ISO: Owner of baseball card collection - WTOP

WASHINGTON - Somebody is missing more than 500 baseball cards, and police want to know who that is.

Some of the Topps? and Fleer? cards are from the early 1980s, and some may be valuable.

There are cards for George Brett, Fred Lynn, Steve Carlton, Johnny Bench, Tony LaRussa and Darrell Johnson, as well as others.

Found in East Potomac Park this summer, nobody has come forward to claim them, according to Metropolitan Police.

The owner will have to provide more information about the collection of more than 500 cards to be able to claim them. The police department's property clerk will determine ownership. If more than one owner comes forward, a heard will be held to determine ownership.

Anybody who lost his collection or had his stolen, should call the police department's Public Information Office at 202-727-4383 between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. weekdays.

(Copyright 2010 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)

WASHINGTON - Somebody is missing more than 500 baseball cards, and police want to know who that is.

Some of the Topps? and Fleer? cards are from the early 1980s, and some may be valuable.

There are cards for George Brett, Fred Lynn, Steve Carlton, Johnny Bench, Tony LaRussa and Darrell Johnson, as well as others.

Found in East Potomac Park this summer, nobody has come forward to claim them, according to Metropolitan Police.

The owner will have to provide more information about the collection of more than 500 cards to be able to claim them. The police department's property clerk will determine ownership. If more than one owner comes forward, a heard will be held to determine ownership.

Anybody who lost his collection or had his stolen, should call the police department's Public Information Office at 202-727-4383 between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. weekdays.

(Copyright 2010 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)

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Phillies fever is in the cards - phillyBurbs.com

Moms get a bad rap in the world of baseball card collectors. That's because many of them tossed out their kids' collections once the children grew up or moved out.

Topps, the baseball card company, is holding a "Million Card Giveaway" with the promo, "Get back the cards your mom threw away."

Dennis Ryall of Medford Lakes, owner of New Concept Cards, Hobbies and Mental Skate Shop on Stokes Road in Medford, thinks the "giveaway" has been a great idea: Buy a pack of baseball cards with a special redemption ticket inside. Go online and check the identification number on the ticket. You may have won a really special card from the rookie year of a great player.

Keep in mind, though, that the promotion started at the beginning of the season and many of the coveted cards could have been claimed.

"About a week ago, someone actually pulled a rookie Mickey Mantle card from 1952," said Matt Altman, a spokesman for the Topps Co. in New York. He has seen mint rookie Mantle cards sell for $25,000 to $250,000, depending on their condition.

The promotion, Altman said, is extremely popular with men who were kids in the 1950s and '60s, when baseball cards came with bubble gum. Back then, when there was no Internet and no video games to occupy a boy's summer, collecting cards was a hobby for many youngsters, until their mothers got tired of seeing them thrown around their bedrooms.

"All those cards that mom threw away, they can get back. They're real vintage cards, not reproductions," Altman said.

Topps bought back cards from collectors and dealers for the promotion and is starting a similar one for the football season, called the "Grid Iron Giveaway."

"If my mom hadn't thrown out my cards, I'd be a millionaire," is another T-shirt slogan that Ryall and Al Anderer of Medford say is true. When they left home for military service, their mothers disposed of their cards. They wish they had them back.

The two men chatted the other day at Ryall's hobby shop.

Anderer showed up wearing his National League Champions Phillies T-shirt from last year. With the team in the race again, he wanted to do a little card shopping.

Ryall said that while the Phillies as a team have been great, it's the individual players who count in the world of card collecting. The cards of such stars as Chase Utley and Ryan Howard sell well. The demand isn't as great for cards of lesser-known players.

At Riverside Sports Cards on Scott Street, owner David Denbo said Phillies cards have been hot.

"Phillies individual cards have been selling well for the last several years," Denbo said.

He added that players' rookie cards - the first one printed for them, whether in the minor or major leagues - "are the ones that will appreciate the most."

Denbo and Ryall described sports card collecting as "like playing the stock market."

If a player is "young and not a star, then his cards are not in high demand," but if he becomes a good player a couple of years later, "people start chasing his cards," Denbo said.

For example, he said, Utley's rookie cards sell in the $10 to $20 range and a Roy Halladay card from 1997 would sell in the $15 to $20 range now.

"We've seen cards appreciate tremendously," Ryall said.

The fun of collecting is trying to figure out which rookies will become stars and which will fade, either through injury or because they "didn't live up to expectations." The value of their cards corresponds to their careers. It's a treasure hunt. Collectors keep searching for gems.

Brian Gardner, owner of Brian's Sportscards in Morrisville, Pa., has been in business since 1988. The Phillies have been a best-seller lately.

"I'm selling more team sets, more bobbleheads, pennants - anything Phillies-related is selling better," he said.

Gardner said autographed Utley cards are in the $100 range.

"I just sold a signed Utley bat for $250. They go pretty high," he said. Cards with pieces of the player's jersey attached also sell well.

Ryall has signature baseballs for sale in the $150 range, including a Halladay ball for $180.

Vic Graziano of Great American Trading, a baseball card distributor in Yonkers, N.Y., was visiting the Medford store Monday. He said in Burlington County "it's the Phillies" that are popular, but in "most of New Jersey it's the Yankees."

While many hobby shops have closed during the recession, Ryall said he's been able to stay in business by diversifying. Not only does he sell baseball cards, but also signed balls, games, and even toasters that will burn the logo of a team on a slice of bread - great for a sports fanatic's breakfast or conversation starter at a Super Bowl party.

Phillies "Monopoly" and other labeled games are big sellers at the store, as are attractive wall plaques, designed for a room or office.

The hobby shop is Ryall's "dream come true." He started in 1994 after retiring as director of the computer technology department for an oil corporation in Philadelphia.

"I love coming to work every day," he said. "It's like Christmas every day."

Contact: pquann@phillyBurbs.com or 609-871-8057

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FOUND: Lots and lots of baseball cards - Washington Post (blog)

Some of the baseball cards found. (Courtesy of D.C. police)

News releases e-mailed by the D.C. police tend to have a sadly familiar ring.

In just the last few days, for example: "Homicide in the 1100 block of First Place NW." ... "Homicide in the 5300 block of Dix Street NE." ... "Homicide in the 600 block of Harvard Street NW."

Then, at 1:37 p.m. Wednesday -- coinciding precisely with the scheduled start time of the first game of Major League Baseball's 2010 playoffs -- this arrived:

"Police Seek to Reunite Collector with Baseball Cards."

Indeed. Let's take a break from murder.

The cards, at least 1,000 of them, most from the 1970s and '80s, and each in a protective plastic sleeve, turned up June 24 in an undisclosed type of container on a patch of grass near the Tennis Center in East Potomac Park in Southwest Washington, police said. The collection has been gathering dust in a property room since a patrol officer stumbled upon it.

D.C. police records show no reports of lost or stolen baseball cards in the city in recent months, Lt. Nicholas Breul said. "We only checked D.C.," he said. "We want to get the word out in Maryland and Virginia, if that's where they were stolen, so hopefully the owner can be reunited with these things."

Anyone trying to claim the collection will have to recite a pretty long roster of the ballplayers in it, to prove ownership. Breul wouldn't allow a reporter to look through the stacks, and only about 20 players are visible in two photos he made public.

