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Did you collect baseball cards as a kid? Still have them?

Did you collect baseball cards as a kid? Do you still have them?

I had a large collection of the late '60s and early '70s and my mom threw them away. I have acquired some of the star ballplayers after HER EGREGIOUS mistake but nothing anywhere nearly in number of cards I had as a kid.

Two of my all-time favorite players: Roberto and Maz.

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I had these cards also and a thousand others like Musial, Koufax. Marris, Mantle etc. etc. My mom threw mine away also
 
My Mom did what so many other Mom's did - toss a shoebox of them out during one of our many moves from PA to CA to IL to CT back to IL.

I still have some, none mint but most what I would say are good. Have about 200 MLB cards from about 1963-5 and about 100 NFL cards from about the same years.

I keep thinking I could take my Ditka card to his restaurant in Chicago and swap it for a nice steak dinner!
 
Did you collect baseball cards as a kid? Do you still have them?

I had a large collection of the late '60s and early '70s and my mom threw them away. I have acquired some of the star ballplayers after HER EGREGIOUS mistake but nothing anywhere nearly in number of cards I had as a kid.




Like so many others on this topic, my folks threw away the cards that I and my brothers bought during the '50s.

However, I have a different story to tell. My wife was a widow when we met and later married and we stayed close to her former in-laws. Her father-in-law had about 40 baseball cards that his son had left behind and gave them to me. They were part of the Topps 1966 set. I had them for a few years and then wondered if I could collect the entire set and I soon learned that there is a thriving card collecting hobby. In the Philly area, there is a sports memorabilia
show at least 4 times per year that I attended and E-bay was another source.

Can't say how much I spent but I did collect 99.999% of the set, the only missing card is a Cubs player, forget who, and Beckett says that this player had 3 versions of his card due to print errors. I have 2 and finally gave up trying to find the last one.

So I enjoyed the hunt and still have the set, which includes a lot of great players
 
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I'm more into autographed memorabilia than cards. But i would recommend getting them graded, only the most valuable ones, by either PSA or Becketts. Mint involves a lot including being perfectly centered, no dings on corners, sharp printing etc. I don't actively collect much more and just enjoy my current stuff. I had a knack for jinxing people. Picked up Tiger Woods stuff, Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens. Guys that seemed iron clad. Luckily did much better with Vanguard Funds. :)
 
Did you collect baseball cards as a kid? Do you still have them?

I had a large collection of the late '60s and early '70s and my mom threw them away. I have acquired some of the star ballplayers after HER EGREGIOUS mistake but nothing anywhere nearly in number of cards I had as a kid.

Two of my all-time favorite players: Roberto and Maz.

136101.jpg

s-l225.jpg

YES! My father insisted that they be saved. He sent them with me very soon after I left PA for MI.

Those guys are before my time, but Hank Aaron (NEW ALL TIME HOME RUN KING), Tom Seaver, Jim Palmer, Steve Carlton, Pete Rose, Brooks Robinson.... are not.

I got them all over multiple years. And back then, we did it the hard way. Buying the pack and trading with your pals.
 
Appears to be a 1968 Topps card #280. If in Mint condition, it is book valued at between $175 and $350. Mantle is highly sought after and if you went to a large card show, I'm sure you could get $200 for it. If it is less than Mint, you could get between 10%-50% of that price. Even less than mint copies of Mantle sell.

I have collected for many years too. Value is all about condition!! I can not stress that enough. That Mantle card (like many others) value goes up considerably depending on condition. That '68 card with creases and rounded corners may only fetch $35 or $40. However, a PSA 8 (graded Near Mint to Mint), would easily sell for over $700 on eBay. A PSA 8 looks almost untouched. Two PSA 9 Mints (perfect condition) have sold on eBay in the last couple weeks. One went for $3,000 and the other for over $4,000! 9's are extremely rare finds though.
 
