The annual Tri-Star Productions card and autograph show rolled through the San Francisco Bay Area last weekend, and I was able to attend for the second time in three years.

I love this show.  There’s always tons of variety, and it’s kind of neat to see collector’s of all ages and races gather in a spot to buy what they like.  There’s always a ton of factory sealed wax and high end rookies and vintage card at this show.  But my main purpose in going was, without a doubt, the bargain bins.

One thing I had going for me this time was the fact that I attended the show on the very first day.  So, in theory, I was among the first batch of people to go through these boxes.  And judging by the results, this is definitely something I’ll have to do again in the future.

We’ll start with z dime Box. Pretty self-explanatory. Every card in the dealer’s Monster Boxes were a dime each.  Typically boxes like these are jam packed with commons.  Not this time.

That get your attention?  That’s a 1952 Bowman Henry Thompson card, the second to last one in the set.  Sure, someone appears to have stapled it to something — perhaps a wall? — at one point, but this matters not.  It cost a dime — the same price as a top loader.

Score!  1951 Bowman rookie of Eddie Miksis! Who?!  Exactly.  But does it really matter.  This one looks like it was the victim of a run-in with a GI Joe toting a bazooka, but still … it was a dime. AND it’s going into my ever-growing rookie collection.

I know most of you don’t give a damn about vintage cards, so I’ll switch gears here and hit you with a few cards more contemporary ones.

I love finding low-end rookie/prospect cards of up-and-coming players like these guys — it’s like finding a small treasure.  The Mike Stanton is being sold in a local shop for $8; Sanchez and Stubbs are legitimate major leaguer at this point.  Flores has yet to crack the Majors, but he’s supposedly on his way.

This 1991 Upper Deck Rickey Henderson / Lou Brock card is a classic in the Bay Area.  I’ve owned dozens of copies of this card before, but NEVER one of variations with the date printed on the base.  What makes this find even more surprising is that Rickey was signing at this show, albeit on a different day.  Usually dealers set cards aside for the guys who are signing and then jack up the prices for the impulse autograph buyers.

From one Bay Area legend to another.  I was a fan of 1998 SPX Finite.  Honestly, I would have bought more of it if it were not so damn expensive for its time.  The vast majority of the Finite I wound up with came from repack boxes that were sold at KMart in 2000.  This Bonds card is a Radiance parallel, serial numbered to 3,500 copies. Super rare! … well, in 1998, anyway.

Let’s shoe-horn in a few hockey cards.

Whose up for some Minis?  Here are 13 Topps Gypsy Queen minis (including an insert, 2 SPs, and 2 parallels)

I’ve kind of come full circle on Minor League cards.  I used to love them when I was a kid collector, and then I abandoned them.  In recent months I’ve come to dig them again.  Here are 10 1987 Southern League All-Star Larry Walkers and seven Ken Caminiti cards.  The guy had some 50-75 sets that were missing only the Randy Johnson cards.  I almost bought all of the Walkers and Caminitis but at some point a deal is no longer a deal, ya know?

Three 2007 Bowman Chrome Draft Adam Lind “Rookies.”

I always wanted this card.  If for no other reason his name rules. Good thing it only cost a dime.

This 2004 Bowman Chrome Draft Matt Tuiasosopo used to be like $10, didn’t it? Ten cents, baby!

Here’s one thing I loved about the Free-For-All that was the early 90s: unlicensed cards.  Companies these days paid big bucks to Joe Jackson’s estate to get his likeness onto their licensed cards.  I have a feeling there wasn’t dime that was paid to create this “Black Sox” Special Offer card.  The result is a cool collectible for me.

Wanna see random?  Checkout this 1978 Topps basketball folding poster of the Milwaukee Bucks.

I see one familiar face:  Don Nelson.  You know dig those coaches polo shirts.

Someone settle a debate.  When Upper Deck created these “special” short print cards in their base sets such as this Darrell Green card shown below, did the “SP” numbering mean “special” or “short print?”

I always thought it meant short print, but others think it meant special. Either way I am a winner with this flashback for a dime.

About the same time the Darrell Green card above was released, Holograms were all the rage.  And while Upper Deck was the first licensed company to include them in their products, other companies were popping up out of nowhere to create their own. Like Arena Holograms, which produced this Frank Thomas card.

The hologram is OK … looks funky without logos.  The best part about this card?  Check out the back … do you see it?

No, not the flat top, that awesome bow tie or the fract that the company dubbed him the “Big Frank.”  It’s this line:

LIMITED EDITION OF 250,000

A quarter of a million of these?!  Holy bleeping bleep!

I know some of you collectors are itching to see something more modern. There will be more of that later, but here are two quick ones to keep the masses calm. I have a ton of 2010 Bowman Topps 100 prospect cards.  I don’t think I ever pulled one of Freddie Freeman.  Good times.

2010 Topps Heritage Tim Hudson short print.  Not going to break the bank here, but I will profit. I guarantee it.

I love this insert set from 2004 Playoff Honors.  Each card is so inviting for a signature.  I actually had one of these Rivera cards that I got signed through the mail.  Unfortunately he kept the signature out of the white space.  Now I have another … which I think I’ll send again.  Maybe this time he’ll put the ink on the white.

Here’s kind of an oddball … UD Victory Japan Hideki Matsui. Cool card.

Seconds after finding this Matsui, a smaller, a card fell out of the stack onto my pile of stuff to buy.  It was another Japanese Matui card, only it was unfamiliar to me.

Pretty interesting card.  It’s like a card inside a plastic sealing. The back features a barcode sticker and the official Yamiuri Giants logo on a sticker.  No clue what this is from or what it’s worth, but it’s surely worth more than a flippin’ dime.

And the final two cards from this dime box:

You absolutely have to love a “oddball” 1989 officially licensed Mothers’ Cookies Mariner’s rookie year release of Ken Griffey Jr. I love this set.  I love this release.  I love this card. Love it.

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If all I bought at the card show were those cards, it would have been a successful trip.  But I aint done yet… not even close.

A few tables away from my the dime box seller was guy selling cards five for a buck. Here are the best 15 cards I could find:

I was never a huge fan of the Topps Constitution cards inserted into 2006 Topps.  I was an even less fan of the Topps Chrome versions.  But the refractors are intriguing … well, when you can get them at this price.

I like the 2001 Topps Chrome Retrofractors.  And I’m sure someone will like this Charlie Manuel.

Here are a couple 2009 Bowman Chrome Prospects Refractors.  I like the John Anderson because I’m pretty sure I worked with his dad. I’m going to have to confirm that.

Here’s a trio of veterans:

Team Albert Pujols”]

A few rookie cards I needed for my collection:

I’ve always wanted the Molina and the Ibanez rookies but was too cheap to pay full price.  I did learn something about Ibanez though. Apparently he started as a catcher?  That can’t be right.

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One more quick run of super cheap singles.  Found a dealer who was selling cards four for a buck.  He let me take five:

Solid grouping of five cards from this seller.  While the Hosmer may not be worth a ton, it was surprising to see this card in this box.

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Now onto some cards that were actually in top loaders. These were  a wopping 50 cents each …

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Someone need a Shin Soo Choo Bowman Chrome rookie?  I got eight of them … for a buck each.

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There were more than a few auto/relic boxes at this show.  The prices really varied.  Some guys were selling them for $1 each.  Others were $5 each.  Nothing really caught my attention aside from these two autographed rookie cards that were $2 each.

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And the final two purchases from the trip were the most expensive.  These were tagged at $3 each, but the seller let me have them for $2.50 each: