Comments: My first Gehrig portrait card was a 1960 Fleer example purchased in August, 1999. I never liked it much - the image was just bad. So, in March 2003 I purchased another tribute card - a PSA 10 1973 US Playing card. Great color - shiny new card. I really wanted a '34 Goudey. It's a card that could be had on eBay any day of the year or found on anybody's table at every show. It's always around but still commands a strong price. For the money, I was convinced it was better to buy stuff which didn't come up as often - other gaps in the collection. So, I only pursued undergraded examples with lowball bids and never won. At each National from 2004 to 2011 I searched for the right one but didn't pull the trigger, opting to buy other items with my money. As the collection grew, the tribute stood out like a sore thumb more and more. It's the one player in the entire collection that has gathered a sort of mystique for me. I want it to be a special purchase, perhaps a card I could see in person before purchase, but I also don't want to overpay. I saw a gorgeous SGC 30 example (which looked EX) at the Hunt Auctions booth at the 2011 National show. It was exactly what I wanted, it was mine…..centered, great color and hopefully affordable. I went as high as I could but it ended up selling to another buyer for a VG-EX price. On August 4th at the 2012 National I found a beautiful PSA 2 '34 Goudey Gehrig. It looked like a nice EX card at first glance - good corners and centering, clean front and back, and great eye appeal with bright color. The only issue was several light wrinkles from left to right visible primarily on the reverse. This was my card. Later that evening I looked up the prices and made a mental note. I only had an hour on Sunday at the show in order to catch my plane. I searched for an affordable parking spot all around downtown, Parking in downtown Baltimore is a pain in the ass. I found a spot and with a price in mind walked into the show to talk to the dealer. I asked him for his rock bottom and he threw out a number. It was the exact number I determined, on the low side of the scale of sales from 2006 to 2012 for comparable PSA/SGC 2's. DEAL!!! It's a high end beauty purchased at a low end bargain. This card made my 2012 show and I'll always remember the face-to-face purchase - something I really wanted with this iconic card. It was in my pocket the whole trip home and I must have looked at it a hundred times.

UPDATE: The weekend of July 25th, 2015 there was still the possibility of work flying me out to Indiana to meet a client.  The contract did not get signed in time and travel was off.  It was disappointing because The National was being held in Chicago the very same week just a few hours away.  I was hoping for the possibility of piggy-backing on the trip with a few days of vacation to visit the show at the tail end of the week.  Then, on Friday July 31st I received word they needed me on the following Monday.  Perfect!  I booked a flight for Saturday morning and was at the Donald Stephens Convention Center by noon.  I walked the show floor for several hours and didn’t find anything at first.  I eventually reached my friends – Al Crisafulli (Love of the Game Auctions) and Ryan Christoff (CubanBaseballCards.com) who were sharing a table towards the back of the room.  Al had the Lou Gehrig Hanna Batrite model game used bat on display.  He let me hold it later in the show and snap some pictures:

On August 9, 2015, the bat sells for $436,970 - read the story here!