Ahh, but they're enough to put a grin on the face of a fan of a certain age.

Johnny Bench, Steve Carlton, Gary Carter -- all inducted years ago into the Baseball Hall of Fame. And others long gone but not forgotten: Toby Harrah, a stalwart infielder of the 1970s Texas Rangers; Aurelio Lopez, a bullpen workhorse of the 1984 world champion Detroit Tigers; and Fred Lynn, the American League rookie of the year and most valuable player in 1975, before frequent injuries garnered him the derisive nickname "Fragile Freddie" from fans of the Boston Red Sox.

And look, there's Oscar Gamble. Remember the enormous Afro he grew in the early '70s, in Philadelphia and Cleveland? It was the size of a beach ball.

And there's Bill Lee, a.k.a. "Spaceman," an iconoclastic cult hero to college-age Boston fans in the late '70s, a quintessentially flaky southpaw who once boasted of sprinkling marijuana on his breakfast cereal -- before the buttoned-down Red Sox brass exiled him to the Montreal Expos, in whose uniform he is (sadly) pictured in the card collection.

And Reggie Smith, Ron Davis, Brian Doyle -- we could on. And on.

Police said the owner should call the public information office at 202-727-4383 between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. on a weekday.

"My suspicion is, someone just grabbed them out of a parked car," Breul said. "Then they looked in [the container] later, rifled through them, and said, 'Aww, it's just a bunch of freakin' baseball cards -- no use to me.' And he just pitched them."

--Paul Duggan

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Collecting Baseball Cards Today

Collecting baseball cards today can be a frustrating endeavor. There are about 5 or 6 companies that produce major league baseball cards which does not seem like too many so that is ok. Each card company often produces up to twenty different sets a year. This many sets can be absolutely overwhelming and only seems to benefit the card publishing companies and not the collector.

Baseball card producers then seed the packs of these various sets with "chase cards". These chase cards are not always part of the actual set but often very limited number editions of cards. These chase cards can have nothing to do with baseball. Chase cards can be pieces of a Babe Ruth baseball bat to a signature of former President Howard Taft and on. Collecting the chase cards becomes the point of buying packs of baseball cards as they can be very valuable and sell for a lot of money on eBay. The actual cards of the baseball players are an afterthought. Commerce has overtaken collecting.

Much of this craze can be traced back to 1989 when the Upper Deck Company produced their first Major League Baseball set. This set included the very first Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card. There were no chase cards or limited runs just the Griffey Jr. card. When Griffey Jr entered baseball he was a young phenom who people thought had the potential to break all of baseballs records and his early play seemed to attest to this. Baseball card collecting became a craze as people tried to get the Griffey Jr rookie card.

When I was a kid in the late sixties and early seventies there was one company making one set - this was Topps. Collecting these cards was simple - you went to the local drugstore and bought a pack after begging your mom to get you one. I would then go home and promptly "flip" the cards with my friends (a game) and immediately add wear and tear to my cards. Today collectors seem to want the cards for their potential monetary value and handle the cards like they were precious jewels - often putting them in thick plastic holders to prevent anyone from handling and thus damaging the card.

So is there a middle ground for a collector or baseball enthusiast? Yes there is. First take a look at the fine print at some of the $10 or $20 packs you are going to buy to hopefully get a chase card. The fine print will tell you that you have a 1 in 10,000 chance of actually getting a chase card (and not even one that collectors want potentially). So if you don't get a chase card you will be left with five cards from the pack from a set. Unfortunately it will be a set nobody is looking to complete.

Collectors need to rein in their expectations and focus on being a fan of the game and remember that collecting cards can simply be an extension of their love of baseball. Focus on some of the basic sets that are not as chase card focused such as the basic Topps or Upper Deck set. Do not buy a pack of five cards for $20. Even baseball card companies are even beginning to realize that they have over-saturated the marketplace and are paring back the number of sets they produce.

Dan is a full time publisher whose most recent work can be found at Stainless Steel Range Hoods or at Basement Floor Paint

Five Ways to Build Your Baseball Card Collection

If you've recently caught the baseball card bug, or reignited the fires after some time away, you are undoubtedly working feverishly to build your card collection as fast and economically as possible. Finding methods to grow your baseball card collection has always been a challenge for collectors, but luckily, it has never been easier to acquire the cards that you want than it is right now, thanks to a confluence of factors. Here, then, are some of the best ways to add to your baseball card collection:
Garage sales and flea markets: This old standby still has its benefits. In fact, in these days of a down economy and a pretty soft baseball card market, scouting garage sales and flea markets may be one of the best ways to buy huge lot of cards at relatively cheap prices. You may still find the occasional ex-collector who thinks that all of his cardboard treasures really are golden, but most are willing to part with large quantities at true rummage sale prices.
Use eBay: The ubiquitous online auction house can cut both ways when it comes to sports cards: you can buy large quantities of cards for cheap or find the special card that you are seeking to fill a niche in your collection, AND you can sell unwanted or unneeded cards when the time comes. Making the most of your eBay experience is something of an art form and requires some practice, but this long-running marketplace may just become your best hobby resource.
Use the classifieds: Whether in your local newspaper or an online service such as Craigslist, classified ads can connect you to a whole set of baseball card sellers that you may have never had access to otherwise. You might find people selling their cards, which is great, but you should also consider running your own ad, announcing your willingness to take those nasty old, space-eating baseball cards off of people's hands. Being willing to travel TO the cards is a service that you can offer which can lead to really great deals. Of course, you need to be VERY careful when meeting with strangers, especially where money is involved, so exercise due caution.
Visit a baseball card shop: Going to a baseball card shop is, for the collector, like going to a candy shop is for a kid. it's hard to believe that you've just entered a world full of all the things that you dream about, and the array of material can make you a little dizzy. For finding the latest and greatest new product live and in the flesh, it's hard to beat your local card shop. you may also find some good deals on older items that your dealer wants to move.
Visit a baseball card show: If a card shop is like a candy shop, then a card show can be a veritable visit to the Chocolate Factory! When you first enter a the floor of a a decent size show, your head will be absolutely spinning at the volume of memorabilia staring you in the face, and the buzz is undeniable. Shows are excellent places to meet new dealers and collectors, see some unusual items, and, most importantly, buy, buy, buy!
Trade: One of the great things about collecting sports cards is that money is not the only currency which you can use to build your collection. Very often, you can trade your unwanted cards for those items that are on your wantlist. You can find trading partners online, at card shows, or even at your local baseball card shop.
There you have them: five great ways to build your baseball card collection. Importantly, most of these methods also give you the opportunity to interact with your fellow collectors and experienced dealers who can help you increase your hobby knowledge along with the size of your baseball card collection.

Rare Baseball Cards - Collect History

We all know that collecting baseball cards is a hobby that many people enjoy in this life. For collectors there isn't anything more exciting to to come across a card which they don't yet have in their collection. The more sought after cards for baseball collections are the more rare or vintage cards. These cards have a much higher monetary value, of course.

Most of the "old" baseball cards you will see today are reproductions of the originals. There are, however, still a few of the original cards in circulation. Often there are less than 100 cards left of a given player and year. High demand for these cards has pushed their prices up, in some cases to thousands of dollars. The exact price level is determined by demand, condition, and the number of cards available.