I have collected for many years too. Value is all about condition!! I can not stress that enough. That Mantle card (like many others) value goes up considerably depending on condition. That '68 card with creases and rounded corners may only fetch $35 or $40. However, a PSA 8 (graded Near Mint to Mint), would easily sell for over $700 on eBay. A PSA 8 looks almost untouched. Two PSA 9 Mints (perfect condition) have sold on eBay in the last couple weeks. One went for $3,000 and the other for over $4,000! 9's are extremely rare finds though.


EricStrattan - RushChairman says 4-6s turn into 9s about 1:30AM every morning.
 
I have collected for many years too. Value is all about condition!! I can not stress that enough. That Mantle card (like many others) value goes up considerably depending on condition. That '68 card with creases and rounded corners may only fetch $35 or $40. However, a PSA 8 (graded Near Mint to Mint), would easily sell for over $700 on eBay. A PSA 8 looks almost untouched. Two PSA 9 Mints (perfect condition) have sold on eBay in the last couple weeks. One went for $3,000 and the other for over $4,000! 9's are extremely rare finds though.

That's the problem with my collection. They were "used".... by kids....... 10 or 15 years later, kids would have them in slip covers trying to protect their value. They are still packed in a shoe box and taken out every 3 or 4 years to see.
 
I collected them like a maniac from 1970-1978. I still have what has to be the whole sets in the original shoe boxes, sorted by team. Every few years I take them out and thumb through them.
 
I still have thousands of cards, yearbooks, programs, stickers and other assorted memorabilia from the late 70's through the late 80's. I collected everything - baseball, football, basketball, etc. Had a bunch of Bird/Magic rookies that I tore apart and 2nd year Gretzkys that I scratched off as a kid. One day I would like to figure out how to monetize it since the interest really isn't there any more.
 
Hey Steve: I realize this thread concerns baseball cards, but I thought I would ask since you appear knowledgeable. I have an event program for a Pro Am golf tournament they used to hold at La Costa (north San Diego County) every winter (this one was in 1967), and I collected the following autographs in the two blank pages of the program designated for autographs. I am wondering what it might be worth. (Every one of these guys is a Hall of Famer in either baseball or football.)

Any thoughts?

Yogi Berra
Jim Bunning
Dizzy Dean
Joe DiMaggio
Don Drysdale
Bob Feller
Joe Garagiola
Al Kaline
Mickey Mantle
Willie Mays
Brooks Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Ron Santo
Joe Torre
Carl Yaztremski

Lance Alworth
Raymond Berry
Mike Ditka
Otto Graham
Lou Groza
John Hadl
Jerry Kramer
Don Meredith
Ray Nitchke
Merlin Olsen
Johnny Unitas

You have some good autographs but the most important issue in autographs is their authenticity. It's nearly impossible to sell any any autograph without it being validated and the costs to do that are substantial. If you had each autograph INDIVIDUALLY validated it would set you back a lot more than you think. The two most respected authentication services are probably PSA or JSA.

So the best bet is to validate the autographs as a collection. In those instances where all the autographs were say on a baseball, the services often will validate all the autographs included on the ball and charge you the cost of validating the highest value autograph for the price of validating all autographs. So, you have 15 baseball autographs and the most expensive autograph to validate individually is probably Jackie Robinson. I would assume the cost to authenticate Jackie is probably around $125-$175. Same approach for football.

The real issue you have is for the display of the collection. If they were all on a group photo or baseball they would bring more value as opposed to simply being on a blank piece of paper or as part of a program. Just matting and framing a piece of paper with the autos is OK but less desirable for resale. The Dean, Jackie, Mantle, and Joe D autos are your best. Mantle and DiMaggio signed a TON but Dean and Jackie certainly will have interest when validated.

