The Display Case #20: Toys In The Attic

May 6, 2015, 12:11 PM ET [7 Comments]

Shawn Gates
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Broken record moment here: for me, collecting isn't primarily about the monetary as much as it is the narrative. Time after time I've seen that it's not always the most expensive or rare piece(s) that become cornerstones of a collection, but rather those items that evoke a story or emotion. This is very much the case in the current situation. Those of us with any cursory knowledge of the hobby recognize that the vast majority of cards issued for the 1990-91 year are neither rare nor particularly expensive. At the same time I would challenge anyone to argue that these are anything less than invaluable to our friend Chad Davis who shares this story:

I am not typically tempted to reply to this kind of thing, but when you asked for collectible stories I couldn't help but think of my own. I know the items in the story are not all that valuable, or even all that special, but they do hold a tremendous value to me personally.

One day several years ago (I must have been 15 or 16 at the time) I was over visiting my grandparents, and me and the family were helping them clean out their attic. I came across an old box of baseball and hockey cards, so I brought it out and asked grandma which of my uncles was responsible for the collection. To my surprise she informed me that she had accumulated the box over several years, and told me to take the box for myself, as her and grandpa were moving and wanted to clear the space. This prompted an afternoon of going through the box card by card searching for any older rookie cards, perhaps maybe even to find the rookie card I had long wanted but never came across: a Mats Sundin, from back when he was with the Quebec Nordiques. Sundin was a hero of mine having been a Leafs captain for a long time (if you hadn’t picked up by now, I am a hardcore Leafs fan).

After hours of digging through the box and finding a few cards that were of interest to me, including 2 Sergei Fedorov rookie cards, an Owen Nolan rookie card, and a few others, I finally came upon a Sundin card. I approached with caution, not wanting to get my hopes up too high, but upon inspection I discovered that it was indeed the card that I had hoped I would come upon. It really made my day, and to this day, the card sits in a card frame next to a cool looking Wendel Clark card I got with the case when I got it, hanging above my computer desk.

Grandpa passed away a couple years ago, and grandma is no longer in the best of shape, and I know that the card will be a wonderful reminder of my grandma for years to come, and will always remain one of my most treasured possessions.

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The Display Case #20: Toys In The Attic

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