2011 Topps Haves and Wants…

Who Cares Who Plays Left Field With All These Great Vintage Baseball Cards???

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Derek Jeter fan: My autographed baseball card collection of the great Yankees ... - Yahoo! Sports

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My baseball card collection is a reflection of my love of the New York Yankees. Over the years, I've collected a variety of rookie cards, rare inserts, and autographs of my favorite player, Derek Jeter(notes).

Here is a list of my top six baseball cards:

Best Derek Jeter autograph.
Vonda Menard

6.1997 Donruss Signature Series Derek Jeter Millennium Marks Autograph.
Any autograph card of Jeter, is special to me. This card pictures a great action shot of Jeter, with a nice clean autograph in black ink.

BV $175.

5.1997 Donruss Elite Passing the Torch Derek Jeter Autograph Card, 70/1500.
I always thought the Passing of the Torch cards were beautiful. It's incredible how young Jeter looks in the picture, then again, he was only 22.

BV $400.

4.1994 Signature Rookies Derek Jeter Authentic Signature 1st Round Pick Autograph Card 1180/8650.
Great card, enjoy reading the back which describes Jeter as having all the potential to fulfill expectations in the majors. They were right. The Yankees drafted Jeter in 1992, and the rest, is great Yankee history. Hard to get book value on this card.

3.1997 Donruss Elite Passing the Torch Derek Jeter/Ozzie Smith Dual Autograph Card, 22/1500.
Autographs of two of the best shortstops to ever play the game, on one card. As a baseball fan, I was fortunate to see Ozzie Smith play, and even though it was late in his career, he was still amazing. It truly was a passing of the torch, from one great shortstop to another.

BV $350.

2.1997 Topps Stadium Club Co-Signers Derek Jeter/ Andy Pettitte(notes) Dual Autograph Card.
As a fan of the Yankees, this card is exceptional, because it features my two favorite Yankees, Pettitte and Jeter. With the retirement of Pettitte this season, it makes this card even more special.

BV $250.

1. 2006 Sweet Spot Signatures Derek Jeter Autograph Card, 2/15.
The card features a picture of the shortstop, with Yankee Stadium in the background. Jeter's autograph is on a piece of wood, in black ink. Very cool looking card. I've been blessed to watch Jeter his entire career as a Yankee, and as a fan, I am fortunate to own several of his cards. This is my favorite, being #2 (Jeter's number,) out of only 15. Pulled this card myself, and ranks as one of the best pulls of my life.

BV $400.

Sports cards give collectors a chance to have a little piece of the game. Autographs are my favorite, as they are more personal. Most of my Jeter autographs were gotten through trades on sports card sites, and shows, with the exception of the Donruss Signature Series Millennium Autograph, and the Sweet Spot.

I cherish my collection, and enjoy sharing it with my children. The cards are on display in our family room. I would never sell any of these cards, and plan to leave them to my boys one day, so they can share them with their children.

Source: Baseball Beckett, February 2011 edition

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How to Tell if a Baseball Card Is Original

Fotolia.com"> Sports memorabilia collectors are excellent sources of information on collectibles. Baseball cards are time-honored sources of enjoyment for both collectors and fans of America's favorite pastime. Baseball cards also offer an up-close look at the players and teams who make up the rosters of Major League Baseball. Due to their popularity, cards sold with authentic signatures or as vintage cards usually hold a higher monetary value, forcing collectors to make a diligent effort to verify the authenticity of their cards. Luckily, many manufacturers incorporate features into their products to make verifying their authenticity easier for the buying public.

Difficulty:Moderate1

Research the card's maker to ensure that the card belongs to a series created by the card maker. Visit the manufacturer's website or contact the manufacturer by phone to authenticate the series or card number.

2

Verify the player and team. Confirm the player's career information and history, including uniform style and statistics, via a written biography, team webpage, or player information website.

