Cheap Cool Cards #22: Barry Larkin Rookie Cards

1987 was a monumental year for me in terms of collecting cardboard. It marked the first time I purchased cards in "bulk"... in other words... I started collecting cards for "monetary" reasons.

I'm sure a lot of you know how that turned out... but let's not dwell on my sports memorabilia investment "frustrations" and focus on the positive.

These days there aren't many regular issue baseball cards from 1987 that hold a lot of monetary value among collectors, but that's not a bad thing. It means you can pick up rookie cards of Barry Bonds, David Cone, Greg Maddux, Bo Jackson, Will Clark, Jamie Moyer, Rafael Palmeiro, and Cooperstown's newest member: Barry Larkin.

Here's a list of some of his MLB achievements:

19 MLB Seasons (all with the Cincinnati Reds)

1993 Roberto Clemente Award Winner

1994 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award Winner

1995 NL MVP

12x All-Star

9x Silver Slugger Award Winner

3x Gold Glove Award Winner

Not too shabby right? Best of all... you can own all three of his rookie cards for under $2.

1987 Donruss #492

Beckett Price: $1.50

COMC Price: $.53

1987 Fleer #204

Beckett Price: $3.00

COMC Price: $1.00

1987 Topps #648

Beckett Price: $1.00

COMC Price: $.30

So what are you waiting for? Instead of buying that 2011 Topps Update retail pack, head over to COMC and pickup these cheap cool cards. Unless, you're like me and have a few leftovers from your "junk wax" era collecting days. Which leads me to today's question:

What card (any sport) do you currently own the most of?

I am the proud owner of two hundred forty-nine 1997-98 Pinnacle Inside Steve Shield rookie cards... which is reason #249 for not collecting cards for investment purposes.

Congratulations Mr. Larkin! You're the first player from the 1987 rookie baseball card class to be elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Everyone else... have a great week. Sayonara!