in your opinion, which is a better longterm investment?

TheSonOfZeke

I'm wanting to get back into collecting some cards, but I want to be more focused in a specific area than I've been in the past. in your opinions, which of these would be a better investment.......

graded stars and rookies from the 70s and 80s, such as Murray, Dawson, Mattingly, Clemens, etc etc rookies graded in the PSA 7-9 range

or

ungraded sets from the 50s and 60s that would probably grade in the PSA 4-6 range


I have most of the stars and rookies from the 70s and 80s (I'm 28, so this was my "childhood"). some are graded, some are not.

I would like to be able to focus in on a nice set. I would like to do a 1955 Topps, the year my parents were born, it's a small set and there's no high priced Mantle in it.

just wondering what you guys thoughts were. I know it should be more about the hobby than money, I just don't want to spend money on something that's going to be close to worthless 20 years from now.

Allen

50s and 60s sets for sure.
1955 Has no Mantle but does require a $2,000 Clemente Rookie, $800 Koufax Rookie and $600 ea. Williams, Snider and Mays

koby

Do not treat cards from the 1970s and 1980s as investments.

TheSonOfZeke

yeah, but I was thinking ungraded in vg-ex-exmt condition. so a Koufax could probably be had in the $150-$200 range. ungraded vintage is still a better bet than 70s and 80s?

Stone193

We could use a "board" investment advisor!

Stock, bonds, mutual funds, real estate etc. are for investment of funds and the divident is earnings while sports cards, collectibles etc. are for investment of time and funds and the dividend is enjoyment IMO.

The people who make decent money do so as a by-product but usually with extremely high grade material, in general. Now, if your collection happens to appreciate along the way and you have to sell and make a little money, consider it a bonus for the investment of your time. This, IMO, is what a hobby is all about: the shear pleasure of finding that elusive final card for the set e.g.

Just my opinion - as well as for others here who see this as a hobby and not an investment enterprise.

Happy Easter
mike

edit: At 28, I think you should be talking to an estate advisor who will direct you towards maximizing your work 401K or equivalent and a personal IRA, like a Roth, if they haven't changed the rules on it. Again, the kind of advice my dad would give me. Then at age 59, you would have something substantial rather than "hoping" that you can sell your collectibles for a profit.

justanoldtimer

Im a packrat, I trade Green paper with pictures and #'s for cardboard with pictures and #'s Some just take more green paper then others.. I rarely trade the cardboard back for the green paper..

jrdolan

I haven't tried this myself, but my gut tells me that stars and low-pop commons are easier to sell individually then trying to unload the whole set at the same time. And I wouldn't think raw VG-EX cards are the best place to park your money. Just my opinion.

Building a VG-EX set for FUN is a different matter, but you asked about investing.

koby

Do not treat VG-EX cards from the 1950s as investments.

goudeygold

I agree with Koby. Nothing from the 70s and 80s. 50-60s you need to be pushing PSA 7-8 and that isn't really that rare in most cases, however I'll spin the record again and say your best investment bet is pre-war EX 5 or better. Thats pre-48. Remember its always quality over quantity if your wanting to preserve your investment. Cards should be fun and blah blah, but your question concerns money and pre-war is where its at and will continue to be. There is simply too much VG-EX to EX-MT raw from the 50s out there.

GG

goudeygold

Forgot to mention, in the 50s-60s if your going for sets your going to be looking at hundreds and hundreds of commons in every set. these will never be in much demand unless they are very high grade.

GG