Night Owl Cards

I hope you don't mind seeing an overload of 1973 Topps over the next few days. Wait -- was that a groan? Do you have some sort of problem with backgrounds featuring men wearing purple leisure suits? I didn't think so. As soon as I announced that I was trying to complete the '73 set, packages started arriving at the door. I have two or three more of them to show, but none of them are as significant as this one. This one package was set by Mark of My Best Friend Collects Chipper Jones . He apparently has completed that set and had, oh, just a few leftovers sitting around in a shoebox. "Take what you need and send the rest back," he said in a note that accompanied 200 or so '73 Topps! OK, then. I've taken my needs and it amounts to around 160 (how's that for an excellent percentage?). I'll be sending the rest back hopefully this week or early next week. I really cannot get to the sending portion of this hobby lately. There were so many ...

A little while ago, I received another package from mr. haverkamp from The Bench . All of the cards were from my want list, including some 1971 Topps, for which I am ever grateful. The three cards he sent brings me one card short of 700 for the set, meaning I am just 53 cards away from completion or at 93 percent for those of you who work in percentiles. One of the cards he sent was card No. 1 in the set, the Orioles' team card. Topps was in the habit of featuring the team that won the previous World Series on card No. 1. It was a nice little tradition even if it did last only three years (you probably can pin the blame on Hank Aaron for the end of that run). Getting card No. 1 in any vintage set is a big deal and somewhat of an undertaking. That's because the first card in those sets often features a higher price tag than a similar card (say another team card) that is not card No. 1. If you've never heard this before, go dig up a price guide (I know you've got one ...