$10,000...and that is way low but i want someone to enjoy them for the hobby not to sell off...my wife and i went through one box with the beckett and got up over 30,000 and we quit because we didn't need to know any more...probably valued at the 40 or 50 thousand range...but you buy one you get them all...thanks jeffksu
http://www.thomastontimes.com/view/...-cards?instance=secondary_opinion_left_column
September 17, 2010
September 17, 2010
Stumbling across the joys of sports cards
37 mins 36 secs ago
37 mins 36 secs ago
By Len Robbins
I stumbled over the box while in the attic Saturday attempting to hide from my children.
We weren’t playing hide-and-seek or any game like that. I was just attempting to flee from them.
The box was full of baseball and football cards – thousands of them I had collected in my youth.
“Hey, maybe some of these cards are worth something,” I said aloud to myself upon the discovery.
“Daddy, is that you?” came the call from below, followed by what sounded like a blender being turned on and a cat screeching.
Found, I headed downstairs with my box of cards to survey my potential bounty. What I discovered is that, as a youngster, I cared not for the future value of my collectibles. For instance, I have a 1977 Nolan Ryan card, which, in mint condition, is worth around $70. Problem is, I drew a mustache and beard on Nolan Ryan’s 1977 card.
The most valuable thing I rediscovered was the joy of reading sports cards – in particular the information on the back of these cards. In addition to the players’ statistics and vital information, there would often be some personal anecdote, accompanied by a caricature on the back.
For instance, on the back of Willie Montanez’s 1973 baseball card, it says: “Willie is a member of the National Guard,” and then there’s a cartoon of a baseball player marching with a gun on his shoulder. More often, it would be something about their father playing baseball or what their major was in college. On a few, though, there would be something rather off-the-wall, as if the guy charged with the duty of compiling copy for these couldn’t find anything interesting about the player.
With that in mind, and for my own enjoyment and probably mine only, here are some other personal factoids from the backs of my card collection:
• Pat Dobson, pitcher, Baltimore Orioles, 1973: “Pat suffered a broken toe in 1969.”
• Artimus Parker, safety, New York Jets, 1978: “Artimus’ nickname is Tee-Bone.”
• Haskel Stanback, running back, Atlanta Falcons, 1979: “Haskel’s name was spelled incorrectly on his wedding cake.”
• Fred Norman, pitcher, San Diego Padres, 1973: “Fred is a bachelor.”
• Gerald Irons, linebacker, Cleveland Browns, 1978: “Gerald is a fan of professional bowling.”
• Joe Lavender, cornerback, Washington Redskins, 1978: “Joe is one of the few NFL players to wear eyeglasses.”
• Larry Little, guard, Miami Dolphins, 1978: “Larry’s teammates call him ‘Chic-ken’ after his favorite food.”
• Garry Maddox, outfielder, San Francisco Giants, 1974: “Garry is called ‘Buggy Whip.’”
• And my personal favorite – Guerrant McCurdy “Mac” Scarce, pitcher, Philadelphia Phillies, 1973: “Mac played little league ball.”
As I chuckled at that one, I looked down to find my six-year-old son on the floor, cards all around him, drawing a mustache and beard on Bombo Rivera’s 1978 baseball card.
At least it wasn’t Nolan Ryan. And if it was, I wouldn’t care.
© Len Robbins 2010
grew up in the 90's and have all my thousands of baseball cards in multiple binders in my closet. i'll never get rid of em and will hopefully share em with my kids. unfortunately, now that i understand baseball history clearly, it's not the golden age of baseball with great players but the steroids era with very few standouts. i would say maybe: cal jr , jeter , geez i don't even know who else i would call elite. really bad era
I have vivid memories of walking two blocks to my corner store in 1973/1974... (7 years old !!) to buy baseball and football cards. I have cards from 70's and 80's including those earliest ones from '73. I would buy a pack for a dime, take them home, climb my apple tree and look at the cards all morning. A shifty "friend" in high school knew I had the cards and came to cherry pick one day. He stole a bunch as well when I was in the bathroom. Amazingly, years later he opened a card store. I still have 95% of my cards. I started collecting football cards again a few years ago. Got very lucky and now own a Topps Finest green refractor of Adrian Peterson, autographed and numbered 1 of 25. I will sell it this year if the Vikes penetrate the playoffs. I already sold it on ebay once for $900, but the guy who won the bidding never payed. I just held on to it since then. beautiful card.
