National Sports Collectors Convention: Day 2

Day two at the NSCC was just as good as day 1, only better.  I arrived around 10am, and immediately went over to the area where I knew there were tons of boxes to search through.  As soon as I got over there, something caught my eye: ALL CARDS .25 CENTS.  I saw that and I was intrigued.  I knew that if I went over there I'd be there for hours, but--maybe not?  Nah, I was there until 1pm going through cards, chatting with other collectors, etc.

After that I was starving, so I decided to go up to the VIP lounge to eat the sandwich I brought with me.  But wait, more boxes at an adjacent table caught my eye.  I went to that table and spent another hour going through cards.  After that I was really, really hungry, so I forced myself to go upstairs, take a break, and eat.

Coming back into the convention center, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do.  I walked around and looked at some cool stuff, especially at the Steiner Sports table.

They had a ton of game used bats (all Yankees, Dodgers, or Cubs) for only 30 bucks.  They were scrub players, of course, but they were very scuffed up and many had pine tar on them.  Very attractive to collectors.

For three hundred dollars, you can own a pair of Derek Jeter's game used batting gloves.  For another $300, you can own a pair of Jeter's game worn wristbands.

Maybe you'd rather own Curtis Granderson's filthy batting gloves.

Or maybe you'd like a Jorge Posada game used bat?

For less than the cost of a Jeter wristband or batting glove, you can have a Robin Cano used 2012 Spring Training chair.  This will run you $250.

You can also buy a well used Red Sox team equipment bag.

After wandering around the Steiner booth looking at all the cool stuff, I saw another booth that caught my eye.  I stayed there around an hour looking through lots of boxes of high end cards and picked up some really cool stuff.  I promise I will show off all my loot on the blog later.  I have a LOT of it.

One more stop: the TriStar Auto area.  I wore a special shirt they gave out for free, and if you wore the shirt to the NSCC and they found you randomly, you'd win some sort of prize.  Well, I was bantering back and forth with the guy in the booth the day before, so I figured I'd try to go charm my way into "winning" something for wearing the shirt.  After some friendly joking around he obliged. He made me catch a star shaped stress ball one handed, and I did.  Then he made me choose an envelope and I played a game Deal or No Deal style.  I wound up keeping my original envelope and inside were...

Five free TriStar autograph authentication vouchers!  A nice prize if I decide to actually get all the VIP autographs I am entitled to!

The Topps party was at 5, and it was time to make my way to the front of the center to head upstairs to it.  The place is so big, it honestly takes around more than 5 full minutes to walk to the front.  Before heading out i stopped at the Topps booth to check on the redemption program for the GQ minis.  I was bummed when they told me they only had three players left for the day--none of them Bryce Harper or RGIII.  I will try again tomorrow, Derek!

I snapped a few pictures on the side of the Topps booth I hadn't seen before.  You've all heard of the Topps Vault, right?

Griffey, Mays, and Mantle Topps contracts.

Nolan Ryan check, Mickey Mantle check...

Mantle and Maris above.

After browsing there I went upstairs to the party.  The room was set up like a press conference type setting.  There were two open bars (yes, FULL open bars) outside the doors and a nice spread of food.  All provided free from Topps.

The food was nice.  There were mini cheeseburgers, pigs in a blanket, mini chicken quesadillas, and other finger foods.

Then there was a Q & A session, along with trivia and door prizes! Lots and lots and lots of prizes were given away!  Some of the hobby boxes Topps gave out hobby boxes of 2012: Inception, UFC Finest, Allen & Ginter, Tier One (the person who won the Tier One box pulled an Ernie Banks rookie reprint auto), Pro Debut, Archives, and Heritage, to name a few.  They gave away maybe....20(?) boxes.  They were quite generous all the way around for this event.

Here was the setting:

Oh yeah, towards the end my ticket was pulled and I won...

A hobby box of 2012 UFC Finest!  There are SIX HITS in this box and I cannot wait to bust it and see what I get.  Nevermind that I cannot tell you the name of one UFC fighter, but I can tell you the hits can be valuable!

This last part is pretty cool.  For attending the party we were given a preview of the brand new Topps football product that is being released next Wednesday, 8/8.  The guy even gave a few of the cards away as prizes.

Here he is showing us the not yet released product.

And here is an actual card from the product, that the guy behind me won along with a box of Inception!

All in all, another great day at the National!