I went to the Cambridge Card Show this past Saturday (3/22/25). The show was held at the City Center Mall, which conveniently shares a parking lot with the two things collectors need most before hitting a show – a coffee shop and an ATM. The show itself is setup in the hallways, so you are greeted by tables the moment you walk in.
On this day, the show had 33 dealers and 43 tables, and there was a pretty good mix – 10 of the tables had TCG, including several that were exclusively TCG. One of the Pokémon dealers had a full Sword and Shield era Eevee Evolution line set, all in PSA 10. I was really happy to see both the quantity (6 dealers) and quality of vintage sports cards. In fact, one of the dealers was selling one of the grails for vintage football collectors – a complete set of 1972 Topps football high numbers (Series 3) in perfect condition. Series 3 was sent out to just a handful of stores in test markets, with the cards available to everyone else only via mail order. Because of this, they are extremely rare and sought after by collectors today – especially in such good condition. It’s no surprise that this set sold right away.
I had $50 budgeted to spend at the show and about 2 hours of free time to hang out there. Shockingly, I ran out of time before I ran out of money – it’s usually the exact opposite. This was my fault for spending too much time talking. In fact, there were a couple boxes I planned to come back and buy after I made my first round to all the tables, but by the time I came back, someone else bought them – lesson learned. I was still happy with my pickups though – I snagged a Royce Lewis autographed Topps Chrome rookie for $25, an autographed Byron Buxton numbered out of /99 for only $5, and a 1962 Topps football common I need for my set for $2.50. While I only purchased those 3 cards, I left happy, and it just solidifies the fact that there is no better entertainment than spending a couple hours at a card show.
The Cambridge Card Show just started a couple years ago but has quickly developed a reputation as a really good mid-sized show. Because of its location on the outskirts of the northern metro, you get dealers from northern MN that you may not otherwise see. It also brings in shop owners and other dealers from the metro looking to buy inventory – in fact, I’m aware of at least one full table that was bought out. Shows are held about every other month, and you can always find the upcoming dates and directions listed on our calendar. If you haven’t been to the Cambridge show yet, I strongly recommend checking it out!