If you live near Philly, JSA sets up at the shows in King of Prussia. You can take your item and they will validate it, but they will probably take it with them although they will give you a tentative opinion within a couple of hours at times. They then send your item back with a typed letter detailing their findings. Ask them to give you a quote as a collection and ask for a discount. As an example I had a postcard set of 44 cards with 28 autographed. The highest value auto was Mantle which was $100 just for the Mantle. They certified all 28 cards for the cost of the Mantle cert of $100 and they gave me 10% disc. If they certified each individual, it prob would have cost me $500+ easily.
 
Collected from packs as a kid~'79-'83, and then got in to it big as an early teen in the mid-80's. Spent a lot of mowing money at card shows. Best stuff I ended up with was all the Clemente cards except the rookie and the '63. Also have the Nolan Ryan rookie and a few autographs. They are living their days out in the safe deposit box at the bank. Really enjoyed them back in the day.
 
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Did you collect baseball cards as a kid? Do you still have them?

I had a large collection of the late '60s and early '70s and my mom threw them away. I have acquired some of the star ballplayers after HER EGREGIOUS mistake but nothing anywhere nearly in number of cards I had as a kid.

Two of my all-time favorite players: Roberto and Maz.

136101.jpg

s-l225.jpg


Was a dealer in the boom times of the hobby. The stories I could tell about the stuff that came through my hands! Had four whiffs that bother me to this day. The first was passing on a MOUNTAIN of 1986-1987 Fleer Basketball boxes because my house and basement was stacked floor to ceiling with this stuff and my wife was concerned that I was going to put all the boxes into our coat closet. You DONT want to know what these are worth today.

The others were autographs. Had the opportunity to buy Negro league contracts which contained players signatures on contracts - Josh Gibson and Satchell Paige. The other auto was just due to the rarity. A personal signed check of Hack Wilson. Never saw another personal check of Hack Wilson and didn't see much of his signed stuff anywhere.
 
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Did you collect baseball cards as a kid? Do you still have them?

I had a large collection of the late '60s and early '70s and my mom threw them away. I have acquired some of the star ballplayers after HER EGREGIOUS mistake but nothing anywhere nearly in number of cards I had as a kid.

Two of my all-time favorite players: Roberto and Maz.

136101.jpg

s-l225.jpg

One last post. For those who know this stuff, Mr Mint Alan Rosen passed away fairly recently. Guy was an obnoxious tool, but he occupied a big place in the card collecting hobby.
 
Did you collect baseball cards as a kid? Do you still have them?

I had a large collection of the late '60s and early '70s and my mom threw them away. I have acquired some of the star ballplayers after HER EGREGIOUS mistake but nothing anywhere nearly in number of cards I had as a kid.

Two of my all-time favorite players: Roberto and Maz.

136101.jpg

s-l225.jpg
I started collecting in 1957. I have a complete raw set of Topps for every year through 2016. I also have a graded 1957 set that is rated as the 5th current finest on the PSA registry.
But my favorite set was a T-3 tobacco set from 1911. It was rated as the 2nd best in existence by PSA. Last year I sold it to Thomas Tull the Steelers minority owner . He made an offer I couldn't turn down. I have some misgivings about selling it but afterall, it is only cardboard.
 
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You have some good autographs but the most important issue in autographs is their authenticity. It's nearly impossible to sell any any autograph without it being validated and the costs to do that are substantial. If you had each autograph INDIVIDUALLY validated it would set you back a lot more than you think. The two most respected authentication services are probably PSA or JSA.

So the best bet is to validate the autographs as a collection. In those instances where all the autographs were say on a baseball, the services often will validate all the autographs included on the ball and charge you the cost of validating the highest value autograph for the price of validating all autographs. So, you have 15 baseball autographs and the most expensive autograph to validate individually is probably Jackie Robinson. I would assume the cost to authenticate Jackie is probably around $125-$175. Same approach for football.

The real issue you have is for the display of the collection. If they were all on a group photo or baseball they would bring more value as opposed to simply being on a blank piece of paper or as part of a program. Just matting and framing a piece of paper with the autos is OK but less desirable for resale. The Dean, Jackie, Mantle, and Joe D autos are your best. Mantle and DiMaggio signed a TON but Dean and Jackie certainly will have interest when validated.

