COMC Blaster - Vintage, Vintage, Vintage!

Happy Sunday everyone!  Time for my latest "COMC Blaster" post; let's see how I did with $20 in credit on my absolute favorite sports card site on the internet.  The theme of today's post is vintage...

...and we lead off with a couple of needs from my 1965 Topps Red Sox team set.  It's really inexcusable that I haven't knocked some of these older team sets out already, or at the very least made more progress than I have.  Especially since I can get "will never need to upgrade" shape examples like Felix Mantilla here for 50 cents.

Or even high-number cards like Lenny Green for 73 cents.  This one's got a little ding in the upper right corner, but the card still presents very well and that doesn't bother me in the least.  $1.23 out the door, two cards closer to knocking this little project off.

I've mentioned that '50s and older baseball cards have really been a big hobby interest for me of late.  I will happily accept any card from the decade that I don't already own, but have been focusing on a couple of sets in particular.  One of which is 1959 Topps, and toward that goal I was able to snag a couple of commons for 60 cents each.  Alex Kellner of the Cardinals...

...and Julio Becquer of the Senators.  I'm well past the halfway point with this set now, and have the cards all laid out in a binder already.  It's so satisfying to slide new cards like these into their slots, especially at this price point.  That's not all the '59 Topps I have for today, however.

I ponied up $1.61 for this Carl Erskine, good for third most expensive card in today's post.  Sure, I may have paid the "Dodger Tax" here, but it's not like I broke the bank.  I love the ominous LA Memorial Coliseum background on this card.

Let's do another trio of new '59s here, with Don Dillard's Rookie Stars card setting me back 59 cents (appropriately, for a 1959 card)...

...Russ Kemmerer ringing in at 70 cents (but in immaculate condition!)...

...and Giants' hurler Curt Barclay rounding out the group at 67 cents.  That's half a dozen new cards for this set in total, bringing me up to 311 cards and counting now from this release.

We're only at an even $6.00 and counting as far as today's post goes, so let's keep plugging on here...

The other set that I've been working more diligently at than perhaps any other of late is 1955 Topps.  I love the over-sized cards, already had a decent start on it from a small lot I picked up when I re-entered the hobby in 2007, and the checklist is pretty small at just 206 cards.

I set sort of an unofficial goal of trying to get 1/3 of the way there (68-69 cards) by the end of this calendar year, and today I get three cards closer.  Wayne Terwilliger here was a total steal at just $1.13.

Fred Marsh of the Orioles was slightly more expensive at $1.60.  This one is in unbelievable shape for being well over 60 years old now.

I'm pretty shocked at the cartoon on the back of Marsh's card.  We're certainly living in a different era now.  Imagine the outrage if an image like this showed up on a modern day trading card?

Finishing off the '55s for today is catcher Charlie White of the Braves.  $1.64 for this one but again, I'll never need to upgrade or replace it.  I'd snag up more commons at these prices and in these conditions all day long, but it's getting harder and harder to find deals like this the further along I get in my quest.  With these three in hand though I'm up to 46 now, getting close to the 25% marker anyway!

The pair of '65 Topps cards that led off the post weren't the only progress made in '60s Sox team sets in this "blaster".  I also strengthened my 1960 Topps team set by two cards, with catcher Haywood Sullivan at 75 cents...

...and first baseman Vic Wertz at a very reasonable 60 cents.  I've now got 21 different Boston Red Sox cards from this release, but still have well over a dozen to go to knock off the team set.  One of those is the Yastrzemski rookie as well so yeah, it's gonna be a while...

If you're keeping tally, we're at $11.72 so far.  Let's dive back into the '50s to keep working towards the $20 total...

I love the 1956 Topps set every bit as much as the 1955 release.  I'm simply targeting '55 first because it's a smaller set and I'm further along with it.  That doesn't mean I won't grab cheap '56 cards when I run across them though!

Jim Wilson here is certainly a little rough condition-wise compared to what I typically look for, but this card cost just 50 cents.  50 cents for a 1956 Topps card that's not creased to hell and has no pen marks on it?  Yes, please!

Frank Sullivan, in much nicer shape and doubling as a new card for my Red Sox collection, was still had for just 75 cents.  I love the detailed ballpark background on this one, after the very plain one on the Jim Wilson card prior.

Art Fowler here's a tad bit worn, but came from the same seller as the Jim Wilson and was also just 50 cents.  Condition aside, you can't go wrong picking up three new '56 cards for a grand total of $1.75.  Just another example of why COMC is so great.

Topps wasn't the only company producing over-sized baseball cards in the '50s, as Bowman did so with their '53, '54 and '55 releases.  Next up I've got a pair from 1954, Murray Dickson of the Fightin' Phils for 85 cents...

...and Frank Shea of the Senators for one penny more than that.  True, each of these has a surface wrinkle or two, but that's what made them so affordable.  As you can see in the scans, they don't really do anything to detract from the overall visual beauty of the cards either.  Bowman produced some really great cards in the '50s, and I'm happy to have these two in my collection.

I also grabbed Frank Shea's 1955 Bowman release.  With color TV being a somewhat new novelty at the time, I totally appreciate the historical significance and tie to that cultural element in the 1955 Bowman set.  With that being said, it's actually my least favorite of the six baseball sets that Bowman released in the decade.  Couldn't pass up this one at just 75 cents.

That's all the vintage baseball I could easily get my hands on from my COMC "to be processed" box, but we're only at $15.93 in credit and counting.  Solution?  One awesome vintage hockey card to finish off the post.  Behold!

I never get tired of these stunning "tall-boy" 1964-65 Topps hockey cards.  I just don't seem to run across many opportunities to buy them at good prices, and because of that it's been some time since I picked one up.  When I stumbled upon this mint Bill Hay during this year's Spring Cleaning promotion, priced at just $4 even, I snagged it immediately.

Well, that's a wrap for today.  As these posts always seem to, this one just affirmed that hand-selecting singles is my preferred way to collect.  I appreciate the excitement of opening packs, but in the end it's doubtful that a retail blaster would have provided me with even a single card that I enjoyed as much as these.

Thanks as always for stopping by, and enjoy the rest of your weekend!