of Washington Irving. He's a giant of literature and of New York history, what with Rip van Winkle and Ichabod Crane and all. The Alhambra, however, might be my favorite collection of Irving stories.

(5) 1973-74 O-Pee-Chee #202, Bob Nystrom

I was a toddler when the Islanders were in their dynasty years. I wouldn't become interested in hockey at all until the late 1980s, but I did catch up on the history of those legendary teams soon after that. I've got a Bryan Trottier rookie card in my collection, and it would be nice to have one of Mr. Islander himself, too. This one is a steal at $0.50 plus $3.50 shipping.

(6) 1984 Donruss #248, Don Mattingly RC

1984 Topps baseball cards are the first I remember collecting, and I've definitely got two or three of those Mattingly rookie cards in my collection. But I might only have two or three Donruss cards of any kind from that same year. Might be nice to add this rookie card, and for less than $10.00, too.

(7) 1984 Donruss #68, Darryl Strawberry

As long as I've got the Mattingly, why not add the 1984 Donruss card of another big New York rookie? Can't argue with that price.

(8) 1985 Hasbro Transformers Action Card #23, Brawn

At my youngest, I remember sitting at our kitchen table on Saturday mornings, watching the Transformers cartoon on a little black-and-white TV.

This card, however, is from a set that I do not remember seeing at all back then. It appears they were available for sale in hanger packs that each contained 8 cards plus 1 sticker. They must have been somewhat scarce, because individual cards are usually found in the $5 to $10 range these days. I went with Brawn here, because he's always up for a scrap with one of those Decepti-bums.

With that, I'm up to $92.23 including shipping. But because this was an exercise in nostalgia for me, I think I'm going to take the remaining $7.77 and save it. Maybe put it toward some new batting gloves for Little League. (Because that sounds like something I would have done back when I was collecting cards as a kid.)

Alright, who's next in the bat-around?