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The good old days of collecting...

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Austin

Well-known member
Aug 7, 2008
5,706
41
Dallas, Texas
That's like what the 1986 Donruss Jose Canseco rookie was selling for after his historic 40/40 season in 1988.
 

JoshHamilton

Well-known member
Aug 7, 2008
12,205
320
Been looking for a 4x 9.5 for awhile now.

Whats the last non-everything RC that sold for $100?
 

mrmopar

Member
Jan 19, 2010
6,207
4,136
Not what I expected when I saw "good old days".

To me, that is still an example of the bad new days of "collecting", trickling down to even the base cards. No base card, rookie or otherwise, of any 4th year player should be "worth" that much so soon after their debut, or ever for that matter. Let's use Garry Templeton as an example. Check out his first 4 years. Not quite the same as Trout, but he was certainly one of the better players at the time and had 4 years under his belt as a 23 year old in 1979 when he hit .314 and lead the league in hits and triples. That was also the year he had at least 100 hits from either side of the plate. He is still one of only two guys to ever do that. This guy was the real deal! Within 2 years, the Padres would be trading away a young SS by the name of Ozzie Smith to the Cardinals to obtain this 25 year old switch hitting phenom. We all know what happened next. Imagine if cards back then were like they are today, how much that 1977 Topps Templeton card would set you back in 1979!! I've always loved that card, by the way.



http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/templga01.shtml

I can see high grade vintage cards increasing exponentially in value because of a star players contribution, but more so the scarcity of top grade copies having survived the cruel and dangerous world of pre-boom collecting habits (rubber bands, bike spokes, flipping, shoe boxes, etc). That is exactly what "collecting" has become to many these days, prospecting/speculating and all about the value.

The good old days of collecting to me, and I am not that old, is buying packs of cards because you love the cards and being excited to get your favorite team or player and not concerning yourself about what the perceived value of that card is or trading with your friends to complete that latest set and it might have meant a Jim Rice card for a Tucker Ashford card, because you needed that Ashford and your buddy needed Rice and nobody cared that Rice was better.

Yes, that world of collecting is long gone, I know. However, I still have at least one long time trade partner where neither of us gives much consideration of values, where it is more about the teams involved.
 
Last edited:

BBCgalaxee

Well-known member
Sep 9, 2011
6,475
59
Sure wish more base rc had substantial values like this.

Sent from my HTCONE using Freedom Card Board mobile app
 

Yanks2151

Active member
Nov 9, 2013
3,231
8
Not what I expected when I saw "good old days".

To me, that is still an example of the bad new days of "collecting", trickling down to even the base cards. No base card, rookie or otherwise, of any 4th year player should be "worth" that much so soon after their debut, or ever for that matter. Let's use Garry Templeton as an example. Check out his first 4 years. Not quite the same as Trout, but he was certainly one of the better players at the time and had 4 years under his belt as a 23 year old in 1979 when he hit .314 and lead the league in hits and triples. That was also the year he had at least 100 hits from either side of the plate. He is still one of only two guys to ever do that. This guy was the real deal! Within 2 years, the Padres would be trading away a young SS by the name of Ozzie Smith to the Cardinals to obtain this 25 year old switch hitting phenom. We all know what happened next. Imagine if cards back then were like they are today, how much that 1977 Topps Templeton card would set you back in 1979!! I've always loved that card, by the way.



http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/templga01.shtml

I can see high grade vintage cards increasing exponentially in value because of a star players contribution, but more so the scarcity of top grade copies having survived the cruel and dangerous world of pre-boom collecting habits (rubber bands, bike spokes, flipping, shoe boxes, etc). That is exactly what "collecting" has become to many these days, prospecting/speculating and all about the value.

The good old days of collecting to me, and I am not that old, is buying packs of cards because you love the cards and being excited to get your favorite team or player and not concerning yourself about what the perceived value of that card is or trading with your friends to complete that latest set and it might have meant a Jim Rice card for a Tucker Ashford card, because you needed that Ashford and your buddy needed Rice and nobody cared that Rice was better.

Yes, that world of collecting is long gone, I know. However, I still have at least one long time trade partner where neither of us gives much consideration of values, where it is more about the teams involved.
Very well said. Good read!
 

SINFULONE

Active member
Sep 26, 2008
5,691
0
Not what I expected when I saw "good old days".

To me, that is still an example of the bad new days of "collecting", trickling down to even the base cards. No base card, rookie or otherwise, of any 4th year player should be "worth" that much so soon after their debut, or ever for that matter. Let's use Garry Templeton as an example. Check out his first 4 years. Not quite the same as Trout, but he was certainly one of the better players at the time and had 4 years under his belt as a 23 year old in 1979 when he hit .314 and lead the league in hits and triples. That was also the year he had at least 100 hits from either side of the plate. He is still one of only two guys to ever do that. This guy was the real deal! Within 2 years, the Padres would be trading away a young SS by the name of Ozzie Smith to the Cardinals to obtain this 25 year old switch hitting phenom. We all know what happened next. Imagine if cards back then were like they are today, how much that 1977 Topps Templeton card would set you back in 1979!! I've always loved that card, by the way.



http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/templga01.shtml

I can see high grade vintage cards increasing exponentially in value because of a star players contribution, but more so the scarcity of top grade copies having survived the cruel and dangerous world of pre-boom collecting habits (rubber bands, bike spokes, flipping, shoe boxes, etc). That is exactly what "collecting" has become to many these days, prospecting/speculating and all about the value.

The good old days of collecting to me, and I am not that old, is buying packs of cards because you love the cards and being excited to get your favorite team or player and not concerning yourself about what the perceived value of that card is or trading with your friends to complete that latest set and it might have meant a Jim Rice card for a Tucker Ashford card, because you needed that Ashford and your buddy needed Rice and nobody cared that Rice was better.

Yes, that world of collecting is long gone, I know. However, I still have at least one long time trade partner where neither of us gives much consideration of values, where it is more about the teams involved.

Great post.I miss those days too.
 

sportscardtheory

Active member
Aug 16, 2008
8,461
2
Buffalo, New York
Meh. The reason no one cared about value back then was because the cards weren't worth anything. The cards were basically worthless and were traded freely and treated badly because of that. The gum was what kids wanted mostly. It was a different time for collecting, but it's no better than now. There are still "worthless" cards out there if that's someone's thing.
 
Last edited:

mrmopar

Member
Jan 19, 2010
6,207
4,136
The only thing that makes cards "worth" anything now is the artificial scarcity. Products printed in large quantities or lacking excessive big names (Collectors Choice, Total, 40 Man, etc) only seem to appeal to fans/collectors because there are few big money hits to be had for the gamblers and speculators. Everything is printed in reduced quantities and higher price points because otherwise it would be worthless and we would be back in 1974, where nothing was worth more than the cost of the pack. The market became this because that is what the buyers demanded, but the buyers now are people wanting to make money, not collect cards.

My point was not to question your comment, but merely to share that the use of the words good old days obviously means something different to me than they do to you.

Meh. The reason no one cared about value back then was because the cards weren't worth anything. The cards were basically worthless and were traded freely and treated badly because of that. The gum was what kids wanted mostly. It was a different time for collecting, but it's no better than now. There are still "worthless" cards out there if that's someone's thing.
 

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