Have you ever been asked what your favorite card is? Of course you have—and most people will point to their most expensive card or one that everyone else is chasing. For me, it’s nothing like that.

My favorite card in my collection is a 2020 Absolute Football Joe Mixon base card. Why that one? Earlier this year, my in-laws took my twin daughters (12 at the time) to some antique shops and flea markets, and gave them each money to spend on themselves. When they got home, they were excited to show us what they picked up.

One of my girls is a big shopper—she kept pulling things out of her bag that I swear was straight out of Mary Poppins’ carpet bag… never-ending, lol. The other one isn’t much of a shopper, and she just had a small brown bag. She walked over, handed it to me, and said she bought me something. Inside was the card.

She was so excited, because she knows I’m a diehard Bengals fan and wanted to find something just for me. It was the only thing she bought all day. Later, my mother-in-law told me she had spent the whole trip looking just for a card to buy me. They kept asking if she wanted anything else, but she insisted this was all she wanted to get.

Every now and then when I’m in my office packaging up cards I’ve sold, she’ll ask if I’ve sold the one she got me. I always tell her, “No, I’ll never sell that one.” And like clockwork, she’ll smile and say, “Well, I hope you find some good cards!” She has no interest in collecting herself, but she’s proud of that card—and because of that, it will always be my favorite.

Sometimes it’s not about the value or rarity of the card, but the story behind it that makes it priceless.

So I’ll turn the question to you—what’s your favorite card in your collection, and what’s the story behind it?