Even though I am a girl, I grew up collecting baseball cards. They have been a staple of almost any childhood for years. But, while baseball packs were once on of the cheapest toys available, they are now more expensive. Why is that? It is because adults, who collected baseball cards as kids, have rediscovered the joy of collecting again.
Over the years, the prices of cards have risen. Purchasing a Mickey Mantle rookie card today can cost you thousands of dollars. A Honus Wagner 1911 card once sold for over a million dollars. Why was it so expensive? Back then, the cards were distributed in packs of cigarettes. Wagner felt this would encourage children to smoke and demanded his card not be distributed. Of course, this was after a few had sneaked out, making his card undoubtedly the most desired baseball card ever.
One of the great things about baseball cards is when purchasing individual packs, you always have the chance of getting a hot new rookie card. Of course, most of us end up with those cards that are never worth much of anything, but it is still fun to collect them.
I have saved my cards for my son. Some are pretty nice (I have a few cards of older players like Whitey Ford and Roger Maris), although none are individually worth more than $100. But, that is the thing about baseball cards. Many often go up and down in price depending on the player and the type of season they have. But once a player retires, the card price pretty much stays constant.
If you are thinking of starting a collection for your child or yourself, you may want to think about what you want your collection to contain. Some people collect only specific brands like Topps or Upper Deck, while some collect their favorite teams. Some collectors concentrate on collecting favorite player cards, no matter what team on which they play. If you are doing this for enjoyment, collect whatever makes you happy. One of my favorite cards is a 1965 Topps Jim Piersall. The card only books between $3 and $6, but the value is on no concern to me – I love it because I was fortunate enough to have had dinner with Mr. Piersall in the late 1980’s. Remember, if you are collecting for fun, there are no rules.
