A more specific card.
Theo collects cards connected to one former minor-league team. The player on our 1988 common appeared in twelve games for that affiliate, which made the card useful to exactly the right person.
He offered a modern blue parallel numbered to 199. It also arrived in a top loader, another modest sign of progress.
The negotiation
There was not much negotiation. Theo cared more about the card he needed than the approximate market values on either side.
The parallel has an estimated value of about eight dollars. More importantly, the chain now has its first numbered card.