Many rare baseball cards are those of very recognizable players that had spectacular and even historical baseball careers. Cards of players like Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and even Honus Wagner are among this group. These cards were collectibles even during the time these players were actively playing the game and are even more valuable today.

Many rare baseball cards show wear on their edges and corners, and some even have creases on the card itself. Much of this wear is caused by the thin and inferior quality cardboard that companies used to print cards for certain players. Another reason for the wear is that many collectors were children who collected the cards simply for the love of the game, and they didn't take measures to keep the cards in mint condition.

Now unless there is a large amount of damage to the cards, these rare baseball cards still have the ability of causing lots of excitement when they appear in public. The main reason for this being the lack of cards which can be found by baseball collectors. For this reason when one of these rare baseball cards like that of the T206 Honus Wagner card surfaces you can see that collectors and wealthy fans themselves are gearing up for a high stakes bidding.

Topps and baseball cards go hand in hand. When a trader thinks baseball card they think of Topps. Topps first produced card sets in 1951 this set was oriented towards the game and it was a Black and Red set. It was in 1952 when the modern trading card was brought to life. This card set is the most revered of sets. Collectors marvel at the 1952 sets history.

Ever since that time, Topps can produced its famous baseball card sets. Today, Topps has an established tradition of producing high-quality baseball cards. Topps has also added new technology to the cards and their packaging, and now sports many other brands that help it remain the nation's leading baseball card company.

The majority of collectors, even serious ones, do not have the means to deal in Wagners and Ruths. In recent years, MLB cards from the '70s have proven to be a great investment for the common collector. Cards of Mike Schmidt, Carlton Fisk, Steve Garvey, Dusty Baker, and other greats from the era have shown a marked increase in value.

Although their value continues to increase, most people can still afford to buy MLB cards from the 1970s. Many of the most valuable cards are available for less than $300.

Collecting baseball cards as a hobby is quite popular with many people. Collectors find it exciting and sometimes very profitable, especially when they can locate genuine vintage cards. Most old baseball cards are copies, but originals are out there. Unless a card has been significantly damaged, rare baseball cards cause a lot of excitement when they appear in public. The Topps Company, established in 1951, is an expert in the field of baseball card production. Topps baseball cards are highly sought-after. Some can be astronomically expensive, but MLB cards from the 1970s have turned out to be a great investment that the common collector can generally afford.

The 5 Most Popular Babe Ruth Baseball Cards

Babe Ruth's place in baseball history is well documented. He sits at or near the top of the record books in several statistical categories. He is widely regarded by baseball historians as the most dominant hitter of his generation.

Babe Ruth's emergence as a baseball star coincided with the surge in popularity of the sport. While baseball experienced incredible growth in popularity, baseball cards also became increasingly popular. Often produced by tobacco and candy companies, cards were frequently packaged and included with another product.

Many Babe Ruth baseball cards were produced during his legendary career. Some of his cards are among the most recognized cards in the baseball card collecting hobby. All of the cards printed during Babe Ruth's career continue to maintain high values. A few Babe Ruth cards do stand out from the rest.

5. 1932 U.S. Caramel - The U.S. Caramel Company released a set of card featuring sports stars in 1932. Of the 32 athletes featured in the set, 27 were baseball stars. The popularity of Ruth combined with the difficulty of putting together a complete 1932 U.S. Caramel set has made this a popular card.

4. 1933 Goudey Sport Kings - In addition to its baseball release in 1933, Goudey released a set of cards featuring athletes from many sports. This set was a Who's Who of the sports world in the early 1930's. It included three baseball stars. Babe Ruth was one of these stars.

3. 1948 Leaf - Long after Ruth's career was over, Leaf produced a beautiful set of cards featuring modern stars such as Joe DiMaggio, Jackie Robinson, and Ted Williams. Leaf also capitalized on Ruth's continued popularity and chose to include him in the set.

2. 1933 Goudey - The Goudey Gum company printed four Babe Ruth cards in 1933. These cards are often reproduced in modern sets as they are among the most recognizable Babe Ruth baseball cards ever printed.

1. 1914 Baltimore Sun - Babe Ruth's rookie card was printed by the Baltimore Sun newspaper in 1914. Ruth was photographed along with his Baltimore Orioles (then a minor league club) teammates as well as members of the Terrapins. Cards were printed in red or blue and displayed a team schedule on the back of the card.

There are only ten known Babe Ruth rookie cards in existence today. The Ruth rookie is considered the second-most valuable card on the market, trailing only the famous Honus Wagner card. The most recent sale of a 1914 Babe Ruth netted over $500,000 in auction.

Babe Ruth baseball cards have continued to be a popular choice with collectors. Those listed here only represent a small sample. There are many cards for collectors to choose from.

Babe Ruth cards continue to be a popular choice in the baseball card collecting community. The Babe Ruth rookie card is the most valuable of these. To find this and other Babe Ruth baseball cards, consult the Babe Ruth card checklist.

The Best Baseball Cards Of 2008 - The Incredibox

For as long back as I can remember I have looked forward to the start of a new Baseball season and with it, the new boxes of that year's Baseball Cards. The smell of the gum packs, the new card designs, and the answer to the question "What can I get in this year's box of Cards?" Of course, the cards and the game have evolved and only a couple of products still have gum. But no matter what pack you buy with prices ranging from $4.00 to $400.00 each, you can expect the new 2008 Boxes to have even more exciting stuff than the year before.

As of right now, only one company has produced the most exciting 2008 Baseball Box of Cards. This special selection of cards and goodies has been limited to only 200. The Box of Cards I am speaking of is the 2008 INCREDIBOX of Baseball Cards. Each Incredibox box of 2008 Baseball Cards has an Autographed Baseball, Autographed Cards, Memorabilia Cards and the chance to Win Autographed and Custom Framed Baseball Jerseys. There are 10 of them to be exact! The 2008 Incredibox Box of Baseball Cards does not have any common cards, nor regular cards, and you will not be dissappointed when you open your box of goodies. The 2008 Incredibox has an Autographed and Certified Baseball in every box from players like Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Frank Robinson, Pete Rose, Dodgers, Angels, Yankees ,Rookies or Prospects and more. Each 2008 Incredibox has Autographed Certified cards from Rookies, Stars, Prospects, Hall of Famers and more. Every 2008 Incredibox has Certified Memorabilia Cards from stars such as Bonds, Rodriguez, Pujols, Mantle, Mays, Williams as well as Rookies, Stars, Prospects and Hall of Famers. There are also Random Inserts, Numbered Cards, Vintage Cards, Bgs and Psa Graded Cards and more.

Not only is this the best 2008 Baseball Box of Cards you can buy but you also get a chance to win one of 10 Different Autographed, Certified and Custom Framed Baseball Jerseys. Players include: Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Steve Garvey, Stan Musial, Russell Martin, Fernando Valenzuela, Willie Mays, Pete Rose, Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez. They are a great buy when you consider each comes with Autographed Baseballs, Autographed Cards and Memorabilia Cards plus the opportunity to win these Autographed Jerseys. If I were you, I would hurry to order one now as I understand that of the 200 boxes to be sold, over half are already sold out. Do not delay. And enjoy this terrific deal while available. For those of you who are collectors, you will not be disappointed.