If you live near Philly, JSA sets up at the shows in King of Prussia. You can take your item and they will validate it, but they will probably take it with them although they will give you a tentative opinion within a couple of hours at times. They then send your item back with a typed letter detailing their findings. Ask them to give you a quote as a collection and ask for a discount. As an example I had a postcard set of 44 cards with 28 autographed. The highest value auto was Mantle which was $100 just for the Mantle. They certified all 28 cards for the cost of the Mantle cert of $100 and they gave me 10% disc. If they certified each individual, it prob would have cost me $500+ easily.
I have had Jimmy Spence come out to my house on two separate occasions for authentication and cataloging things for insurance purposes. His whole organization is so amazing and knowledgable. It is a treat just to talk to him. Such a nice and down to earth guy. The whole problem with matting and framing is that is an arm and a leg too. My one friend who has signatures from almost all the Yankees from about 1910 who every had an at bat or pitched an inning set up his own framing spot in his basement.
 
The 1971 Clemente (#630) has a book value of $75-$150 in Mint condition. Obviously, with black borders, a mint copy is difficult to find. The 1970 Mazeroski (#440) has a book value of $2.50-$6 in Mint condition.
 
I'm not an insurance agent, but from an insurance benefit, you prolly need an independent expert to come in and do a valuation. Especially if you would claim a big loss, this would be needed. Also, check your plan, you prolly need a rider to cover your collection if it's valued at any significant amount.
So many pricks and bad folks counterfeiting stuff out there. This includes what you think would be reputable dealers like Steiner Sports. They often have good inventory and pad the volume with counterfeits. I bought a Joe DiMaggio bat from B&J Collectibles, now defunct. They had the sole rights to DiMaggio in his later years. So you would think, it's a solid. Turned out to be a fake. Also bought some fake crap from Vegas dealers. Was supposed to be a reputable dealer network. This network got caught up in Operation Bullpen ( I think, sticking on the name), the FBI got involved due to interstate counterfeiting of autographs. FBI only got involved after prominent stars like Jordan and Gretzky made a fuss about their fake shit out there. It was a media windfall, but did not put a dent in the overall crap out there. I'm on the phone with a felon after getting his number from the agent begging him for about 3-4k back. That never happened.
 
Great thread. I have several stars from 60s, 70, 80s, and I am currently putting together a PSA 8 or higher 1971 set and I am a little over half way complete. Condition is always the key.

A great site I found for filling out sets is COMC.com. It was started by a collector who was an ex Microsoft employee. It has the best search engine I have ever seen. If there is a card you are looking for it's there.
 
I started collecting in 1957. I have a complete raw set of Topps for every year through 2016. I also have a graded 1957 set that is rated as the 5th current finest on the PSA registry.
But my favorite set was a T-3 tobacco set from 1911. It was rated as the 2nd best in existence by PSA. Last year I sold it to Thomas Tull the Steelers minority owner . He made an offer I couldn't turn down. I have some misgivings about selling it but afterall, it is only cardboard.

Impressive to say the least. How long did it take you to put together the t- set?
 
I have only one...is this worth anything?
T-206-Honus-Wagner-PSA-8.jpg

The story behind this legendary card is interesting and reflects on the industry as a whole. There are many who debate the rating of the card, specifically saying that it should be graded as irregular meaning that some think it was "trimmed."

Who really knows but the famous owners of the card might have influenced the results of the process.
 
AS with many here, collected a ton in 80/early 90's. Have some untouched box sets from topps in 84-87 years in football. Jordan 2nd year card, Jerry Rice and Barry Sanders rookies, a few other decent cards. My grandfather had a great collection of guys including 33 Lajoie. Unfortunately my grandmother threw it out when I was around 10.
 
