Popular regional card show returns bigger and better than ever
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) - The monthly Capital Region Card Show unboxed at Albany Capital Center on Sunday. Collectors and enthusiasts from around the region showcased vintage sports cards, Pokémon and trading cards, and comic books.
Lucio Barbarino was one of about 500 people who shopped around the card show. Barbarino said vintage cards and items in good condition often draw his eye.
"When I was a kid I collected," Barbarino said. "Then there was a long period where I did not collect, but I got back into it about 10 years ago."
Co-owners of the show, Josh Klein and Scott Santelli, do this show once a month but said right now things are heating up thanks to two baseball players and a popular card game.
"Pokémon was quiet last year, but all of a sudden with the release of Prismatic and 151, these sets are super short print, so the market is just currently blowing up for Pokémon," Santelli said.
"In terms of players to look for this year, Ohtani broke some huge records last year," Klein said. "So he is going to be one to watch, Paul Skenes, a pitcher for the Pirates that has a ginormous following."
Santelli is known in the area for having one of the larger collections, especially after he had a rare find in 2018.
"I pulled a one-of-one Shohei Ohtani gold vinyl superfractor," Santelli said. "I value it from $750,000 to $1.1 million."
Klein said he got into the job after he and his son bonded over collecting cards years ago.
"My son is a hobbyist and collector, so it became a family affair, and we got interested in the hobby," Klein said.
"Something drew me to it," Santelli said. "As a child it was just an affordable toy; maybe there was a little bit of entrepreneurship in me, and it just became an addiction."
The two began the show in April of last year and plan to keep it going for as long as possible.
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