PARKIE PROJECT - Two From The Big Show

I'm still in recovery mode from watching one of the most exciting baseball games sporting events I think I have ever witnessed - ever.  I went into this game thinking it could be something special (obviously....since there was a very long streak that was going to end) but never did expect so many twists and turns and moments of joy and despair all tied up into one incredible evening.  I was pulling for the Cubs and I was on the edge of my seat right until the end.  It was incredible.

So how do I segue from that to some old hockey cards I picked up at the big show last weekend?

Well.....they're old.  Just like the streak.

One of the goals I had at the biggest card show of the year was to land at least one 51/52 Parkie for my vintage project.  I found a couple perfect fits but also had my eye on one other piece that had me flip-flopping all Sunday afternoon.

But first....the new additions.

1951/52 Parkhurst

#100 Wally Hergesheimer

I had come across a table - a pretty empty table...literally....like about 20 or 30 cards - that had a pile of Parkies all in tough shape.  Most were creased, bent or had crap on the backside.  There was a poorly handwritten note (using the hotel stationary) next to it that said "Parkies $40 each".  No way any of those cards were worthy of a pair of $20 bills.

But I started to bend after a while.

There was one card, Wally, that started to look like it could be a part of the collection.  It had a small crease in the bottom left, but the corners were nice, the back was clean and just from an aesthetic standpoint....I thought it looked good.  But I was still struggling with the price.

The keeper of the card came over to look at my stuff and noticed a baseball cut signature.  It was a card I had for a while and was kind of worried that it would be tough to get rid of.  So I cut him a deal on it if he would cut me a deal on the Parkie.

I still feel like I slightly overpaid, but I'm ok with it.  I didn't have any buyer's remorse that night or the next day (a sure sign that a bad purchase was made) and I'm looking at the card now thinking that I did the right thing.

There's some great color on the card and as I mentioned, the corners are pretty nice (for my set parameters anyways).  A great add.

1951/52 Parkhurst

#21 Walter "Gus" Kyle

This was a nice bonus that I stumbled upon after seeing Captain Canuck pick up some nice vintage Habs cards.  Seeing what he had picked up from a table on the far end of the room made me take another look at what they had in their vintage box.  I had taken a look earlier but didn't see any 51/52 Parkies.  Seems I missed them.

There was only one that worked for me (the others were just in too rough of shape to consider) and the price was a little more reasonable than the Wally.  While the corners weren't as solid, the entering was pretty good, the back was again clean and, well....it's a Parkie.  You just don't see them too often locally.

So I struck a second time.  Good enough for me.


Now on to the card that had me going back and forth.

It was a really nice Max Bentley card - PSA 6.  And the price was fair in my opinion (under $100 cdn). But where I struggled was in the slab.

My collection doesn't consist of graded cards.  I know a lot of people building this set go for the PSA versions as they really reinforce the quality level, authenticity and price maintenance.  But I just didn't want to go into that world as I felt I would eventually want to build them all graded.

And I really wouldn't want to break it free from the slab as it would just diminish the value of the card should I ever want to re-sell it.

It was nice and it was the right price, but it just didn't fit the parameters of my collection.  So I passed. OK, actually the guy packed up his cards early and left so the decision was pretty much made for me (must have taken him forever to pack up all 20 of his cards).

So I left feeling good about my vintage pickups but it did leave me thinking if I am on the right road with my collection.  I think I am.  And I'm sure once I start venturing into the bigger ticket cards I'll be glad I'm building a set that is of this condition.  I don't know if I could build a high grade set of this age.

Hopefully I can land a few more over the next 12 months.  It was a rush adding these two to the pc.

Parkie Progress - 17 out of 105  (16.2%)