I collected those 8x10 autographed pictures that Arco petroleum handed out in the early 70's. Does anyone remember them? Also, any guesses on value? I have almost all of the '71 Pirates.

Sure. They are worth more to you in memories than cash unfortunately.
 
Had hundreds from 67-68. Fortunately my mom didn't throw anything out. Sold them in 1989 for $600.

My brother is older and still had his from early 60s
 
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I collected those 8x10 autographed pictures that Arco petroleum handed out in the early 70's. Does anyone remember them? Also, any guesses on value? I have almost all of the '71 Pirates.

I remember them well. Wish I still had them.
 
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I have multiple copies of the 2 you inserted in the thread to start the convo. Very cool. I have some 60s'-70s from my father and all of 80's from me. I was obsessed saving all my $ and going to card shows and shops to buy certain ones. I still have all of them. Most are in storage but about 100 of my best are on display in my man cave in glass cabinets and card albums. Some are within my frames of various pictures and posters.

It is funny, the older guests will spend a lot of time looking at everything in my man cave. The younger ones just bust thru it having zero interest in baseball cards. Great topic. I sure miss the old days.
 
So no guesses on Fat Jack's own SI Sportsman of the Year signed issue? I was thinking $5-10K. Much more in a few years sadly.
 
So no guesses on Fat Jack's own SI Sportsman of the Year signed issue? I was thinking $5-10K. Much more in a few years sadly.

Cool no doubt but i would be surprised at that level. The value is in the signature and Jack has done his fair share. Let's be crazy and say that his sig is $1000 after he passes. That puts a 10 time premium on the fact that it is his personal copy with mailing label. Like you said, it's what someone will pay. Who knows but I don't think that much.
 
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Did you collect baseball cards as a kid? Do you still have them?

I had a large collection of the late '60s and early '70s and my mom threw them away. I have acquired some of the star ballplayers after HER EGREGIOUS mistake but nothing anywhere nearly in number of cards I had as a kid.

Two of my all-time favorite players: Roberto and Maz.

136101.jpg

s-l225.jpg
Have seen quite a few people asking about value of their cards. There are price guides out there, but those are only guides. It comes down to what my dad told me over 40 years ago as a kid. They are only worth what someone is willing to pay for them. The biggest resale market by far for sports cards is eBay. If you want to know what your card is worth, search closed listings. Of course, there are other factors too. Timing for instance. Player's values will tend to spike during the season, especially if said player is doing very well and at playoff time or if that player is up for H of F induction. Also, regional influences. Maz and Clemente will fetch more in PA than they would say in Arizona. Just my 2 cents...
 
Another thing that affects the price -- specialty collectors, or people who collect specific subsets such as Cuban, Mormon or Jewish players, Cy Young Award winners, etc.

For example, Harry Rosenberg appeared in just two games for the New York Giants in 1930. He has three Pacific Coast League (Zeenut) cards from the 1920s and '30s. The Rosenberg cards catalog for much more than other common players in the sets, because he is in high demand by those who collect the 170 Jewish players who have made it to the major leagues. In some cases, his Zeenut cards are worth more than a future Hall of Famer in the same set.
 
I collected those 8x10 autographed pictures that Arco petroleum handed out in the early 70's. Does anyone remember them? Also, any guesses on value? I have almost all of the '71 Pirates.


Did Arco or was it Sunoco that gave out the stamps of the football players and you put them into a book they also gave you... I have almost a complete book of them have to look what year it was
 
Did Arco or was it Sunoco that gave out the stamps of the football players and you put them into a book they also gave you... I have almost a complete book of them have to look what year it was

Sunoco I believe. I collected them as well.
 
Appears to be a 1968 Topps card #280. If in Mint condition, it is book valued at between $175 and $350. Mantle is highly sought after and if you went to a large card show, I'm sure you could get $200 for it. If it is less than Mint, you could get between 10%-50% of that price. Even less than mint copies of Mantle sell.
Cool, I have 3 or 4 of this card.
 
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