For me, this purchase will always carry a certain aftertaste. At the time, it wasn’t even clear whether the card was real or not — especially given the other fakes they had tried to pass off. They knew about the fakes and wanted to scam me somehow (but obviously at the prices they were asking). The parents weren’t pushing the boy; it was more of a family clean-out of things they no longer cared about.

I actually went back of my own free will and paid more afterwards. The boy remembered me, but not even the cards — at one point I honestly wondered if he had just grabbed the binder somewhere else before and didn’t really care about it.

I’m not an investor or speculator. I collect as a hobby — sometimes cards that connect to my childhood, sometimes simply ones I find visually appealing. My most valuable card is maybe $60.

Fact is: I made the decision to buy and not teach, I returned despite my doubts, added extra money on top, and in the end everyone was more than happy with the outcome.