Mint (MT)
Near Mint - Mint (NRMT-MT)
Excellent - Mint (EXMT)
Excellent (EX)
Very Good (VG)
Good (G)
Fair (F
Poor (P)
* A Mint card would be determined by four sharp
corners, picture centered on card left-right & top-bottom, smooth
edges, smooth card with no creases or damage, original color and not
faded. As one or more of these areas begins to deteriorate then the
card begins to lose value.
* Cards are sold as either retail or hobby packs.
Retail packs are sold through the big retail
chains such as Wal-mart and contain more common cards.
Hobby packs are sold through the hobby shops
or card stores and usually sell for a little more and contain more
star cards and more inserts.
Boxes of hobby packs and often the packs themselves
have an "H" or the work "Hobby" printed on the
outside to designate them as hobby cards.
* An insert is a card placed in a pack which
has some special promotional value such as being signed by the player,
having a piece of his jersey attached ot it etc.
* Rookie card is the first card of a given player
and usually his most valuable card.
* Common cards. An average player and usually
worth less than $1.00
* Star cards. The high balue cards worth any
where from a couple dollars for the minor stars to thousands for highly
desired cards.
* Beckett is the recognized authority on how
cards are priced. They produce monthly and annual publications as
well as a web site. Of course like anything else a card's real worth
is what someone will pay for it.
* A dealer usually pays about half of retail
value for a card. A little less if he thinks it will be hard to sell.
A little more if it is a hot card that would turn over quickly.
* The big online auction houses like Ebay and
Yahoo have lots of cards listed so check them out as a place to buy
or sell.
* If your into collecting baseball memorabilia these days age makes a big difference in value. Cards from recent stars have fallen in value; however, cards from the 1970s and earlier when there were fewer card sets produced are still appreciating in value. So many sets of current stars have flooded the market that prices on current stars may never appreciate in value the way older material has over the years.
If you are into other memorabilia such as jerseys, gloves, bats, and signed baseballs the prices for older material has skyrocketed so much lately that forgeries have become a real concern to collectors and you will need to get the piece authenticated to realize its true value when you sell it. Cost can run from around $20 to around $1000 for authentication. If a piece is not authenticated then "buyer beware." Before paying much for a piece don't take a chance! Get a certificate of authenticity.
One of the best methods to authenticate a piece is to buy where the "chain of ownership" can be verified. That is each owner of the piece can be verified up to the present owner.
The Thrift Meister's
`67 Mantle--alway his favorite card from the time it came out of a
pack of topps bubble gum in 1967. Nope, its not for sale.
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