Do you consider 1970 cards vintage?

Gemmy10

I do.

fsjeter

Most include everything up to 1973 as vintage. IMHO, I include up to 1975 as vintage. Anything 1976 to present should be considered modern.

Scott

koby

I don't know if 1970 cards are officially characterized as vintage but 1970 Topps baseball cards are a lot cheaper today than they were a year ago.

Griffins

I don't even consider 1948 cards as vintage. Pre WW2 only.
Click over a couple of boards and that line gets taken back to WW1 for some.
All in the eyes of the beholder. And at the end of the day it doesn't really matter. Collect what you like.

Gemmy10

<< I don't know if 1970 cards are officially characterized as vintage but 1970 Topps baseball cards are a lot cheaper today than they were a year ago.>>

Why are they cheaper? The economy?

ajw

I consider cards from about 1976 to be modern, with 1975 and earlier being vintage.

I don't think it's a coincidence that I was born in 1974.

Generally, I think most people equate "vintage" with "old." And, people think that anything they don't remember happening is "old."

I know I had cards from 1977 when I was a kid, so they can't be old. Anything older than that is really old and, therefore, vintage.

softparade

<< <i>I consider cards from about 1976 to be modern, with 1975 and earlier being vintage.

I don't think it's a coincidence that I was born in 1974.

Generally, I think most people equate "vintage" with "old." And, people think that anything they don't remember happening is "old."

I know I had cards from 1977 when I was a kid, so they can't be old. Anything older than that is really old and, therefore, vintage. >>



true

jrdolan

I don't consider '70s cards to be vintage, but I do consider '70s music, TV shows, and clothing to be vintage. Double-standard thing going on there in my head.

jaxxr

We all have our own frame of references and personal ideas of what "Vintage" should be.

There is no absolutely, positively, undeniable way of getting all to agree.

The general public seems to feel 25 years and more in age, give an item "Vintage" status.

Baseball cards do have some logical time frames and events therein, which can produce "Vintage" classifications.

Some feel WW1 or possibly WW2 is a good cut-off. 1956 was the last year of non-standard size cards so perhaps that is a proper time frame. In 1961 expansion first changed the layout of baseball, could be a good year to begin. The change of rules regarding pitchers mounds was after the 68 season which also has a famous RC in the set, so it would be a good starting point. 1973 was the end of major sets issued via series so maybe that is the way to go. 1975 is the last set of great popularity and with two major RCs, that might be the end of the era.

1980 was the last year of the one major set monoply, one true major RC, no large updated or traded sets, and just maybe the last year before ultra high mass production began. 1980 had the second issue of a popular yearly price guide, which by getting a repeat printing helped truly confirm the popularity of the hobby, and a recognizable way to value these cardboard items. Most do agree the big card collecting boom started with 1981 as Donruss and Fleer and Topps Traded added to the collectors, bystanders, investors, and anyone else, catching on to the concept that cards may not just be for children to save.

The economics of card collecting and the related publications, storage products, Etc., changed forever with the 1981 releases. To me that should be enough to make 1980 a reasonable, however debateable, starting point for "Vintage".

wlf3

how about this: anything issued in series' to that point was vintage, one series is modern ... tho it's hard tossing 75 and 76 in modern.

koby

PSA's November Collector's Club Special is for modern cards. Only 1972 to present cards are eligible.

There you have it.....

1971 = vintage

1972 = modern

estang

I think pre-1981 is vintage. The Topps/Fleer/Donruss market share war of 1981 onward led to another era of cards that I would consider modern. Just like Beckett does with their BVG / BGS ---

Within vintage you can have eras. Tobacco era, Topps era etc...

One day 1981 to 1990 may be considered an era. An era of mainly single branded offerings by manufacturers. 1991 to present is an era of brand proliferation and inserts.

Just my take...

helionaut

It's funny reading posts like this. In comics there's always a debate over eras, which they call "ages" over there. There's the Victorian Age, Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Modern. Plus, some people have started wedging a Copper Age in between bronze and Modern, which lasted basically 7 years. While a lot more comics than cards are produced in any given year, the history is somewhat longer, and it's much broader market, I think they've gone too far the other way with these classifications. But I guess categorizing things in terms of continuity and worlds and creators and characters and stories and cover prices and methods of production and distribution makes dealing with it a little easier. With cards, it's the same game every year, so the line between ages is more completely subjective. Anyway, IMHO, vintage cards end with 1973 Topps.

Gemmy10

By the way, when I started this post I was referring to the year 1970 and not the whole decade.