Hey hey! Welcome back for another fun journal entry from the journey!
So glad to see you again, got a fun one today for you all. This one is about baseball cards, a surprisingly thriving hobby and market despite the sport’s waning popularity. Well, I guess maybe it’s not, it’s just certainly waning in my own esteem, especially since there are (possibly?) fewer chemically enhanced super athletes roaming the fields crushing dingers. The halcyon days of my youth are no more. Where did you go Mark McGuire? Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you… And that’s where I’ll stop for fear of Paul Simon’s lawyers taking what little inheritance I’ve cobbled together.
Maybe that’ll all change! See, I found some baseball cards in my dad’s house from the 70’s. Literally lived in that house for years and never once knew he had them, or that he ever collected baseball cards to begin with. Mainly because Dad certainly talked a big game about being good at sports I never really ever saw him do anything athletic.
Suffice it to say that I was surprised, but being the intrepid treasure hunter that I am, I snagged the cards and brought them home so that I could value them before sending the worthwhile ones away for grading. Three short months later and they’re back!!!
Here’s where we’re going to take a slight detour into the world of sports betting! They go together like peas and carrots. So, take a look at this pile of cards and tell me what you think they may be worth:
Ok, now let me tell you who those cards are, and all of the details.
What you’re looking at are the back sides of the cards, and you can see that all four cards are from hall of fame players: two Nolan Ryan cards from Topps 1974 and 1985, and two Reggie Jackson cards from Topps 1974. Now, being that these are graded cards you should understand a little about the grading scale. Cards are graded from 1 to 10, one being the lowest, and that grade is affected by the actual printing of the image on the card, the centering of that image, the crispness of the corners, and if there are any blemishes or stains to be found. So some things I could never have effected even if they were held in pristine conditions (which these were not). If all four cards graded at a 10 then they’d collectively be worth ~$21,600 depending on the auction.
Alright, poll time again:
Alright, now here’s where the fun begins. For context, the Reggie Jacksons would be worth $10K a pop, and the Nolan Ryan’s would be in the area of $800 a piece.
Here we go!
Aaaaand Nolan Ryan pitches a shut out. Well, I guess a 4 and a 5 aren’t really a shut out, but they’re certainly not the big money I was hoping for. I guess it makes me feel slightly better that I was going to keep the Nolan Ryan Astros card for my son.
Alright, bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, two outs, full count. Mr. October at bat!
Aaaaand he goes down swingin. Another 4 and another 5. Total value: maybe $200 for the whole thing.
Womp womp.
Guess there’s always next time, got a lot more stuff to grade, and this was always going to be more of a volume play anyways.
Thanks so much for reading, please do invite your friends along for more fun! Remember, it’s dangerous to go alone.