A stain upon the silence...
The
1959 Topps Luis Aparicio #310 is what I call an
"Opportunity Accost" - unexpectedly coming across a card and knowing if you don’t buy it at that price, the next person who sees it will undoubtedly jump on it. It's nicely centered and there are very, very minor (and easily-ignored) gum stains on the back. Before the internet existed, just seeing a
1963 Fleer Checklist was a fantastical experience, the embodiment of rarity. Nowadays, it still holds a great deal of that same magic for many of us. The (air quotes) "off center"
1965 Topps Clete Boyer #475, is an 'ancient' relic I remember from my youth. One of my brother's friends gave us a stack of very old cards (I assumed he gave up collecting so he could learn guitar and start landing chicks??) and a round-cornered Boyer with another Yankee I had never heard of, Tom Tresh (whose name obviously made me laugh), were a part of it. And the
1972 Topps Nolan Ryan #595 is a beautiful looking (read as 'no tilt,' and ignore the Mets uniform with the airbrushed abomination of a hat), quickly escalating card...