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Vintage Cards
I’ve been thinking more about vintage lately, and I’m curious how many of you actively collect it.
There’s something different about holding a card that has been around for 50, 60, or even 70+ years. The card doesn’t have to be numbered, have an autograph, or be a super short print to feel special. The history is what makes it cool.
I also think vintage is one of the few areas of the hobby where I’m much more willing to embrace condition. Give me a well-loved vintage card with some character over a modern card that feels like it was manufactured yesterday.
Do you collect vintage? If so, what era or players are you after?
And if you don’t collect it, what’s stopping you? Price, condition, not knowing enough about it, or just not your thing?
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9 Replies
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I think vintage is amazing and fun to collect. I started collecting vintage basketball goats. Basically from the 1970 tall boys on back with guys like Wilt, Kareem, Pistol Pete, Dr Jplus toss in the 1980 and 81 magic and bird topps. Then moved on to vintage Chicago bears rookies like Sweetness, Butkus, Sayers, Ditka, etc. also have a few Jimmy Brown cards and Johnny U cards. Still don’t have their rookies though. Moved onto some baseball with a nice 1969 Nolan Ryan. Technically his 2nd year card, but first solo card. Grabbed the 53 Jackie recently and would like to get the entire Topps run some day. Would also like to someday own a nice 1952 Willie Mays as well as maybe slowly starting building a 1953 Topps set. I think it’s possibly the most beautiful set ever printed. On the lookout for a 1979 Gretzky O-Pee-Chee rookie. If you have the pulse of the hobby, you will see a big push into vintage nonsports really becoming popular. A lot of it intrigues me. I feel like I need a 1931 Walt Disney in my collection.
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That’s an incredible vintage wishlist. I really like that you’re not limiting yourself to one sport either. There’s something special about building a collection around the icons of each era.
The 1953 Topps set is one I completely understand wanting to build. Those designs are just timeless, and putting together a set slowly through individual pickups would be a pretty awesome project.
And I hadn’t really considered vintage non-sports much, but the 1931 Walt Disney is exactly the kind of card that could pull me down another rabbit hole. 😂 Vintage collecting has a dangerous way of turning “I’ll just look into this one thing” into a whole new PC.
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im getting into vintage and been told start with low grades and work up to a higher grade of a card.. i mean theres some vintage that even 1s and 2s are even pretty valuable..
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That’s probably the approach I’d take too. I’d rather own a lower-grade vintage card and actually enjoy having it than wait forever trying to afford the perfect copy.
And with some of the really big vintage cards, even a PSA 1 or 2 is still a significant card. At that point the grade is almost secondary to simply owning a piece of hobby history.
Plus, there’s something pretty satisfying about upgrading a card later. Start with the beat-up copy, enjoy it for a while, then eventually find a nicer one and move the original along. Gives you a reason to keep hunting.
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Oh yeah! I have a goal to get the entire Jackie Robinson Topps run, but even a damn 1 is 10k!
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yeah i know.. there some players i know it will be a long time before i own one of there cards. least one of there cards that really matter in that since.. those coveted cards
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Yeah, that’s where vintage gets dangerous for the wallet. 😂 A PSA 1 still being a five-figure card really puts into perspective how different the vintage market is from modern.
But I actually like having those “maybe someday” cards on the list. You don’t have to own everything immediately. Sometimes the fun is slowly working your way toward the cards you never thought you’d be able to own.
And getting that Jackie Robinson run completed would be one heck of a collection goal. That’s a serious grail hunt.
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Its always nice to have maybe someday cards in your back pocket.
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i agree some day.. and yeah it just goes to show that vintage is still there. even with modern seeming to be in the for front. mainly cause of the crazy cards they make now. back then there wasnt all this flashy looking cardboard
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