Scott Allen, owner of Southbay Baseball Cards (a family owned business since 1986) and avid lifetime collector of vintage and modern sports cards as well as memorabilia.

http://www.SBayCards.com offers quality sports and non-sports cards, collectibles and more. Order Online at low competitive prices. Wide selection.

Pricing Baseball Cards - The Ins And Outs Of The Hobby

Pricing baseball cards can be a tricky endeavor, but with the help of online and offline price guides, as well as some help from eBay, learning the value of the cards in question shouldn't be too difficult.

The most obvious items to consider when pricing baseball cards is the demand of the card, its scarcity, condition, player and team. Of course the year it was produced matters, and if it's a rookie card of a star player, then of course the value goes up. Beckett and Tuff Stuff are the leading guides in determining a cards' value, but often times a card is so rare that its open market value cannot be determined by these very same guides.

The most popular pricing guides will list most of the newer card sets, but not every card will be listed. Common cards and semi-star cards will usually be priced as well as the rookies and higher value cards. Listing only some of the common cards saves a lot of space, as the common card values will basically be the same across the board.

Beckett produces bi-monthly guides for baseball cards and each has detailed information on prices from multiple years. Beckett's Online Price Guide may be the best single source online for pricing baseball cards. The guide provides collectors and traders with information on print runs and the occasional completed sale. Because there can be so many parallel versions of the same card the detailed information provided in Beckett's guide can be of immense help in fairly pricing baseball cards.

If you're looking to make the baseball card trade as smooth as possible, the more information that can be acquired the better. Finding out the book value of a particular card is important, if the value is available in print. Cards that rarely see the light of day in the open marketplace will usually not have a book value, so it's a little more tricky to determine the true value of the card. The best thing to do in this situation is to get your card professionally graded.

Beckett offers a grading service for pricing baseball cards. Being able to take a graded card into a trade will most certainly help to keep the buyer at peace as he or she can rest assured that a professional card service has reviewed the condition of the card and assigned it a certified grade.

Pricing baseball cards can also be much easier if you take a look at eBay. Depending on the card, you may very well find it going for auction. The advantage with this is that the final bidding price will usually represent the value that the card is selling for in a private trade. However, final eBay bidding prices shouldn't be taken as a rule of thumb.

About The Author:

Justin Michael contributes to several baseball forums across the net, and helps to operate an article directory devoted entirely to Baseball Cards

To find out more red-hot information about baseball cards, visit Baseball Cards Junction now!

Baseball Cards Are Still a Good Investment

Baseball cards may be one your best investments in today's economy. When you think of baseball cards, you might think about kids running around trading cards back and forth - reading the stats on the back of the card and collecting their favorite players. However baseball cards and taken on the whole new meaning with today's investment market.

There are many different ways that you can get involved in baseball card collecting and investing. The best way is to narrow it down into certain players certain years of cards were certain brands that you collect. There are certain baseball cards that are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. One such card that is worth a tremendous amount of money is the Honus Wagner baseball card.

For the investor who has a few thousand dollars to invest in baseball cards they may want to look at some 1950s to 1960s Mickey Mantle cards. The most popular card and Mickey Mantle is his 1952 Topps baseball card. This card represents his rookie year and is very hard to find in good condition these days. Amazingly I have seen original 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle baseball cards selling for hundreds of dollars - even in very poor condition.

Before you run out to the garage sales and start looking for baseball cards for sale you need to educate yourself a little bit more on what's valuable and what is not. You can still find boxes full of baseball cards at most garage sales and second hand stores. However, most of these cards are known as what is called commons. These are players that really aren't worth very much. Now if they are from the era of the 1950s and 1960s - Then you still have a good deal on your hands. That's not to say that there might not be a few good bargain baseball cards in a newer box if you know what you are looking for.

For more baseball card and basketball card information try visiting allvintagecards.com, a website that specializes in providing helpful tips and advice on vintage baseball and basketball cards and collectible auctions to include Baseball Cards and more.

Upper Deck Baseball Cards - 1988 Happy Anniversary!

Upper Deck baseball cards, 1989 marked the release of this hi-tech (at the time) product. But few people know that the Upper Deck baseball product, issued cards used to market their cards in 1988. Years later these cards also paved the way, for what we now have come to learn are "Promo cards".

In 1988, a few players were part of the original marketing product, and those players were Wally Joyner and Dwayne DeWitt, and they were actually featured in 2 Upper Deck baseball cards released that year. Those cards had one purpose, to fuel the interest in the Upper Deck product. Although all of the product sold out and quickly, clearly it was not because of the poster boys but rather the hype that surrounded the Upper Deck company.

In a time, where there was some counterfeiting going on in the sports card industry. These baseball cards offered a hologram (on the back right hand corner) that was to be tamper proof. The actual poster boy for the 1989 Upper Deck baseball product quickly became Ken Griffey Jr. You can say what you like about the Upper Deck baseball product but Ken Griffey Jr. did not disappoint.

In fact it is hard to believe, that with his record over 600 home-runs, Ken Griffey Jr.'s 1989 Upper Deck rookie baseball card can be had relatively cheap. Hard to believe that at one time, Ken Griffey Jr. was one of the most amazing center fielders to ever have played the game, Ken Griffey Jr. is no longer a hobby favorite in all areas of the country, but a 600 plus home-run all-star none the less.

How many home-runs could he have hit? Had he not been injured for about 4 years totaling all of his trips to the disabled list. Maybe 750, I guess we will never know. For argument sake, I will say respectively 35 home-runs a year. Ken Griffey Jr. is still playing, the Chicago White Sox are probably going to bring him back, there are your 750 imaginary home-runs!

Their 1989 baseball product is loaded with plenty of future Hall of Fame candidates, I do not believe that John Smoltz will have any problems getting in when his time is up, being the only player to have led the National League in wins one year and saves another. I have a hard time making a case for Gary Sheffield, boy it seems that controversy always follows him, but still his career numbers are nice. Being the nephew of Dwight Gooden, you can see where the genes come from.

The 1989 Upper Deck baseball product is loaded with error cards as well, many more than I can ever list here but there are a few reverse negative photos out there. The Dale Murphy card being the more favorite and most expensive. Ungraded copies of these still sell in the $20.00 range.

All in all, I like the Upper Deck baseball product the cards grade very nicely if you are opening up the wax product or factory sets and I have had some fun chasing the error cards, but I am not ready to put this set in the top 5 baseball card sets of modern day baseball cards. Just my opinion.

Baseball card autographs are easy to obtain! Ken Griffey Jr. Autograph

Profit from your great collection click here!

All About Baseball Cards

Collecting baseball cards has long been one of American's favorite hobbies, closely following America's favorite past time. Topps baseball cards is only one brand of baseball cards that is on the market. Topps is one of the most popular brands of baseball card companies and is easily located on the web to make purchasing easier. Sports collectors are part of a very exclusive "club" so to speak, with their own lingo, discerning eyes and mutual understanding.

Topps baseball cards, being that they are easily found online, are purchased often. The men and women who are buying these baseball cards collect them for years before they start to sell, if they ever sell them at all. Collectors often do so in a certain way such as all from one team, all the same player, since the year they were born or since the year they became a fan of the sport. Though all of their collections will be different, they all share one base thing in common; they all love baseball.

