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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Vess1, post: 22638877, member: 13650&quot;]This will be a good one.&nbsp;&nbsp; Interesting to see what survived all the lean years with you folks.&nbsp;&nbsp; I&#039;ll post a couple.&nbsp; I actually have sold and traded quite a bit over the years but some made it through.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; [ATTACH=full]1545034[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; <b>1982-S Proof Washington Commemorative half 90% silver.</b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; The story behind this one if anybody&#039;s interested...&nbsp; (Come gather &#039;round you whipper snappers.&nbsp; <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />)&nbsp; &nbsp; </p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Back in the 80s we went to the malls a lot.&nbsp;&nbsp; Of course no cell phones or internet to look anything up.&nbsp; This was probably, oooh, late 80s so these had only been out for 5 or 6 years.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Well, one day I went to the mall with my parents.&nbsp; I was around 7 or 8.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; The mall was a hopping place then.&nbsp;&nbsp; Unbeknownst to us, we show up and there&#039;s a coin show set up in the middle of the mall.&nbsp;&nbsp; Dealers were there set up like any normal show and it was pretty neat.&nbsp;&nbsp; I saw this coin and talked my dad into getting it for me.&nbsp; I don&#039;t remember the price.&nbsp; Maybe $9.&nbsp;&nbsp; Didn&#039;t know anything about it. </p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Most people don&#039;t know but these were the first commemoratives to come out since 1954.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; While not a highly valuable coin the design is one of the best and this ones sentimental value will out pace any offer I could get on it.</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; <b>My first BIG deal.&nbsp; 1994(?)</b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p>&nbsp; [ATTACH=full]1545035[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp; In the 90s I was collecting cards more than coins.&nbsp;&nbsp; The Gulf war dominated the news so there was sort of an overlap for these.&nbsp;&nbsp; For anyone not &quot;up&quot; on these, the 1991 Topps set design looked like this.&nbsp;&nbsp; On the side, for a while it was like an insider secret that they produced these special sets that were exactly the same but got a gold foil Desert Shield stamped into the corner.&nbsp; These cards were handed out to troops over there.&nbsp; I imagine few were collectors.&nbsp;&nbsp; Don&#039;t know if they got full sets or boxes of wax packs.&nbsp; &nbsp; At the time we knew these were special and rare.&nbsp; And it was assumed they were getting pitched out of tanks into the desert (but it was all silly speculation)</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; It took a few years for them to circulate and start showing up.&nbsp;&nbsp; My small town had a local shop for a while and I don&#039;t think they ever got more than a few.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Again, no internet to look up anything or locate another Desert Shield card of ANY kind let alone compare an individual one.&nbsp;&nbsp; We had Beckett magazine and that was it.</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp; So this was one of two cards the local shop had.&nbsp; I had it on my radar for weeks if not months.&nbsp; I clearly remember the huge plastic screw down holder it was in with the little white price tag.&nbsp;&nbsp; <b><u>$125.</u></b>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; It was a big fish for a 13 year old kid.&nbsp; Minimum wage was only $4.25 so you&#039;re looking at nearly a week&#039;s pay!&nbsp;&nbsp; I push mowed a lawn that would take me nearly 2 hrs and the old lady paid me $7 for the effort.&nbsp;&nbsp; I just wanted to set the table for you young &#039;uns to get an idea of the income streams I was working with.&nbsp;&nbsp; (LOL!)</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp; Well, one day I finally rode my bike down there to make the deal on this.&nbsp; Didn&#039;t know if I could make it work or not.&nbsp; I brought half my collection with.&nbsp; I don&#039;t even remember what all I traded on it plus cash, but I came away with it.&nbsp; The store owner probably showed pitty on me and appreciated the effort but it was decent cards plus cash to cover it.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; I had a pretty big high off that one for a while.</p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; In my 20s I sent it in to be graded which is how it got into this slab.&nbsp; I had them add the supposed piece of game used rookie bat for $30.&nbsp; This was when game used stuff was just starting to take off so I was digging it.</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp; For non-card collectors you can see the individual grades it got on the back.&nbsp; How it works is pretty crappy to be honest.&nbsp;&nbsp; The grade a card gets can only be half a point higher than the lowest graded line.&nbsp; Since they hammered the corners on this like they always do, with a 7.5, the card&#039;s grade is an 8.&nbsp; It wouldn&#039;t matter if the other 3 lines were 9.5s.&nbsp; &nbsp; The corners are about as sharp as they can be on this.&nbsp; Have no idea what makes a gem mint 10.&nbsp;&nbsp; You have to have four 9.5s to get the 10 obviously.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp; So anyway, I still have it.&nbsp; For investment purposes, it&#039;s still worth about the original price.&nbsp; (LOL)&nbsp; &nbsp; But now you can also find them online if you want one.&nbsp; Supposedly 6500 to 7k sets were produced of the Desert Shields and better players are still popular.&nbsp;&nbsp; I eventually got the Roger Clemens too and still have that one with this one.&nbsp; &nbsp; Oh man was it a simpler time.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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