A few weeks back, possibly even a month now, I found an E-91A "Orvill" Overall for sale. The E91 is really one of the least desirable candy cards, since the images are more generic than most candy cards. Looking at the card, the resemblance to Overall is minimal, but it is still an Orval Overall card. The card was for sale with another card, an E91-A James Archer. Occasionally purchasing an extra tobacco card is worth the risk of moving it elsewhere, but picking a mildly desirable James Archer to add our friend Orval to my collection was not worth the risk.
The seller initially resisted letting the card go alone, noting that "Archer was good friends with Overall and they really should be kept together". Ignoring the fact both men are long dead, their friendship should have no influence on my card purchasing and I construed this as a cheap ploy to sell me a card I didn't want. A week or so passed and I followed up. Given the lack of interest in the pair, he let me make an offer on the Overall. In retrospect, I should have not offered over half the price for both to get the card, even though the Overall was in better condition, but in the excitement of adding the Overall, I made what I would charitably call a "high" offer, which was accepted before I could even check my Blackberry. So, payment goes out, card comes in and I say to myself, this should satisfy my need for E91 Orval Overalls.
You see, there are two E91 Orval Overalls, an A and a B. The picture on the front is exactly the same, but the backs are slightly different. As you can see on the A, the Athletics are the first team listed, while on the B, the Cubs are listed first. There are also some minor variations on the checklist. Only a real completist or someone with real problems would insist on having both in their collection. But what is that you say, isn't that a picture of an Orval Overall E91-B listed above and don't you only post pictures of cards you actually own on your blog?
Yes, it is true. I caved on the issue in less than a month. The other day, I was checking my saved eBay searches for Orval, when I spotted an E91-A. The card was only varied on the back, but the condition was nicer, as the raw Overall is not a VG-EX on its best day. I looked at the card and I looked at the price and I even looked at the Make an Offer. Sensing weakness, weakness in myself, I screwed up my courage and offered him half of what he wanted. Half seemed fair based on some reading, writing and closed eBay auction searching. Given the significant discount I demanded, I expected to receive a rejection and move on with my life, safe in the knowledge I did not overspend on another Overall.
As you can surmise from the above, my bid was answered with an acceptance and for less than the E91-A, I owned an E91-B. I am not bothered by either purchase and greatly enjoy owning both cards. But man, I am a sucker for Orval. Well, I still have 45 or so minutes to sweat out, so I will sit here, waiting, waiting impatiently, to snipe a card I suspect I have one shot at it, one shot to grossly overpay for the card. So, in a week or so, if you see something really rare I didn't know existed until last week, you know I am winner. And if I have nothing really tremendous to show, then I was saved from my own excess by someone else's incredibly gross largesse.
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