The beginning of tradable cards goes back almost a hundred years, to the time where they were smaller than two inches and printed on thick cardboard. They were not as popular then and were being made by the Goodwin Company. As the years passed, a different company emerged on the market; Topps. They not only made baseball cards but chewing gum as well, another staple for baseball players. They were the only company in the business of baseball cards that was excelling as it was, but a monopoly lawsuit was lost and so other competing companies were taking stock in baseball cards. These collectible items had become a phenomenon and Topps is still a leading name in the industry to this day.

Many who decide to collect them also decide to sell them at one point as well. Keeping your collection in mint condition is very important if you want to reap the highest price for your prized cards. Those who have the most success at this will often times keep their treasures in plastic sheets in a binder, or in hard plastic cases so that they do not become bent, creased, stained or damaged in any way. Then they can take their collection to a local collectors' shop, either put them on display to have them sold to customers or sell them directly to the shop owner. This can be done anywhere where collectibles are bought and sold or anywhere that buys and sells sports trading cards, especially baseball cards. These places will often be carriers of all brand baseball cards.

Also, there are online buy and sell "stores" for baseball cards. Knowing the value of each of your cards and the prices you would like to sell them for are important things to know so that you do not get scammed by the business. You can easily find this information by comparing to other cards that are similar in age, condition, and player that others have bought and sold.

Chuck R Stewart recently sold his old baseball cards and topps baseball cards to a collector for a nice little profit.

Babe Ruth Baseball Cards - A Valuable Investment

Babe Ruth was born in Baltimore, Maryland and his actual name was George Herman Ruth Jr. He finished his career with 714 home runs and a 342 career batting average, being given the nickname of "Sultan of Swat" and becoming probably the most popular baseball player of all times.

There isn't a baseball fanatic, or baseball cards collector in the world that would not want to get their hands on an official Babe Ruth baseball card as Babe Ruth continues to have die-hard fans that weren't even thought of being born when he was hitting home. A Babe Ruth baseball card might not hold any real value for a person who does not know anything about the game, but fans are ready to pay almost any prize to get hold of original collectibles and to create a memorabilia of Babe Ruth. And the Babe Ruth baseball cards are as much sought after now as they were 80 years ago.

Despite his cards not being the most valuable on the planet (that honor going to the Honus Wagner T206), original Babe Ruth cards have continued to appreciate and are commonly seen as a bellwether in the baseball card collecting community. A Babe Ruth baseball card can be very expensive and you might have to reach deep into your pockets or you might not be able to afford some of the cream of the crop cards.

Remember that these baseball cards were often distributed with other products, such as food, sweets or newspapers, and those very early baseball cards are unbelievably difficult to come by today. Their initial purpose was to give passionate fans a chance to see stats and pictures of their favorite players. But baseball cards have come a long way in the past decade. Now, the most valuable cards are very difficult to obtain, and most reside in the personal collections of high end, wealthy collectors.

The first Babe Ruth baseball card was printed in 1914 by the Baltimore Sun Newspaper, back when The Babe was a minor league ballplayer for the Baltimore Orioles. That particular baseball card, being the first card ever produced of the young pitching prospect, has been sold for as high as $517,000 in recent years.

The value of the baseball cards greatly depends on the condition they are in. Baseball card collectors get very picky about the condition of the cards they are about to purchase. For this, there are catalogues giving grades to the cards available on the market. When a baseball card is graded it is given a condition value which can then be translated into a monetary value. A graded card helps you determine how much a card is worth, based on the grade that the card receives. The many different cards which collectors look for, like the Babe Ruth rookie card, are the ones that, while not in mint condition, are still very valuable.

If it is baseball cards that you are looking for, you must know that the best baseball card dealers in the USA offer their cards through eBay.

Looking for Babe Ruth Baseball Cards and for Baseball Cards in general?

Baseball Card Death

Any male that grew up in the late 1980's-early 1990's knows all about the phenomenon known as "Baseball Card Death." The problem is, he doesn't know that he knows this. And who can blame one's selective memory loss here. Think of the large percentage of your disposable income that you blew on baseball cards, which likely have little utility for you right now as they sit in your basement amongst the spiders, centipedes, and mice. Do you really want to be reminded of the colossal investment mistakes you made? Well, we will play the role of Alanis Morrisette, "And I'm here to remind you..." In the early 1990s baseball cards were better than money, better than gold, hell, they were supposed to pay for college tuitions because they were such a solid investment.

As everyone knows, but few can bear to admit, nothing could have been further from the awful truth...... We've scoured the net for articles or postings...basically anything we could find with a negative slant on baseball cards. We can't find anything! People seem very keen on talking about their successes, and we all know that back in the day EVERYONE was talking about how much everything they owned "was worth." But did anyone REALLY cash in on their "baseball card riches?" Did anyone bail at the right time and actually pay for their tuition, buy a second home, or re-invest in the stock market?

Our instincts tell us the answer is for the most part, "no." This site was created mostly as a beacon of objectivity..and negativity if you will, towards an institution that seems focused on "talking about the good old days." We are tired of hearing about "what your cards were worth" or "how they will come back in value if you just hold them." Let's hear some objectivity and reality for once and report WHAT is going on NOW and not what WAS in the past. Let's explore the sad state of affairs that has engulfed anyone who has a shoebox (or many shoeboxes) full of cards like ourselves.

Delusions vs. Realities

Every year, I still buy two or three packs just for the heck of it, just to see who I get," says Dave Kelly, 51, a Library of Congress reference librarian who specializes in sports and recreation."

"I still collect them like I did when I was 10," says Baltimore Orioles pitcher Alan Mills, 34. "It could be going to the 7-Eleven, getting some apple juice and picking up some cards."

"He's still mad at me. He thinks I threw away his baseball cards," says one exasperated mom. " 'They'd be worth millions now.' I'm quoting him: 'Millions now.'"

"Just as timeless is the equally irresistible urge for America's mothers to toss 'em, or so we claim. Moms are the ultimate scapegoats for the lost treasures of our youth."

-----Dodd, Mike. USA Today, 3/27/01

We Say..........

Are you kidding? "Worth millions now?". Granted, pre-1980s cards are worth much more than the overflooded examples we talked about earlier. But everything has to be either in pristine condition, or ridiculously rare for a collector to even think about buying the damn thing from you. Seriously now...put the Price Guide away, and actually go out there and try to sell these "precious" cards. This is all about REAL demand for the cards, not quoted prices. Cards from the 1980s-1990s are all but WORTHLESS now on the whole.

We're sure we can find some examples of cards that are worth a few bucks, but that's just it, a few bucks. Gone are the days of the many versions of the Billy Ripken "Error" card that were going for hundreds of dollars at the time. Does anyone even care about him at this point? Don't you feel silly now for trying to "complete that set" by scouring the card shows for the Don Slaught '89 Donruss card or that elusive Topps Checklist? WE SURE DO AND FEEL LIKE COMPLETE IDIOTS AT THIS POINT.

Try contacting a dealer who touts on his website: "We buy unopened packs, sets of all baseball cards!" like we did. Here is what transpired in our note to them:

"Hello. I have a number of unopened, some sealed, sets of early 1990s cards. Fleer, Donruss, Upper Deck, Topps, etc. Additionally I have some oddballs like "Traded Sets", Collect A Books, and some others that have never been opened. What is the protocol for doing business? I'm located in XYZ City, and would be happy to send pictures.Thanks"

RESPONSE: "Hi there. We only buy vintage cards pre 1970. Thanks for thinking of us."

