Sports History

Sports Memorabilia -> Autographs, Original -> Baseball-MLB-> Trading Cards

Baseball cards have been around for just about as long as the sport has and many of them have turned into very valuable collector items. Whether you are interested in collecting baseball cards from a fan perspective, or you are more into the investment angle, these are quite fun to collect and chances are you may just come across one that is a truly rare find. Collecting baseball cards isn’t just for kids anymore – this can be a serious business.

If you are interested in collecting baseball cards, there are a few things that you need to know ahead of time to make sure that you are getting a good value for your money and a good investment. With the advent of digital printers and online sales, it has become all too easy for scam artists to crank out supposed valuable cards that aren’t worth the paper that they are printed on. Before you buy a baseball card, you need to take a few things into consideration.

1. Does the seller have a good reputation?

If someone is trying to sell fakes, sooner or later their actions will catch up with them. If you are buying baseball cards online, especially if you are buying on an auction site, take advantage of the reputation system that is built into these sites and look at the seller’s feedback. If there is any indication that their customers are not satisfied, don’t make the purchase. You can also do a web search on a seller to see if they have any other complaints.

2. What is the condition of the card?

Someone selling a rare baseball card from the early 1900’s, like the one pictured here, and claiming that it is in perfect condition may not be telling the whole truth. It is important to get plenty of pictures of the item you want to buy so that you can verify the condition of the card on your own. You should be able to see if there are any rips, tears or fraying that can lower the overall value of the card. Keep in mind however that some sellers will do a bait and switch and picture a baseball card that is in great condition, but ship you one that is not in good condition.

3. Get an appraisal

Perhaps the best way to determine whether or not you should invest in a rare baseball card is to have an independent appraisal done on the item. This can easily be handled online and many of these services feature very quick turnaround times. The small amount of money you pay for the appraisal could end up saving you thousands by helping you identify the right kind of card you are looking for.

Whenever you’re buying a collectible item it pays to do your homework and baseball cards are no different. Take the time to authenticate the item before you purchase it and you won’t have to worry about whether you are being taken for a ride.

Photo Credits: guano

Originally posted 2008-09-12 05:00:29. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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There are more collectors of baseball cards than there are of any other type of sports card. It makes sense, when you think about the fact that baseball cards have been in production far longer than any other form of sports card. Baseball card collecting is a pastime rich with tradition and history. Quite a good few baseball card collectors also collect other sports cards and memorabilia, and tend to be quite avid among the various types of collectors. Some enjoy the thrills of opening a fresh box of cards. Others find their thrill in hunting down specific cards, like special inserts or rookie cards.

There are a plethora of means and ways to collect baseball cards, there is no right or wrong way to do it. Many collectors will collect cards that are of their favorite team, and they do it by either collecting team sets, or by collecting single cards.

The History of Collecting Baseball Cards

Nobody is completely, 100 percent sure which baseball card was the very first one to be produced. Even still, the hobby relating to baseball card collecting dates back to the second half of the nineteenth century, which is well over a hundred years ago. The first company that is believed to have produced baseball cards and cards for other sports is a company known as Goodwin & Co., which was the manufacturing company for Old Judge cigarettes and Gypsy Queen cigarettes. The first baseball cards were actually pretty small in comparison to modern day baseball cards, as they were only between an inch and a half and two and a half inches, and they were printed on really thick cardboard. Old Judge picture baseball cards were issued between 1886 and 1890, and there were more than 2000 different cards from this set alone that have since been found and cataloged.

Goodwin & Co managed to have success in marketing their baseball cards and numerous other sports and picture cards along with their cigarettes, and this led other tobacco manufacturing companies to issue their own unique sets of cards. Between 1909 and 1911, the American Tobacco Company had a T-206 set that had a famous Honus Wagner baseball card. Companies in numerous other industries also began to use baseball cards, which they offered as a premium to sell products, including caramel companies, candy companies and gum manufacturing companies.

The Topps Company was able to dominate the market for chewing gum and baseball cards for many years until it lost in an anti-monopoly market in the year 1980, and then in the year 1981 Fleer and Donruss began to make major baseball card sets. Not long after this point, baseball cards became even more important than the products that they were packaged with, and they began to be packaged all on their own, creating a completely new industry. Now there are a myriad of companies that are manufacturing baseball cards including Upper Deck, Score and Pacific.

Photo Credits: tonystl

Originally posted 2009-11-18 03:54:06. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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