(Zack) Wheat Wednesday: 1923 Willard Chocolate PSA 1 -- 2019 National Convention Purchase # 4

Here's the last card I bought at the 2019 National -- and yes, that was in August of 2019. I'm only a little behind. I saw this on the show floor on my first or second day of wandering and worked out a deal with the seller. I confirmed its authenticity with our head grader and submitted it once returning to SoCal.

I had never seen this 1923 Willard Chocolate card before finding it at the show and couldn't resist adding another unique item to my Wheat Collection. These came from Canada and are tougher to track down so while it's rougher than I would usually target its scarcity made it an easy acquisition.

(Zack) Wheat Wednesday: 1922 W501, Slabbed an SGC 82 -- 2019 National Convention Purchase # 3

Here's the third posted pickup from the 2019 National and another card I had never seen before attending the show, which is one of the cooler aspects of a show of this magnitude. I was prepared for more unique items to pop up and thankfully the seller and I worked out a deal on this beaut.

My newest Zack Wheat Pickup hails from the 1922 W501 Strip Card Set and the high-grade was just an added bonus to the pickup itself. These often come hand-cut with clearly janky borders so to find one as clean as this is really cool and rare on top of the set being rare in and of itself.

As I mentioned the seller gave me a deal and the card was way under what I would have valued it at based on the minimal previous sales so overall this was my most rewarding pickup at the show.

Work Perks: 2019 National PSA Promo Set: Wagner, Cobb, Mathewson, LaJoie, and Shoeless Joe

PSA was giving away a promo set of 5 cards at the 2019 National commemorating some of the all-time great pre-war players. Pre-war is my jam so I asked around until one of the leftover batches of cards was available.

Cobb is by far my favorite of the bunch.

2019 National Convention Purchase # 2: Howie Camnitz T206 Piedmont, SGC 30 (Double-Name)!

Here is the second of my four purchases at the 2019 National Convention in Chicago -- technically Rosemont -- only three months or so after the actual show took place. It was the first National I was able to attend and while work was really busy I was able to find some time to walk the floor. It was incredible and overwhelming at the same time and I can't wait to attend the 2020 show in Atlantic City and add a few more things to my collection.

There was so much to take in that I'm sure I missed some killer stuff but I was as thorough as I could be with the time I had to check out the tables. Tuesday while setup was occurring was the best day by far to walk because there was no work to be done so I had all the freedom in the world. The first card I nabbed was the above Howie Camnitz T206. It's the Arms at Side variation with a Piedmont back, slabbed an SGC 30.

Most importantly, it has a Double-Name. That's what attracted me to the card in the vendor's showcase and I was willing to pay full-price but he actually gave me a discount without even asking, which was unexpected and appreciated. I could have bought him out with enough time....oh, and money. That thing too.

It's another welcome addition to my growing T206 Collection.

2019 National Convention Purchase # 1: Grover Cleveland Alexander 1921 Exhibits, Slabbed a BVG 2!

Here's purchase one from the 2019 National that has been over for weeks.This was actually the last thing I bought after I spotted this card on the final day of the show. I knew it was a player I did not own anything of and after quite a bit of negotiation I was able to land the newest addition to my Vintage PC for a fair enough price.

Alexander was a corn shucker in his formative years; helped the Cardinals win the World Series in 1926; fought in World War I where he suffered injuries that contributed to epilepsy; and has ties to two Presidents, being named after the 22nd and 24th Presidents and being portrayed by future President Ronald Reagan in a movie based on his life.

Here's the back complete with a stamp from a previous owner of the Exhibit, a Mr. Kevin J. Kenney. I like anything that doesn't take away from the presentability (not a word, I know....) of a card while lowering it's technical grade as that helps keep the card affordable. This cool back stamp fits that bill perfectly.