New Bedford Card Collector Strikes Gold with Bernie Sanders

For anyone wondering, yes, there is a baseball card of the famous 2021 Inauguration Bernie Sanders meme.

New Bedford native Robert Barlow is an avid card collector who has been collecting baseball cards since 1987. The 43-year-old knows the ropes well when it comes to baseball and trading cards.

Recently, he came home to a package from a card collecting website that he buys from. He was totally surprised when he opened the box and came face to face with a "chilly Bernie." If you recall, one of the funniest and most popular memes to come out of 2021 is of the Vermont senator and former presidential candidate idling in mittens and a jacket, looking cold and presumably grumpy during President Joe Biden's inauguration.

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The company that makes the cards, Topps Now,, features professional athletes, celebrities, and yes, even politicians such as Sanders.

Here's what the back of the card looks like close up:

I never realized just how big the world of trading cards actually is, especially these days. Some big-box stores have pulled the cards from their shelves due to safety concerns amid high demand. That doesn't stop Barlow, as he finds gold on eBay and businesses in Fall River, Taunton and New Bedford.

That is, of course, whenever he can get his hands on these rarities.

When Barlow learned about the Bernie card, he set his sights on one of the 638 graded by Professional Sports Authenticator, a trusted third-party company in the trading world. That's exactly what he got.

"I love epic Facebook memes, so I had to have this card," Barlow said.

Earlier in the pandemic, when people were stuck at home, hobbies such as card collecting took off, even though Barlow has been collecting for more than 34 years.

"I'm excited to add it to a ginormous collection of sport and non-sport trading cards that I have," Barlow said of his Bernie addition.

"It's a fun ride that I wouldn't trade for anything."