Hockey cards and other sports cards will forever be treasured in the sports community.
Whether you spend time adding to your collection from online auctions, spend time exchanging cards in the card community or simply love organizing your cards into your favorite players, they are a great way of learning more about the players and the sports and who knows, over time they might go up in value.
But can you make money off of these cards? A lot of card collectors focus a large amount of time on the value of sports cards instead of sentimental worth.
If this sounds like you and you have a few hockey cards stashed away you have thought about selling, you might be left wondering do hockey cards go up in value? This is where this article comes into help.
What Are Hockey Cards?
Hockey cards, like soccer cards and other sports cards, were launched primarily for editorial and marketing perspectives each year that the famous NHL season began.
Every hockey card has a picture of current or past hockey players but also has additional information underneath which appeals to the target audience and fans of hockey.
The cards come in individual as well as bundle packs so collectors can control how many cards they are buying and once you start collecting, a lot of people struggle to stop again!
What Types of Cards Can I Collect?
There are plenty of different types of hockey cards you can collect. Some of the most famous ones that might increase in value include:
Donruss Hockey Cards
These types of cards are great for fans of ice hockey and feature lots of famous players of the era.
Players include Ray Bourque, Joe Sakic, and Nicklas Lidstrom. These cards also come in a protective pouch to keep the cards in good shape.
O-Pee-Chee New York Islander Cards
These cards are very unique and great for surprising super enthusiastic hockey fans! They have New York Islanders on them and are perfect for trading.
Each card has been picturized with a player and has its full name on the bottom. Like above, they come in a protective case.
Upper Deck Stanley Cup Trading Cards
These are professionally designed cards and comprises of 2011 Stanley cup champions.
They come in a box of 30 and the box should last you acting as a protective case. You also get a large bonus card!
Chicago Blackhawks Series Cards
Chicago Blackhawks hockey is huge in the hockey world and these cards are a perfect present for any fan.
The trading cards come in a pack of 10 with photos of individual players such as Duncan Keith and Chris Kunitz.
MVP Upper Deck NHL Trading Cards
These are an ultimate classic and are a set of trading cards from MVP. There are 105 cards in total and feature a special 2000 Stanley cup design on them.
They have big written names on the back of the cards and their size is a big pro to any collector.
Do Hockey Cards Go Up In Value?
The best thing to do to work out if you’re cards are valuable is to research them online.
You can use Hockey Card Value calculators online or even ask in hockey card forums and communities to get a second opinion.
Some hockey cards can be worth thousands of dollars one day, but for most, it is simply a side hobby.
However, finding the most valuable and most expensive hockey cards for some is the main reason they do collect.
Sportscard collections resemble portfolios and this investment portfolio can easily go up in value as well as go down.
The key to knowing if your card is valuable and the value of a sports card will depend on several things such as condition, scarcity, the hockey player, and more.
To give you an idea of value, the 1923 V145-1 #15 Howie Morenz Rookie Card was worth $22, 000! When it comes to players, Morenz is a highly valued player.
He was part of the Hockey Hall of Fame’s original nine inductees as well as being named one of the NHL’s first-ever major stars.
He was a three-time winner of the Hart Memorial Trophy and because of his skating abilities, has the nickname, ‘Stratford Streak’.
One of the most expensive hockey cards to ever exist is the 979 O-Pee-Chee #18 Wayne Gretzky Rookie Card which was valued at a whopping $465,000.
This card is a Wayne Gretzky rookie and since it is a O-Pee-Chee card, has a higher value than the other Gretzky rookie cards you can find in the community.
These types of cards are harder to find and this card is completely scarce.
What Should You Do With Valuable Hockey Cards?
If you ever found your cards were particularly valuable, you should hold on to them and get them professionally graded to see if they will increase in value even more over time.
You could sell it to a card shop but dealers can pay wholesale prices to make a profit which means you might want to sell it privately.
Selling it yourself through eBay for example might guarantee you more money but it is a more time-consuming process.
If your cards are not as valuable as you thought, don’t panic. For a lot of people, the value is in the hobby and it may be nice to pass these cards on down to younger generations instead of making a financial profit.
Keep in mind the sentimental value and the memories you might create with them will be priceless. You could even donate them or give them to a sports charity.
Final Thoughts
We hope after reading this article you realize the price of hockey cards and understand that whether they are valuable will depend on multiple factors such as condition, player, and more.
But even if they are not valuable, never underestimate sentimental value! Happy collecting!
When I was just starting out with my card collection, I had lots of questions about authenticity, trading, and card conditions. But with not that much information available online, I felt quite alone in my queries. Some questions still haven’t been answered to this day.
This site aims to rectify this, and now, I am passing on my knowledge!
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