UNREAL. Even professional dealers aren't interested in the many thousands of cards we carefully wasted time filing away as a kid, and to think of all of the Sundays we pissed away at "card shows." How many Hiltons and Holiday Inns do you see in your neighborhood these days with signs advertising "Baseball Card Show This Weekend"? Not to mention, how many "Card and Hobby" shops do you know of that are still thriving businesses? And how about the weekend "Flea Markets" and "Shopping Mall Card Shows" with tables dedicated to both sets and singles at overinflated prices? YES, that's what we thought. Times sure do change. For the "professional dealer" to not even offer a bid for our cards, indicates that they are WORTHLESS. Further proof in this matter lies with Ebay, the famed online auctioneer. We have run a number of 7 day auctions recently for sealed, unopened, SETS of cards. We're not talking about random assortments of loose cards. For instance, the 1990 Upper Deck, Fleer, and Donruss sets were all offered individually by us, for a starting bid of 49 cents! And we did not receive ONE bid, over a 7 day period! Not one! We actually LOST money listing these pigs because Ebay nails you with a listing fee for each auction you participate in. If this doesn't drive the "WASTE OF TIME, MONEY, AND EFFORT" point home to you card aficionados, we don't know what will.

REALITIES

Those taking the "hold" approach with respect to their

collections are simply kidding themselves. Think of

it in this perspective. The cards that you have from the

1980s and 1990s were once considered valuable....well

according to prices that you PAID for the cards and quoted

prices in publications like Beckett they were. How many of

you actually sold your cards for those same quoted prices?

Hey we're not ridiculing anyone, we didn't sell one! We were

"net buyers" of baseball cards for the better part of a decade.

1. For the market to "bounce back", baseball itself first needs

to be revitalized among the youth of today. Do you see it

happening? And if the answer is yes, then the baseball card

market needs to re-invent itself somehow. The last time we

checked kids were buying new X-Boxes and asking for I-Pod

Nanos for Christmas. And these kids are roughly the same age

as we were during our "baseball card phase." Baseball cards

will never overtake today's affordable, and easily obtained

technological gadgets. And why would they? Think about the

probability of this happening. Secondly, the people who drove up

the prices in the early 90s were young kids (who are in their

twenties now) and old men (and probably some hideous women

too) who ran the "Card and Hobby Shops." The inventories of

these "kids" grew over the years as they purchased packs,

attended card shows, etc. and these consumers were mostly

"buyers." The buyers' collections grew sometimes to unmanageable

amounts, making storage itself even difficult. The buyers can only

take in so many baseball cards under the pretense that "they are

going to be worth something one day" before this madness must

come to a halt. Today, we have thousands of disgruntled "former

collectors" who are sitting in the wings, storing their worthless

cards and waiting for a sunny day.

Most of these unfortunate souls

have moved on to other things, thank goodness, and hopefully have

carried these valuable lessons from their baseball card investment

debacles forward with them through life, so as to avoid similar

predicaments whether in business, the stock market, real estate, etc.

Over the course of the late 80s and 1990s, card buyers kept taking in

cards, and the shopkeepers were the sellers. Now any shopkeeper who

made a sale and refused to replenish that inventory probably made out

quite well. But those who thought the boom would last forever likely got

their ass handed to them as they re-invested the profits on their card

sales in more inventory. This inventory became more worthless as time

went on, became increasingly difficult to sell to card buyers amidst

waning public interest. Let's put this in perspective. Upper Deck cards

were the hottest thing around in 1989-1991, with Ken Griffey Jr. cards

now what a disappointment he turned out to be, remember all of the

hype??) commanding hundreds of dollars.

Today, we cannot even sell a

sealed, mint SET of the cards from those years for 49 cents. (A reader

has asked for clarification on this. Yes, the year that the Griffey Jr. rookie

card came out, 1989, the Upper Deck set sells for about $70.00. We've

attempted to sell a new, sealed, untouched set from 1990 at 49 cents and

received no bids, not to mention our failed attempts at selling Donruss

and Fleer mint,unopened sets to no avail. Whatever the case, we're

certain that you all remember that the Griffey card alone was valued

in the hundreds in its prime. And now the entire set is only worth $70?

On a good day? What happened? Why is no one addressing this?) The

word depreciation doesn't fit this scenario, its more like a momentous

dive.

2. For the card market to rebound, there needs to be a resurgence of

interest. This resurgence can't possibly come from those who are already

stockpiling cards in hopes that their prices will bounce back. New buyers,

new aficionados need to enter the market. Please get back to us you can

argue logically that these items will rebound to late 80s-early 90s mania

prices and the reasoning behind it. The "rare" factor is virtually

non-existent in terms of cards at this point since there are dozens of cards

available for most players in various sets and subsets from the deluge of manufacturers.

3. Statistical records are obliterated routinely and rather easily these days. Remember when Jose Canseco's "40-40 club" was a big deal? No one

even gives a damn about that anymore. How about the infamous late

1980s Topps "30-30 Club" member cards, with Howard Johnson being

one of the "esteemed" members. Do young baseball fans today even know

who the hell Hojo is? My point is that records are broken year after year,

and the juiced baseball and possible steroid influence on the game seriously accelerates this. Jesse Barfield.... (note NOT in the Hall of Fame, and who

the hell even remembers him at this point) hit something like 49 homers in

the late 80s. This was considered a TON back then. As we now know, today's "superior" ballplayers can hit well more, hell, even shortstops can crank 40

like it's no one's business. Remember when Don Mattingly was a big deal?

Unless you are a die-hard Yankee fan, you likely view Don Mattingly as

slightly more than a common player these days despite some of the stats he

put up. We recall paying $27.00 in 1989 for his Topps rookie card. Big mistake. Since the card isn't technically "mint", we doubt we can sell this

card for $2.70 today. Any buyers out there? If so...sold to you at $2.70.

The underlying point here is that the value that is built into cards as the

player breaks or sets new records, diminishes as his record is broken in

future years and he gradually fades into obscurity.

4. Today, the baseball card industry

has built this facade of "card grading" into their

never-ending tunnel of greed. Now, we as collectors

are expected to pay to mail our cards to

"grading companies", let their experts pore over

our cards for weeks on end (and we're certain that

they don't do this even though that's the impression

that is given), and then send us an official certificate

with our card encased in plastic to tell us that we are

grade "PSA 8.5". This process is NOT cheap either! In

many cases you will spend more on the grading process

than your card is worth! The bad news is not too many

cards out there are PSA 10 or in "perfect" graded condition,

despite the care you took to store them over the years. We

advise you to look at completed auction results on Ebay and

you will see for yourself the large discrepancy between card

values of various graded ratings. If it's not in pristine condition,

you're not going to make much on it.

For more information please visit [http://www.baseballcarddeath.com]

By: W.U. [http://www.baseballcarddeath.com] http://www.icomplain.blogspot.com

All rights reserved. Content may not be duplicated without proper crediting. All content is the original, registered trademarked content of the aforementioned websites, subsidiary companies of IComplain.net. Unlawful use of this content will be prosecuted.

Some Facts About Hot Baseball Cards

Hot baseball cards are prized possessions of baseball lovers and fans. They add value to collections of sports memorabilia and are much sought after.

