Relatively speaking, my sports and trading card collection isn’t very big.
That’s not because I’m not an avid collector. It’s more a byproduct of a strong preference for quality over quantity.
I’ve consolidated a lot of my collection in recent years, and a major reason for that was hopefully sitting somewhere inside a glass showcase at the 2025 National Sports Collectors Convention.
After quickly scanning the show floor Wednesday night, I wasn’t sure my grail would be in Chicago at all. I entered the National cautiously optimistic, but not terribly hopeful, largely because my target wasn’t a sports card at all.
The National is best known as the greatest meeting of sports card and memorabilia dealers in the world, but you can often find some of the best non-sports cards, too. I was hoping that would be the case this year, but I wasn’t betting on it.
I stopped by the cllct booth on the second level of the convention center following a fruitless hunt Thursday to check in on my co-workers. I was at the show under my own accord that day, but wanted to see if they needed help wrapping up for the evening.
Then I got a direct message.
Two copies of the iconic 1977 Star Wars Luke Skywalker No. 1, both signed by actor Mark Hamill, were at the same showcase. I own the card as part of a complete set — raw and in poor condition — but have long coveted an autographed copy.
Rob DeMay, owner of the NEO Cards and Comics YouTube channel, wrote that a potential buyer was looking at the pair. I abandoned my team to race back down to the show floor. Triple Cities Sports Co, booth No. 965.
Two minutes later he wrote back.
“Well, one just sold.”
I’d authorize use of the Death Star to erase me from the show floor if the other sold before I arrived.
DeMay was there to greet me when I landed and pointed me to the end table. One Hamill remained, and it was in my price range. Hamill autographs aren’t impossible to find, but they aren’t easy, and he isn’t signing much anymore.
My goal was to purchase a copy graded by PSA as Authentic with a 10 Autograph. The 1977 set is rarely found in good condition — one of the nine 1977 Luke Skywalker No. 1 PSA 10 examples sold for $78,000 at Heritage in 2023 — so I’ve been willing to punt on getting a high condition grade to secure a good autograph.
This copy was simply graded PSA/DNA Authentic, but beggars can’t be choosers, and I was afraid to leave the table without a deal.
The autograph is fine, but not perfect, and I personally would have preferred a different pen. The card itself is off-center, left-to-right, but could potentially have secured a decent grade for the era. Similar examples have recently sold for between $1,500 and $2,500, and this one had a sticker price of $2,500.
High but fair.
A similar copy signed by Hamill in a light blue pen was available via Buy It Now on eBay for $1,649.99, but I prefer the dark blue pen. There are just 163 autographed Hamill examples in the PSA/DNA pop report, and I felt this was in the middle of the pack.
The dealer wanted to get at least $2,000 for it. “I’d want to get closer to $1,800 or $1,900, if possible,” I replied.
Triple Cities Sports Co was stocked with sports cards, non-sports cards and golf memorabilia signed in-person. A few cards in the showcases were one-of-one Topps Star Wars sketches they had signed by the actors portraying the characters on the front.
I offered to add in a Boba Fett sketch I had brought with me — something Triple Cities could take to a convention or private signing to have autographed — to close the gap in cash.
“Deal.”
Grail acquired.
I was happy, the dealer was happy, and possibly most importantly, DeMay was happy. DeMay is also the proud owner of his own Hamill-signed 1977 Star Wars Luke Skywalker No. 1, and this deal would likely end my frequent pursuit of his copy. This transaction would mean he’d never have to read “sell me the Hamill” randomly written into the YouTube chat for his podcast livestreams ever again.
As a parting gift he made sure to remind me that his copy is far superior — there’s simply no arguing that, and it’s devastating — so maybe I’ll start my pursuit to upgrade into a better example once he’s convinced I’ve given up the chase.
For now, the Hamill autograph is among the most important cards in my collection. It will fit in nicely alongside a growing number of non-sports grails. The goal is to eventually pair it with autographs of Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Carrie Fisher (Leia Organa), Alec Guinness (Obi-Wan Kenobi) and James Earl Jones (Darth Vader).
That goal will be extremely difficult, and frankly pretty unlikely, but the chase is often the best part of collecting. This will give me something to look forward to, give or take a few years, forever.
Until then, Hamill will look great sitting next to my other non-sports grails, including my 2001 Topps "Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings" Sir Ian McKellen autograph. I had consolidated a few dozen cards from recent PSA submissions to make that purchase possible.
Though I came away with an important grail card, that purchase did mean I had to forfeit other objectives. Securing a 1954 Topps Henry Aaron or a 1998 Finest Chipper Jones The Man Refractor would have been great, too, but my budget is finite, and I must pick and choose where to spend my hard-earned dollars.
Other interests can creep in as well, so sometimes I end up choosing a new Fender Telecaster over an important collectible.
This acquisition was worth the sacrifice, however, and now I still have big cards to chase throughout the end of 2025 and beyond. I landed in Chicago expecting to need help from The Force to find an autographed Hamill, but it turned out a friend watching your back and a willing trade partner was the right recipe instead.
Here’s hoping we can run it back with a new grail next year.
Ben Burrows is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture. He was previously the Collectibles Editor at Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on X and Instagram @benmburrows.