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Anyone into sports card collecting?

Michael Minnis

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Feb 12, 2004
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Hey, guys. My eight year old son has gotten into baseball and football cards. I used to collect as a kid and still have some nice pieces. A couple 50s Mickey Mantles, Sandy Koufax rookie card, etc. Anyway, it's been years since I've delved into the card collecting world. What a rude awakening. Trying to decipher the myriad sets available with inserts and such makes my head spin. Of course, I want my son to collect what he likes for the pure joy of it. That's what I did as a boy. But back then there was only one set of Topps to choose from. Are any of you currently collecting sports cards? Any advice? My son is really into football cards at the moment. Seems like a gambling mentality nowadays. Buy an expensive pack of cards and hope you hit the jackpot with a Reggie Bush signed rookie card. As I said, it feels like a very different world to me. I know it's supply and demand, but I have a hard time accepting that a 2006 Reggie Bush is worth more than a 1959 Willie Mays or what have you. As I said, any advice on great forums like this one, publications to check out, etc. would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 

juniorspecial

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It's funny, but back in the early 1970s, I heard about a baseball card show on the radio. I had never heard of such a thing before, and it actually got covered in the papers because it was really a new thing. I talked my dad into driving me to it so we could look around.

There were about 4 or 5 people set up at tables. It was pretty lame. But the guy who put the show on was a real showman, and when I got around to his table he showed me a whole bunch of very rare cards.

One that he showed me, that he had in a little envelope, was the famous Honus Wagner card. Even then it was the "Holy Grail" of baseball cards, since it was really, really rare and the guy had been a pretty big star. So I looked at it, and talked to him about it, and he told me the story. And while I was holding it, he told me that it was worth $1200! I about shit. I couldn't believe that the little picture I was holding in my hand could be worth that.

Anyway, that was a while ago. Now the Honus Wagner cards go for over $1 million!

I don't know anything about baseball cards today. Even though I went to this show, I never got into collecting them.

But I'll never forget that I held the "big cheese" in my own hands!
 

6L6

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I was into cards in the early '70's (Topps/Hank Aaron era) but am not hip to prices any more. I think values headed south after the strike on the common stuff but could be wrong. I do know that the card games I played were destructive to the corners (knockdowns) sorta like dinging up a guitar but it was fun and I'm glad I still have my cards, although not many survived in mint condition. Anyone know the going rate for a Mickey Mantle is these days?
 

59Vampire

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Feb 1, 2005
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Im a big baseball card fanatic have a rookie koufax( worth 800-1200) when he dies it will triple. a stinky mantle. But mostly i started when my first son was born in 99. i have 2 of every topps et since. But the real way to go is to collect rookie cards. Especially those of guys who might go in the hall. thats where the investment lies. Position players are worth more than pitchers because they are risky. If you want to get values go to borders or band n and get the magazine from becketts the price guide. ebay, is also a way to see what the market will bear. good luck its fun. oh and stop wasting your money on football cards. unless you want to put them in the pokes of your kids bike, they will never have any value
 

Scott64

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Dec 17, 2001
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I used to get the becketts price guides. I can remember writing down what every one of my cards were worth on little pieces of paper and sliding it into the sleeves where the cards were.

I had so many more cards than I have now. I had a whole box just disappear at some point after my stepmom moved in. I think she threw them out. I'm just waiting for baseball cards to get big so I can sell them since I don't collect them anymore.
 

twinrider1

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Jan 12, 2005
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I collected football cards in the late 80's. Seems like high values favor current stars. Aikman, Barry Sanders rookies used to valuable, a fraction today. And there became too many producers. Might have shaken out since then. Plus eBay hurt values. Having trouble finding a Montana rookie at a show? Oh, there are 72 on eBay right now (no kidding). Personally, it just got to be too much when the football sets began to be almost as big as the baseball sets. And, much like comic books in the early 80's, seemed like guys were buying two complete sets of everything. Way too much supply.
I'm sure there will be some valuable cards, but few and far between. I'd say do it for the fun of it; just collect his favorite teams and players.
 

j45

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Jun 14, 2002
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I had 'em by the shoe boxes full. They were real treasures and I can still remember faces and poses. Lost interest in the mid sixties when the guitars took over. I remember the day Mom carried them out to the street.
 

Michael Minnis

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Feb 12, 2004
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1,597
Thanks for the replys, guys. I just want to help my son have fun. It's cool to share an old passion with him, too. I still have some very nice cards from my childhood. Even as a kid, I looked forward to the day that I could pass my collection on to my son or daughter. My boy is only eight. I need to wait a little longer before I'll entrust them in his hands, but now we have something else to do on the weekends. We're hitting the card shop on Saturday. :) But as I said in my initial post, the landscape of the card world has changed. As has been pointed out, there's so much product. The addition of all these special insert cards has made buying a pack of cards more like a spin of the roulette wheel in Vegas. The allure of hitting the jackpot and getting a signed Reggie Bush rookie card or what have you. Oh, well. I'm sure my son and I will have fun. That's what's important. Thanks!
 

twinrider1

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Jan 12, 2005
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I had 'em by the shoe boxes full. They were real treasures and I can still remember faces and poses. Lost interest in the mid sixties when the guitars took over. I remember the day Mom carried them out to the street.

Reminds me of my dad's experience. Born in '27, he collected comic books. He'd read them and then file them in plywood drawers he made just for the comics. Left town after highschool to find work and found, years later, that his mom had given them out to the neighborhood kids. Yep, #1 Action Comics (Superman), first Detective Comics with Batman, etc. Ouch.
 
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