Dime Box Heroes: Half the price

1999 Upper Deck "Textbook Excellence Doubles" #T-14 Vladimir Guerrero /2000

For a long time, I thought a dime was as cheap as baseball cards got.

I mean, how could it get better than a dime? The notion that I could turn one of those little silver coins I have in my spare change jar into an actual piece of cardboard was almost beyond belief.

Then it happened.

A couple years ago, I came across an otherwise innocent-looking gathering of cards at my local flea market, just another one of the standard 3200-count boxes I'd seen so many times before. 

However, the sign on the front of the box suggested that this wasn't just your ordinary table at the flea market.

"All cards, 5 cents each."

I had found my first nickel box.  

It didn't take me long to dig through all those glorious pieces of nickel cardboard. 

As I quickly learned, the possibilities are endless. Overspending isn't a factor. After all, one of those old, crumpled dollar bills lying in your wallet can net you twenty nickel cards.

All in all, I came away with about fifty cards from that first nickel box, which translated to a little over two bucks. (That same two bucks couldn't even get me a pack of Topps Chrome.)

It was one of the highest points of my collecting career. Among my "goodies" were my first two cards of Gary Carter as a Dodger, something I'd been searching for in the months leading up to that nickel box.

However, there wasn't really much doubt as to what the unquestioned "find of the day" was. 

Whether it be from a dime, quarter, or fifty-cent box, I get a huge kick out of finding any Vlad cards I need for my vast collection of his.

But finding a numbered, perforated, and just generally awesome Vlad insert inside a nickel box?

That's what it's all about.

Because of all this, it's probably easy to see why I love nickel boxes so much. One of our very own in the blogosphere was lucky enough to come across one of them recently.

It's amazing what a little loose change can net you in this hobby.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go check my sofa cushions.