Boxing is a sport where two men or women fight each other using their fists. The goal is to knock out your opponent. But what are boxing cards and are they worth anything?
Boxing cards are a type of collectible card game (CCG). They are similar to trading cards, except they are designed specifically for boxers. These cards feature images of famous boxers from history.
There are also many different types of boxing cards out there and each card will be worth a different amount of money. Let’s take a closer look.
What Are Boxing Cards?
Boxing cards are collectible cards that were created by companies like Topps and Panini. These companies create these cards based on popular boxers from history. Each boxer has his own unique set of cards.
Some of the most popular boxers include Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Jack Johnson, George Foreman, Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Sugar Ray Leonard and so much more.
Each company creates its style of boxing cards. For example, Topps makes their cards with glossy paper and has colorful pictures. On the other hand, Panini uses matte paper and has black and white pictures. Both companies make great quality cards.
The first boxing cards became popular around the 1920s. Since then, the market for them has grown tremendously. Nowadays, you can find almost any type of boxing card available.
Are Boxing Cards Expensive?
Prices aren’t too high for a lot of boxing cards, and you will understand this if you look into the pre-war boxing market.
Boxing cards tend to be very popular in recent days however and are motivating collectors to invest slightly more. You may not have to pay a lot for them, but they’re worth it!
The boxing T218 Champions card set, for example, is headlined by the boxing legend known as Jack Johnson and has two of his cards. To this day, however, PSA has graded just 500 between each card.
At the lowest grade, which means the lowest quality, you can find them for about $15-$20 in price, but high-grade cards are much pricier and will put you out of pocket quite a bit.
Not all boxing cards are cheap and some can still sell for up to thousands of dollars. There are still rarer boxing issues, as with any sport and these will be higher in value.
Are Boxing Cards Worth Anything?
Yes, boxing cards are worth something. They are one of the most popular sports cards today and the demand for them continues to grow. If you want to get started collecting them, start small and build your collection slowly.
This way, you’ll be able to enjoy the hobby without having to spend too much money.
Card collecting will always come and go in cycles, but boxing cards do have to work to keep their value. Many boxing cards have remained stagnant, but baseball cards have seen a big increase.
This doesn’t mean boxing cards are worthless, but they never saw the rise that pre-war baseball cards did. Boxing card collectors know the sport is getting older and it has still got quite a long way to go to get back onto the spectrum of other collectors.
One single boxer is never going to force a sudden climb in the value of pre-war boxing cards, but if there was an increase in interest in the sport, sales would increase.
There has been a big section of sports history where boxing has been out of the spotlight, and some collectors might struggle to even name heavyweight champions such as Wladimir Klitschko. This might have contributed to the lack of popularity of boxing cards.
Today’s fighters are not printed on pre-war cards, but these cards are still being collected as they age, and collectors are gravitating towards older cards in a genre they are learning more about.
However, cards have seen better prices in previous years, even when the sport was less popular than now and so the industry does not fully correlate to card popularity. This means the value of the cards could increase without warning.
What Does It Take To Collect Pre-War Boxing Cards?
If you want to collect pre-war boxing cards, then you need to learn how to buy them at a reasonable price. Buying them from eBay or online auction sites is easy enough, but you should avoid buying cards from dealers who sell them for inflated prices.
You also need to make sure you are purchasing cards from reputable sellers. Some people try to rip off collectors by selling fake cards, especially those that claim to be original. These cards may look like originals but they are not.
You should never pay more than face value for a card. If you see someone trying to charge you more than what the card is worth, then go to another retailer or seller.
Collecting boxing cards is enjoyable but it takes time and dedication. The first step is finding the right cards. Once you have found the cards you want, you can start building your collection.
You don’t need to rush into buying boxes full of cards. Start with just a few boxes and gradually add more.
Research the grade of the card, the boxer, the age of the card, and more, and make sure you know what you are going to do with the cards to get your money’s worth.
If this is investing or simply adding to your collection, you should continue collecting as much as you can! The more cards being collected across the globe, the more demand, the higher the value, and the better it is for the hobby.
When more people collect, more people benefit.
Final Thoughts
The world of boxing cards is growing every day. With the help of the internet, we can all share our knowledge and experience. We can learn new things about the sport and its history and we can find out about the different types of boxing cards available.
There are many ways to enjoy collecting boxing cards and it can be a great hobby to have on the side of work and other stresses, so why not start collecting today!
Apart from being such an interesting hobby that can take you in so many directions. It keeps you in touch with your younger self. I still feel the same level of excitement when adding a new card to the collection.
I'm still learning, and I always will be. I hope you find my posts helpful.
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