For many people, collecting and trading sports cards was a fun hobby and activity when young, with no other expectations.
For most, this may have been your first encounter with investing, and you didn’t even know it! When you’re a child, you know the basics: buy low, sell high.
This young generation of collectors has now grown up into middle-aged investors, who may be in for a surprise when it comes to their childhood hobby, as sports cards are making a comeback.
Although this time, trading cards are becoming a serious investment and not just a hobby. One reason for this is that investing in sports cards has proven to generate profound returns for traders.
While the majority of sports cards don’t hold much value, if you have a tendency and flair for choosing the right cards, then you may be in for some sizable funds.
So it’s time to go into your attic and dust off your old card collections as this article looks into: why are sports cards valuable.
What Types Of Sports Cards Are The Most Valuable?
- Rookie cards
- Cards with popular and important players
- Rare cards
- Cards from brands
- Cards in perfect condition
- Popular and old cards
Rookie Cards
There is only one rookie season, therefore; making this one of the most popular cards of a sports player.
Card companies only create and distribute rookie cards once in a particular player’s career this makes it hard to know if a player will do well or not.
In the past, rookie cards were generally much harder to get a hold of than nowadays. Likewise, as it’s hard to determine whether a player is going to do well, most of these cards were not maintained in the highest condition. These are all factors that contribute to the worth of a card.
While in today’s society, collecting rookie cards is slightly different, the original matter remains: rookie cards are the most valuable cards of a particular player.
Cards With Popular And Important People
Having one of these cards already makes it valuable. On the other hand, if your card contains both these aspects, then the price is going to be even higher.
The main determining factor of a valuable playing card is supply and demand. The lower the supply and the higher demand make a card significantly more valuable.
If a card with a popular or important player is selling well, then different collectors will be willing to spend more money for it.
Consequently, the more people that are buying the card results in the higher demand, meaning that the price will increase rapidly.
If a particular player’s performance is doing well, their card may surge in demand; however, not always. This may only be a short-term demand if a player doesn’t remain popular, then the prices will go down.
Therefore, cards are only as valuable as the amount people are willing to purchase them.
Rare Cards
This may be self-explanatory, but the rarer the card is, the more expensive it will be.
An example of this would be the T206 Honus Wagner card from 1909. It is considered one of the most valuable cards in the world. If you have a similar card in decent condition, it can sell for several million dollars.
While Honus Wagner is one of the most prestigious players in baseball history, it is usually the rarity of a card that increases its value.
Take the Wagner card, for instance, there are approximately 50 copies of the card left in the world and that isn’t even taking into account the conditions of the cards.
Since the cards were released in 1909, many cards were not preserved appropriately. These factors contribute to the worth of a card.
Moreover, numbered cards, parallels, and low print run cards will also have a higher value. Like before, supply and demand are huge factors. The fewer cards there are, the higher the damned will go up, and; thus the price.
Cards From Brands
If you’re looking to buy cards with more value, sticking to cards from main brands is your best bet.
Sometimes, brands will create unlicensed cards. These usually feature a particular player’s image but not a whole team. These leave out uniforms or airbrush clue logos.
Whereas; authentic cards will be licensed and feature club uniforms and logos. These cards will always sell better. Therefore, it’s important that you only buy cards from reputable brands.
Cards In Perfect Condition
Typically, grading services that grade a card highly will be much more expensive than those graded poorly.
The main reason for this is that when collectors are looking for a specific card, they’ll go for the one in the best possible condition – making the demand for these cards higher.
The condition of a particular card depends on many factors. Important factors include the quality of the surface, corners, and edges. The better these are preserved, the higher the value.
Old Cards
While not all old cards hold a lot of value, they tend to be worth more than newer, modern cards. The reasons for this include:
- Condition – Older cards are much harder to find in perfect condition than newer cards. If a card can withstand the test of time, it is going to be more expensive.
- Rarity – Before the 1980s, card prints were at a much lower rate than they are today, making rookie cards for this decade more valuable.
- Popularity – The more popular a player is, the more an old card will sell for.
Final Thoughts
The main reason that sports cards are valuable is due to supply and demand. The more popular a specific card is, the more people will want to buy it, thus; increasing the overall value of a sports card.
Hopefully, this article has informed you on why sports cards are valuable.
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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