"The Take" from my trip to Newark, DE

Recently I have started working on filling holes in my 1970's Phillies card collection. I have always known there are a lot of great oddball sets from the decade, but just have not dedicated time to collecting them. Growing up I focused on Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton and that year's current team cards. My dad did a good job helping me to accumulate cards he remembered from the 50's and 60's and somehow the 70's were left out.

I went to the Aetna Fire Hall in Newark, DE a few years ago to see '64 Phillie, Art Mahaffey. I remembered it being a good spot to pull up a chair and sort through boxes of commons and vintage cards. After noticing a listing in Beckett Baseball for their September show (last Sunday), I decided to take a drive and try my luck. What I found was a good mix of old and new - and best of all, some dealers who were willing to negotiate price! I didn't necessarily load up on 1970's cards - but got a few good ones nonetheless...

What I got:

1987 Topps Traded Set and 1992 Upper Deck All-Star Fanfest Set for a total of $5! These were two big sets from my youth. I bought them just to enjoy looking through the cards. Maybe the best $5 spent this year.
O-Pee-Chee Phillies team sets from 1977, 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1986 for $8. Might have overpaid a little, but the dealer did come down from $15 so I felt like I got a deal. The '77 set ended up being the only 1970's cards I purchased.
50 Phillies commons from 80's, 90's and 00's. For ten cents a card it is hard to pass up the chance to add a bunch to the collection. Again, it is always fun to pull up to a box of commons and see what you find.

Follow me on Twitter

Like me on Facebook