Can't believe people pay ridiculous money for baseball cards. But when I was a kid I loved going to the local store and buying a few packs. We had a card shop right in town and I was constantly up there. For my birthday one year I got a Darryl Strawberry rookie card - at the time it was worth around $50 - and it was about the best birthday present I ever received. Like the OP, all of my cards got lost along the way through the years - and I had a ton of them, mostly from the mid/late 80s.
The truth is the vast majority think their cards are worth much much
more than they really are. If you have piles of stuff from the 80s and forward
you have nothing. Everybody has that stuff and dealers can't give those cards
away. 1975 back to the 1950s are worth varying amounts based primarily on
condition, which most people greatly overestimate the shape their cards are in.
Pre WWII and especially Pre WWI are where the valuable stuff is. Still condition
sensitive as far as value goes but those are the issues where scarcity becomes
a serious factor.
If anyone is wondering what their cards are worth just do an EBay search of the
card(s) and when grading your cards reduce what condition you think they are
in by a couple levels. Almost everyone overstates the grade of their cards.
If the auction you find is a BuyItNow then chop that in half and you might have a
ballpark number on what that card might bring you. ButItNows are almost always
marked up to 200%-300% of book value.
more than they really are. If you have piles of stuff from the 80s and forward
you have nothing. Everybody has that stuff and dealers can't give those cards
away. 1975 back to the 1950s are worth varying amounts based primarily on
condition, which most people greatly overestimate the shape their cards are in.
Pre WWII and especially Pre WWI are where the valuable stuff is. Still condition
sensitive as far as value goes but those are the issues where scarcity becomes
a serious factor.
If anyone is wondering what their cards are worth just do an EBay search of the
card(s) and when grading your cards reduce what condition you think they are
in by a couple levels. Almost everyone overstates the grade of their cards.
If the auction you find is a BuyItNow then chop that in half and you might have a
ballpark number on what that card might bring you. ButItNows are almost always
marked up to 200%-300% of book value.
I have no idea why I said I sold them a few years ago. I actually sold them in the mid 80s. Football cards were not as popular as baseball cards.
Yup. I just sold my entire baseball card collection a few weeks ago on Craigslist. I still have the ad I posted. This i what I got for $90.00.
· Cards from mostly 1983-1987/ Topps, Donruss, Fleer
· Complete Sets
· 1985 Topps (2) (near mint/mint condition)
· 1985 Fleer (near mint/mint condition)
· 1986 Topps (near mint/mint condition)
· 1986 Donruss factory set (mint condition)
· 1986 Topps Traded set (mint condition)
· 1986 Fleer Update set (mint condition)
· 1986 Donruss Rookies set (mint condition)
· 1986 Sportflicks Rookie set (mint condition)
· 1987 Donruss factory set (2) (mint condition)
· Individual cards with value
· Joe Montana rookie card (very good/fair condition)
· Rickey Henderson rookie card (fair condition)
· Roger Clemens Topps rookie cards (2) (excellent condition)
· Roger Clemens Donruss rookie card (2) (excellent condition)
· Tony Gwynn Topps rookie card (very good condition)
· Multiple 2nd year Roger Clemens cards
· Darryl Strawberry Donruss rookie card
· Wade Boggs Topps rookie card (very good/excellent condition)
· Wade Boggs Fleer rookie card (excellent condition)
· Kirby Puckett Fleer Rookie Card (excellent condition)
· Barry Bonds 1987 Fleer card (excellent/mint condition)
· Others
· Unopened cello packs of 1987 Donruss, 1987 Topps
· Around 8 shoe boxes of 1985-1987 Topps/Fleer/Donruss common cards
· Price is significantly below Beckett guide value
Book value of the cards was probably close to $500.
I was happy to get $90.00. I donated the money to the make a wish foundation.
