THE FOLLOWING IS A NEWS-GAZETTE STORY BY JENNIFER BAILEY
ABOVE: Jonas ‘J.C.’ Lane, left, organizer of the Danville Trading Card and Memorabilia show, with his dad, Steve, at the 2023 National Sports Collectors Convention in Rosemont.
DANVILLE — This weekend’s Danville Trading Card and Memorabilia Show will be the fifth one that 16-year-old Jonas “J.C.” Lane has sponsored in the community.
It’s set for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the David S. Palmer Arena, 100 W. Main St. Admission is free.
There will be modern and vintage, raw and graded and sealed wax cards in all sports; Pokemon cards; and other collectible items.
Sports-card and memorabilia collecting runs in the family for Lane.
“I started collecting cards in 2015, when I was 7 years old,” he said. “I have been collecting ever since.”
Lane, now a junior at Danville’s Schlarman Academy, said he has a favorite card among his collection.
“Although I have a lot of cards, the most prized one to me is my PSA 8 Wayne Gretzky rookie card,” Lane said, referring to his Professional Sports Authenticator super-high-end card.
He said he enjoys putting on shows in the community, too. His previous shows have been at the American Legion and Palmer arena.
Average attendance has been around 200 people, he said. Sunday’s show will have 12 vendors with 25 tables.
“We will have a lot of new faces at this show, both buyers and sellers,” Lane said.
Lane said it’s been more than a year since his last show, and interest in card collecting remains stronger than ever, among all ages.