What Makes Certain Baseball Cards Valuable?

The collecting of baseball cards has been a hobby ever since they were first printed

. Early on the cards were more of a novelty, and mostly collected by kids. At the time when cards were first made there wasn't any method to properly store and care for the cards, so they quickly showed signs of wear. Cases and protective sheets were hard to find in stores, and the internet didn't exist so there was no easy way to find card protectors.

In the 70's baseball became quite popular as far as collectible cards. Adults began collecting cards and it became more of a profitable hobby. What makes the early cards valuable is the age and the condition as well as the availability. Less popular and lesser known players are usually less valuable. An autographed card will always have a higher value than a non-autographed card. A worn out autographed Babe Ruth card would be much more valuable than a mint condition Babe Ruth card.

Many card collectors consider cards from the mid 80's onward as low valued. This is due to cards being produced at higher numbers, the availability of card protection, and the number of collectors who would purchase the cards new/unopened and store them properly.

The cards from the mid 80's onward are collectible for personal reasons to collectors. Some will want to collect player cards of their first game they saw as a child, or players they may have met at a game. Some may even want to have the card of a player they caught a homerun or foul ball from.

Currently many card stores will allow you to purchase certain player cards, usually for $1. These are also purchased for individual reasons, such as a scheduled autograph session at a fan fest. It is always much easier to just purchase the card of the player you want instead of buying packs of cards and hoping to get a certain player.

An autographed card of a current player may not always have a much higher value until the player retires, is elected to go to the Hall of Fame, or breaks a long standing record. The value can also decrease for the card, if the player has the record broken by another player. Many collectors will sell their cards when a player is currently popular or in the news.

What Makes Certain Baseball Cards Valuable?

By: Tarce Reid

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