100's of old cards

JTMcC

Hello all. I've had this box of sports cards in my closet for like 15 years that i got from my father, now i don't really watch or follow sports, so im not sure if there is any potential in the box, or if any of them should be sleeved, etc.. how can i go about figuring out if any could be worth something... do i go somewhere, or should i gather a few pics that i think are old and post them here?

thanks for the help in advance!!!

• Jacob

pics below

blurryface

whats old? we talking cards from the 1900s? 1940? 1960? 1990? 2000+?

lots of pics.

Jayman1982

Nathaniel1960

I am going to predict 1981 Topps Baseball with a few FB commons thrown in.

RufussCkingston

1988-1990 baseball!

dontippet

Jacob,

Post some pictures here of the lot along with a couple of the cards of players that you recognize, and we can give some guidance.

AANV

@JTMcC said:
Hello all. I've had this box of sports cards in my closet for like 15 years that i got from my father, now i don't really watch or follow sports, so im not sure if there is any potential in the box, or if any of them should be sleeved, etc.. how can i go about figuring out if any could be worth something... do i go somewhere, or should i gather a few pics that i think are old and post them here?

thanks for the help in advance!!!

• Jacob

Rule #1

Don't get your hopes up.

pab1969

Loads of 1989 Topps and 1988 Donruss I'm' guessing.

2dueces

1990 Score

blurryface

guessing uno cards by the lack of a follow up.

JTMcC

@blurryface said:
guessing uno cards by the lack of a follow up.

i am a busy man, will gather some pictures now.

JTMcC

probably some of the older ones in the pile.. just random ones..from random years.

parthur1607

This guy is the exception to the people finding 80s and 90s “old cards”.

You may actually have some good stuff here. I see a few big names just from glancing. Hopefully you have a lot of time on your hands because you will have to research each card to know what it’s worth. Check eBay and look at “sold items” to see what they have gone for. You have some stuff in there that is worth grading and would bring much more when you sell it. I’m going to give you a few names to get started that was as you go through you can look these up first. From the cards I saw at a glance I saw….

Pete Rose, Andre Dawson, Mike Schmidt, Don Mattingly, Ken Griffey Jr, Rickey Henderson, Tony Gwynn, Barry Bonds, Bo Jackson, Ryne Sandberg.

These are guys I grew up watching and I’m sure there are plenty that some other people can add to the list of people to look for.

Good luck with it!

JTMcC

thanks for the comment parthur, one of these days i will have to go through it and see what i have.. giving some big names to look for helps and i appreciate it.

like i said this was just a small grab out of the box. so i have alot to go through.

blurryface

first you had my curiosity. now you have my attention….

perhaps start w the older stuff. 70s.

look for hofers you recognize, cards that seem in better condition and then post smaller group shots…maybe 4 per pic?

JTMcC

@blurryface said:
first you had my curiosity. now you have my attention….

perhaps start w the older stuff. 70s.

look for hofers you recognize, cards that seem in better condition and then post smaller group shots…maybe 4 per pic?

i dont recognize anyone lol i really do not follow sports, i mean i know like the popular names, i think i can tell which is 70's i will sort them out when i have time and see what we got.

lwehlers

looks like he like 78 and 79 cards and then resumed in 1993.

pab1969

Not bad. I apologize for my assumption. I love the 78's. Good luck.

JTMcC

@pab1969 said:
Not bad. I apologize for my assumption. I love the 78's. Good luck.

lol its okay, i dont really get offended...plus i didnt post any pics, so your guess was as good as anyone elses.

thank you.

• jacob.

nam812

I saw a 1978 Nolan Ryan in there.

Nathaniel1960

Griffey 5 year anniversary card is a good one in high grade. Tuff borders.

JTMcC

@nam812 said:
I saw a 1978 Nolan Ryan in there.

there are a few of those, i know that much lol.

blurryface

JTMcC

here a little update : sorted a few of the older ones.

heres a pile of some of the older baseball and football "still another piles to go through"

JTMcC

the 78 topps. "sorry may have to zoom in"

Sidepocket1

I'd be very surprised if anything is worth grading at $150/card.

2dueces

$150 a card!!? WTH have I been? I remember my whole subs costing less than that and that was with 2 Jordan rookies and a Jordan sticker.

blurryface

@Sidepocket1 said:
I'd be very surprised if anything is worth grading at $150/card.

i agree. only take 1 though, op. and the $150 per card wont be forever.

