A Visit to Duluth, MN

 

 

My brother visited a couple of weeks ago and we decided to spend a day driving up to Duluth. I’d actually been there just a week prior for a card show and to spend some time with family, but I didn't get a chance to scout the local shops, so I was glad he was down for the trip. Duluth is notoriously hilly, and the winter mix of ice and fog can make driving a bit of a gamble. Luckily, the fog lifted just as we arrived, and we had a smooth ride into town.

We hadn't done anything like this since 2023, (you can read about that HERE) and this time we decided to start our trip by crossing the bridge into Superior, WI.  We wanted to visit some antique stores and card shops we visited last time.  We quickly discovered one of the shops is now selling only TCG cards.  Which is a shame as last time it was stocked up with vintage cards.

Fortunately the card shop we stopped at had vintage and I quickly set aside this $30 Garvey.

These four will do just fine for my '56 set build. This set build is about 70% complete.

I picked up this '59 Snider just because it's cool.

#50 from Topps 50/50 set honoring Ohtani's achievement needed a home.

My scanner just sucks when it comes to encased cards but this auto'd 2019-20 Clear Cut of Pat Lafontaine couldn't be passed up.  This guy should have been a North Star, but they blew it.

We found a new-to-us antique mall and decided to stop.  I found a dealer there with some nice books of vintage cards including these '51 Bowman.

Did I mention this set is growing on me?  I plucked these from the same antique dealer.

I also picked up these Post cards for the set build.  I'm pretty sure the Ralph Terry is from the 63 Jell-O set but it's tough to tell.

Back in Duluth, we visited the same mall where I had attended the card show.  I didn't realize there was a card shop there but it turns out the same shop we visited in Superior also runs the shop in the mall.  However there just wasn't much in the way of vintage so I sorted through a box of Ant's and pulled these out.  They range from $3 to $10, but I threw out an offer and they accepted.

The shop had a stack these sitting on the counter for $5.  I figured I couldn't buy this directly from Topps for just $5 so I had to have one.

And a PSA 10 for $10?  Yep I took it home.

An online buy, this Frank is pretty nice and set me back $32.38.

These 4 were also had online.  The 1970 Frank is for the set build (90% complete), Boog is just because I needed it, Don Drysdale is for the 1960 set build (70% complete) and the 1973 Frank Robinson will do nicely in the 1973 Frankenset build until I can find a nice downgrade.

So I'd say overall that was pretty successful trip  I picked up a few set needs and had a good time hanging out with my brother.

I have several cards incoming and hoping to wrap up a set by month's end.

Thanks for stopping by.