Vintage Sports Cards – Baseball – Basketball – Football – Hockey
I love uncut sheets of sports cards. They make excellent display pieces, and they’re often scarce, they provide set education, finish “master” collections, and provide hobby integrity. So despite the storage problem, they continue to be popular collectibles. But how did these sheets make their way to the market if cards were meant to be … Read more
A few weeks ago, a member of a vintage unopened product group asked for opinions about the 1955 Topps Baseball 1 Cent Pack graded eight by GAI pictured below. A group member responded by saying that penny packs are always tough to authenticate. While a GAI holder isn’t the best provenance (compared to PSA, for … Read more
Mark Murphy was the unopened pack specialist before Steve Hart, and the Baseball Card Exchange took over that part of the hobby. He released an Unopened Pack, Wrapper & Display Box Guide in 1996 after about ten years of almost exclusive hobby dealing in the unopened space. He published the guide to share information with … Read more
As a fan of sports card hobby history and a person who tries to follow the vintage sports card market, I’ve accumulated quite a bit of reference material. This post will summarize the interesting books, magazines, and catalogs from my library and explain their value to collectors and me. Card Catalogs and Reference Material Of … Read more
Interest in the hobby is higher than ever, and the same goes for unopened sports card boxes and packs. Prices are higher than ever for unopened products, and availability is shrinking. Just check out the lack of inventory on the Baseball Card Exchange’s website; there is very little vintage product compared to the past. So … Read more
From time to time, I’ll be releasing Editor’s notes in a 1-2-3 format: 1 update to an article or hobby news item 2 recent pickups for my own collection 3 cool tweets from collectors you should check out Update: 1982 Fleer Test Without Blank Backs? I wrote an article in December outlining the history of … Read more
If you are new to the hobby, you may have noticed two things: some lower grade cards sell for more than higher grade examples. And second, it’s common in the hobby to hear people say “buy the card, not the holder” when this happens. If you’re new to sports card collecting, you might not know … Read more
Today, most sports card auction houses operate their auctions in the same way. Bidding starts at a pre-determined time, with low initial bids to motivate competition. Bids are increased via a set increment referenced to a min and max value. The auction then ends but enters extended bidding. Usually, anyone who has placed a bid … Read more
The other day, I saw an article on Sports Collectors Daily announcing that Certified Collectibles Group is getting in the sports card authentication game. The card grading side of the company will be called Certified Sports Guaranty (CSG). Overall, I think it’s a positive thing for a significant player to enter the space. Competition is good, and … Read more
There are so many great people and aspects of the sports card hobby. So many incredible people donate their time to educate others. You can find so many incredible collections online. Companies and hobbyists provide new and innovative ways to buy and sell cards almost every day. But some people do things that I’m not … Read more