Collecting hot baseball cards feature as one of the hot favorites among collectors of sports collectibles. Interested sports lovers collect sports memorabilia because it helps them feed their passion for the same and they attach a lot of sentimental value to them. Baseball sports cards are the most well known among trading cards connected with sports. They can be interesting investments too. Nobody knows what the future has to unfold, and if you are lucky enough, a card from your collection might even cause a windfall by becoming one of the top baseball sports cards!

The United States of America was the first country to produce baseball cards. To be more specific, it came into existence mainly after the Civil Wars. Peck and Snyder was the first sports goods company to print baseball cards. However, their manufacture and popularity have spread to other countries in due course of time. Stephen Strasburg cards are among the hot baseball cards in the present scenario. They shot up in value over the last 2 years. While in 2008, their cost was a little over a dollar, by 2009, the cost rose up by 50 times! Stephen Strasburg rookie cards are now in such a state that none can state for sure if there will be a hike in value or a fall! However, at present they are of significance and worth an investment. Jason Heyward is yet another name that deserves mention in this context. Jason Heyward Rookie cards are now among the most coveted hot baseball sports cards. Babe Ruth cards, that were first printed in 1914, has sustained the interest of people and is still counted as a hot choice by collectors.

The price of these collectible hot baseball sports cards is influenced by the performance and the popularity of the baseball player in question. The condition of the card is also important. More the popularity, more is the real value. If the card is in mint condition, collectors are ready to pay a heavy sum to procure them. As the condition of the cards fall in quality, the price steadily declines too. Therefore, it is vital to keep the cards safe and protected to preserve their value. These celebrity hot baseball cards are to be kept in as good condition as possible to harvest the highest benefits in financial terms.

hot baseball cards can be bought in sports stores too. You can get them in the different sports memorabilia shows that are organized.

You can also bid them in online auctions. top baseball cards of present times can be fixed deposits for making money in future.

Baseball Cards As Celebrity Memorabilia

Baseball fans are by and far one of the most fanatic groups when it comes to collecting sports and celebrity memorabilia. They are only second to American football. They will collect anything that revolves around the sport or in most cases their specific sporting team.

When it comes to baseball in particular most collectors will base a good deal of their collection in baseball cards. In fact, many collectors of baseball cards have collections worth thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Most collectors will begin their collection by saving and protecting every baseball card that they can find. They will not only collect baseball cards of widely popular or high averaging players, but will collect and preserve cards from all averages and teams. They will do this for the simple fact that you never know when a baseball player will go up in value due to their performance. There is also the fact that many players who make the news in a controversial manner will see a rise in the price of their cards.

When collecting baseball cards as celebrity memorabilia you will no doubt want to look into the various methods in which you can protect your investments. Most collectors will purchase the cards in what is know as "mint condition." These cards are free of spots, blemishes, rips, and folds. They are in the same condition they were in when they left the factory in which they were produced. They will take these "mint condition" cards and will place them in protective sleeves that are made out of either hard or soft plastic.

From there most collectors will purchase typical photo album books in which they will store the cards in three-prong baseball card collecting sleeves. This will protect and keep the cards organized.

When storing baseball cards that you are collecting as celebrity memorabilia, you should always be sure to store them in areas that are free from changing temperature conditions, and free of harm from other elements such as water and or wind.

Obtaining baseball cards for your collection is generally the easy part. Baseball cards are generally sold at all major department stores and also at many gas stations in packs that can contain anywhere from five to ten cards. You can also purchase baseball cards at sport memorabilia stores where you will have a greater choice in the type of card that you are purchasing. There are many brands of baseball cards for you to choose from.

You should look into each type of card and figure out from your personal research which brand is worth the most amount of money. Once you have determined this you can settle for that one brand, or you can purchase one or two brands of cards to go with your collection. Most collectors of baseball cards as celebrity memorabilia will collect multiple brands.

Many sporting memorabilia stores also run special trading card nights where you can join other collectors and trade cards from your collection for which you have multiple copies. This is a great way to make your collection grow.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for autographed celebrity photos, celebrity collectibles, and autographed art. You will find it all at these sites for autographed celebrity photos, baseball cards celebrity.

Topps Baseball Cards Still Going Strong

Topps baseball cards were a part of growing up in America for millions of kids. No matter what decade you grew up in, chances are if you cared anything about sports, you opened a pack of Topps.

The gum was the big attraction for many kids of the 1950s and 60s. A big, wide stick of pink bubble gum sat atop every pack. For collectors and baseball fans, though, the cards were what kept you coming back for more.

The Topps company's first major set was issued in 1952, in a size that was about three times what youngsters had been used to with Bowman, Leaf and other manufacturers. It made a big splash with kids who saw their heroes as larger than life anyway. Late in the season, though, Topps baseball cards were a tough sell to kids who were going back to school and turned their attention to football. Inside that last series of cards was the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle. It would become the most iconic baseball card of the post-War era.

Topps continued its oversized cards through the 1956 season. In '54, they produced the Hank Aaron rookie card and also the first-ever card of Ernie Banks. In '55, collectors see the rookie cards of Sandy Koufax, Roberto Clemente and Harmon Killebrew. 1957 Topps cards saw the company move to the size we see on today's products.

Topps baseball card sets continued to expand in size as the decade turned to the 1960s and by 1969, expansion in Major League Baseball forced the company to produce a 660-card set for the first time. Notable rookie cards in the 60s included Pete Rose (1963), Nolan Ryan and Johnny Bench (1968) and Reggie Jackson (1969).

Throughout the 1970s, Topps continued to produce an annual set that was virtually the same in terms of printing stock and overalll approach. Only the design changed from year-to-year but few cared. It was, and still is, an annual rite of spring to see what the new cards will look like.

While Fleer tried to end the Topps monopoly in the early 60s, Topps' virtual strangehold on the industry continued until 1981 when a court case finally opened the baseball card market to competition. The arrival of Upper Deck in 1989 took things to a new level and the companies battled fiercely for market share. Only in 2010 did Topps finally convince Major League Baseball to sign an exclusive partnership agreement. Other companies were free to produce cards, but none would be allowed to carry "official card" status.

Throughout the last few years, the Topps company has tried to draw on its history of producing some of the most popular and memorable baseball cards of all-time by tying in promotions and creating replica cards from years gone by. In 2010, however, they've taken it to the next level.

Topps' "Million Card Giveaway" includes winning game pieces inside packs. A code on the back sends collectors to a special website where they can 'unlock' the code and see what card from a past Topps set they have won. The cards go back to 1952 and three Mickey Mantle cards were scheduled to be given away.

There have been hundreds of thousands produced over the years and vintage baseball cards maintain a huge following. The Sports Collectors Store offers more information on collecting Topps baseball cards and an opportunity to see other sportscards produced by the Topps company.

http://www.SportsCollectorsDaily.com

T206 Baseball Cards And Vintage Baseball Cards

The following article looks into t206 baseball sports cards and vintage baseball cards in general.

Many baseball enthusiasts feel that it is necessary for any true baseball fan to have a good collection of t206 baseball cards or vintage cards. People who follow this sport will surely consider buying t206 and vintage cards as priced possessions. This is not only because these are rare but also because they are bound to have a lot of value in the future when the cards are not available for people to buy.