3

Examine the card's hologram. Many cards are sold with claims of authentic signatures. The authenticity of some baseball cards can be verified by a hologram placed on the back of the card. These holograms feature images of baseballs or baseball caps in a series. Though not all cards are manufactured with holograms, missing holograms or holograms that fall off can indicate that the card is not authentic.

4

Compare cards. Compare the card to an already authenticated version of the same card. Make sure that both cards were produced by the same manufacturer. Compare the size of the cards to ensure that no dramatic differences in size exist. Check the photos on the cards for evidence of tampering. For example, review the coloring on the card to ensure that the same types of colors are used on both cards. For vintage cards, magnify a solid or continuous color area of the card and examine it carefully for the appearance of fuzzy dots. New and fraudulent images are made of dots instead of the small lines, commonly known as crosshatch, used in authentic vintage cards.

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Most Expensive Rare Baseball Cards

America's favorite pastime, baseball, is a favorite talking point for many. Questions about who was the greatest of all time arise often. Names like Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, and Ty Cobb get thrown around, as do their career stats. Since 1886, professional players have had collectible cards produced that story their statistics, and the public has been collecting them faithfully. The value of some of these cards can run into thousands of dollars, and, in some cases, hundreds of thousands of dollars.

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How to Restore Baseball Cards

Baseball cards have been in existence since the late 1800s, making them nearly as old as the game itself. Baseball card value is assessed partly on the age and rarity of the card and partly on the card's condition. If you find an old, damaged card in your collection, you can restore it by hand. But remember that passing off a restored card as authentic is fraudulent and unethical, as collectors are only seeking authentic products. If you wish to keep the card for yourself, however, there is nothing wrong with restoring it.

Difficulty:Moderately ChallengingMetal rulerRazor bladeEncyclopediaEraserTape1

Examine the card carefully to determine what parts of it need to be restored. Common damage to cards includes dented corners, folds and fading.

2

Place the card on a hard surface and hold a metal ruler against its edge, if the edge or corner is dented or frayed. Taking as little of the card off as possible, cut a thin strip of cardboard off the edge of the card to give it a crisp, clean edge. Repeat this process for the other three sides of the card, if applicable. Make your cuts even to ensure the center of the card's picture remains in the center of the cardboard itself.

3

Place a folded card between the pages of a heavy encyclopedia, then shut the book. Stack additional books on top of the encyclopedia to apply pressure. Leave the card between the book's pages for several days, then remove it to see if the folds have been slightly pressed out of it.

4

Rub out any marks made by pencil, pen or other substances using a white eraser. The eraser may not be able to remove every mark, but at the very least, it should make the marks lighter.

5

Place the two halves of a ripped card together and ensure the design on the front and back lines up. Place a strip of clear tape over the card to hold it together.

A hand-restored baseball card immediately loses any value that may have been associated with it. If you wish to sell your damaged card, visit a collectibles store to determine what a buyer might pay for it. Even if it's damaged, it could still be worth a fraction of its full value.

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Barry Larkin Collection 101: 2011 Topps – 60 Years of Topps – Original Back

Barry Larkin
Year:  2011
Brand:  Topps
Insert set:  60 Years of Topps - Original back
Card number:  Not numbered

The 2011 Topps "60 Years of Topps" set came in two varieties.  The first was a simple reprint of the front of one card per year of Topps' existence with a small blurb on the back talking about the card or set featured.  The second variety was an "original back" variety where both the front and back of the original card were reprinted with only minor differences (in the case of the Larkin card, the most noticable differences are the foil color and the word reprint underneath the Topps logo on the card back).  You can find my post on the original 1995 Larkin card here.

For comparison, here is the Topps reprint again followed by the original 1995 Topps Larkin card.


The front of both cards match (except the foil) but there are quite a few differences on the back.  Even so, there's nothing major that differs between the two cards - and so, it's a fine homage to a card that probably wasn't nearly as deserving as plenty of other Topps Larkin cards (such as this one or this one).

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