PROMETHIUS88

Just zooming in, there doesn't look like anything that is in high enough grade to spend the money on. I'm going to be the negative voice in the thread. While there may be some value there... and it doesn't look like you have taken pics of everything, you would have to sell cards individually and they will be tough to move in mid to lower grade.

I have boxes and boxes of this type of stuff. If it's mine, I split it into 2 400 count boxes and try to get $40 a box out of each one.... but that's just me.

parthur1607

@PROMETHIUS88 said:
Just zooming in, there doesn't look like anything that is in high enough grade to spend the money on. I'm going to be the negative voice in the thread. While there may be some value there... and it doesn't look like you have taken pics of everything, you would have to sell cards individually and they will be tough to move in mid to lower grade.

I have boxes and boxes of this type of stuff. If it's mine, I split it into 2 400 count boxes and try to get $40 a box out of each one.... but that's just me.

If you have stuff just like this and you would sell 800 cards for $80 I’ll take that chance!

mrmopar

@PROMETHIUS88 said:
Just zooming in, there doesn't look like anything that is in high enough grade to spend the money on. I'm going to be the negative voice in the thread. While there may be some value there... and it doesn't look like you have taken pics of everything, you would have to sell cards individually and they will be tough to move in mid to lower grade.

I have boxes and boxes of this type of stuff. If it's mine, I split it into 2 400 count boxes and try to get $40 a box out of each one.... but that's just me.

I don't think that is negative, more on the realistic side. The pandemic has skewed the values of cards enough that I may be off enough to care about, but I doubt it. There does not appear to be a great value in there. On the off chance that a Murray or Molitor RC is still hiding, it's still not retire early type money. Everyone sees those years and instantly thinks of those two, Smith and Henderson (although I didn't see any 80s). Dorsett and Stallworth for the FB cards, just in case. Am I still collect in those being the top dogs that year?

Maybe it's worth $40-50 to a collector willing to take a gamble. Would a card shop or reseller even offer $20 for the box based on what we have seen though? A handful of star cards is enough to make it worth more than your average "old card" find for sure. Can't get enough of those 1990 Score "old card" finds!

For me personally, it looks like a fun trip back in time with those 78 Topps baseball and football. That is what I saw when I first started collecting and those cards will always make me perk up, even the commons. Bonus points for a Garvey in the lot.

blurryface

its ok op. keep your head up. just wait until you run across the 79 gretzky, the 86 jordans, 81 montana, the 86 rice, brady & jeter sps and so forth. even if any of these are in similar condition, theyll still be worth a pretty penny. and some of those definitely worth grading. even at the $150 level.

AANV

@PROMETHIUS88 said:
Just zooming in, there doesn't look like anything that is in high enough grade to spend the money on. I'm going to be the negative voice in the thread. While there may be some value there... and it doesn't look like you have taken pics of everything, you would have to sell cards individually and they will be tough to move in mid to lower grade.

I have boxes and boxes of this type of stuff. If it's mine, I split it into 2 400 count boxes and try to get $40 a box out of each one.... but that's just me.

I'm surprised that I had to read so far down before seeing this opinion. While the lot isn't worthless, I can't see the value in grading anything for resale - even at previous grading price points.

This lot seems to be comprised entirely of cards that have been handled to a degree. We aren't looking at 9s and 10s from what I've seen. Clearly a collector's grade lot.

dontippet

If it was me and I knew nothing about sports, I would split this up into three ebay auctions. The 70's cards in one and the 90's cards in one, and the black Griffey card in its own auction. You won't get much from any of the auctions, but you will get something.

JTMcC

thank you guys for all the replys! i wasnt counting on anything being in there that would be worth big bucks. but then again that was only 2 1/2 inches of cards out of a 18inch box lol, so maybe a gem is sleeping somewhere in there. i'll just have to do the research!

canyoubelieveit

Since you aren't familiar with the HOF names, it helps to print out a list and compare it as you sort through the cards. Here is one such list from Baseball Reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/hof.shtml

Obviously, you only need to look at the names inducted 5 years after your oldest card (so if you have 1976 cards, they would be inducted at the earliest in 1981).

DeutscherGeist

I saw some interesting cards in there, but a big factor would be condition. If there is visible handling on the cards, they are hardly worth no more than a few dollars. Some exceptions exist.

I would be very careful in handling the cards. It is very easy to damage them. Even slight damage decreases the value by a lot. Make sure to wear gloves and lay the cards down on a very clean surface.