These baseball sports cards have become somewhat of the craze among people of all ages and for obvious reasons. This has in turn caused the prices of these cards to go up. The companies making these sports cards and other sports memorabilia have also started introducing limited edition t206 baseball cards and vintage baseball cards making it even more difficult for the people to get hold of them.

People who want to invest in sports cards can visit any of the websites that contain information about the various sports memorabilia and will get a whole lot of information about investing in these collectibles. These websites will have a lot of information about the t206 and vintage baseball cards and will also inform people about the cards that are valued the most. People will get to know the values of the various t206 baseball cards and vintage cards making it easy for them to decide which cards they should invest on or which cards they can afford.

Apart from this, these websites also provide a lot of information about the places from where people will be able to get these t206 or a href="http://cardboardrelics.com/">vintage baseball cards or other sports memorabilia. People will not only know where to buy them but also know the procedure involved in the buying them. These websites will also help people avoid stores and websites where it is easy to get scammed. These websites will also help people select the right kind of sports collectibles and not get duped into buying fake goods.

Through websites and blogs people will also be able to find a lot of information regarding grading firms which will be able to evaluate the cards or any sports memorabilia. It is important to have the cards evaluated in case you are thinking or trading cards with other sports memorabilia collectors. This way you will know the exact value of the cards. You can do this when buying cards as well or if you just want to know what the worth of your assets is.

The grading firms evaluate the t206 baseball cards and give a certificate that states the genuineness of the cards along with the value. They are very fair in the evaluation and look into a host of details before putting a price tag to any sports collectibles.

Baseball Card Prices

Baseball card Prices vary from card to card. As a card enthusiast, you should know or have a rough idea or estimate of these prices. The prices might vary but they are not far from each other. There are several baseball card shops in which you can purchase your most valued hero. These shops often house newly minted cards or cards that were once owned by other card collectors like you.

Card appraisals are very important. Once you purchase your baseball cards from the shop of your choice, you should take all your cards to an appraiser and find out if your cards are worth the amounts you paid for them. The prices will not vary much but if they do you might be lucky and find that you underpaid for a card which is quite valuable.

Baseball card prices can actually be increased by collectors who feel like protecting the already fragile condition of their baseball cards. They can be protected, thus adding their value by wrapping them with Lucite sheeting. Lucite sheeting guarantees added value in terms of longer life, while maintaining the original condition. Baseball card prices can also be figured out in many other ways.

Books and guides can help you in figuring out the various prices of this cards. Rookie cards, normal baseball cards and vintage cards all vary in price. Some of this cards might be more expensive than others due to the rarity, popularity and also the fact that some of this cards might be collectors items.

Peter Gitundu Creates Interesting And Thought Provoking Content on Baseball Cards. For More Information, Read More Of His Articles Here BASEBALL CARDS If You Enjoyed This Article, Make Sure You SUBSCRIBE TO MY RSS FEED!

Vintage Baseball Cards Collecting

Collecting vintage baseball cards are one of the most favorite hobbies for baseball fans. Starting with Peck & Snyder, who published at least half-dozen of these vintage cards between 1865 and 1870 to promote their trade, many companies have now entered this market.

Collecting vintage baseball cards are one of the most favorite hobbies for baseball fans. Peck & Snyder published at least half-dozen of these vintage cards between 1865 and 1870 to promote their trade. In the modern era, after the Second World War, Bowman had his vintage cards published in 1948 and Topps in 1950. The first set was published entirely in color in 1950 by Bowman. Topps saw a great success from 1952, and Bowman in 1955, becoming the only major distributors of vintage baseball cards until the late 1980s.

At that time, the vintage baseball cards market started experiencing a strong rebound. The other publishers entering the market around the same time was the Upper Deck in the year 1988. Completely saturated, the card market collapsed in the mid 1990s, causing consolidation of publishers. Marvel and Fleer and Skybox buys, specializing in basketball, started becoming popular during that era.

Generally, the vintage baseball cards (baseball card), is a small card printed on thick paper, which depicts one or more baseball players. It is a type of trading card. The common format of these cards has pictures of the card players and written information about the player on the backside of the card. "Baseball Cards" is possible in any size, typically 2.5 inches ? 3.5 inch size is made, is designed to show the complete portrait of the cherished baseball players. Soon after, photos of the players were begun to be printed on the cards, instead of the portrait. Some photos were burned onto a small card-like photo path for the current case.

Baseball had become popular in the late 1860s, but it now became a professional sport. By this time Peck and Snyder made a trading vintage baseball cards -themed baseball team sport shop. Peck and Snyder were mainly concentrated on selling more products using the vintage cards as the promotional advertising materials. However, they are considered as the first cards manufacturers. In many cases, these cards contained the information on the backside, mainly to promote advertising. Ever since, these Baseball vintage cards became famous among the fans. This became irrespective of whether they were used for business that is related to baseball or for a variety of other businesses.

Improved color printing technology enhanced the value of the vintage baseball cards. As a result, black and white pictures slowly emerged into color cards. Starting with Peck & Snyder, who published at least half-dozen of these vintage cards between 1865 and 1870 to promote their trade, many companies have now entered baseball card market, allowing fans to choose the version of the cards that they wish to collect.

Is Selling Baseball Cards a Money-Maker?

Baseball cards can sell for a few cents or thousands of dollars so it would only make sense that it could be more than a hobby, or at least we would think so. Let's see if that's true.

It is said that the highest valued cards are valued at $40,000. Robin Roberts, Jim Konstanty and Eddie Stanky were withdrawn from the series in 1952 due to contractual problems with a rival baseball card company. It is not known how it happened but somehow a small amount of these cards found their way in to circulation and because of that mistake, these cards are the highest valued cards.

There are many sports cards that can catch more than $1,000 in the market but we still haven't answered the question: Is selling baseball cards worth an investment?

Often, we only think of investments as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etfs, and other paper investments but it's important that we also think outside of Wall St. Anything that appreciates in value is an investment. Classic cars, art, and even Beanie Babies are collectibles and could be considered an investment.

In order for us to evaluate cards, we have to answer a few questions. First, like a stock, how much upside? After selling cards that have been held for a period of time, did we make more money holding these cards or would a savings account or CD have made us more money?

Next, how does supply and demand look? Are there more baseball cards on the market than there are people looking to buy or is the supply and demand either balanced or more demand heavy? Last, is the amount of time it takes to make money selling baseball cards justify the cost?

Taking a look at our first question, baseball cards can be a good long term holding but most are not. While a few cards may appreciate to high values, most will not and in order to own a high value card, you will either have to buy a card that is already valued high or have some very specialized knowledge that allows you to recognize a card that will be worth a lot in the future. Unfortunately, selling baseball cards doesn't pass the test of our first question.

Second, supply and demand. Because this is considered a hobby, the market for baseball cards is quite specialized. While supply and demand appears balanced within the hobbyist community, it doesn't appear to have a lot of appeal outside of there. This requires the investor to have ties to the hobbyist community. Without that, this probably doesn't make for a good investment.

Last, talking to the baseball card enthusiasts, it is clear that true wealth belongs to the select few. The experts who have specialized and are buying and selling baseball cards full time.

If you love your baseball card collection, the facts are clear. Rather than selling baseball cards as an investment, do it as a hobby and have a lot of fun. For investments, look elsewhere.

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