Which vintage cards have the best investment potential?

zendude

I'm curious what people think would be some wise cards to target in this buyer's market.

bvc

PSA 8 or higher Ed Farmer rookie cards.

Dboneesq

mrmint23

Well centered Hi grade living Hall of Famers from the 50 and 60's.

vladguerrero

I would also say Farmer, can't lose.

fkw

Ask 50 people and youll get 50 different answers...

One thing for certain.......Nothing modern or common ie. ALL Topps/Bowman/etc. (except a few Test Issues)


My answer is always going to be the obvious..... based solely around supply and demand, and being able to find deals for pennies on the dollar (some people dont know what they have)

with many collectors becoming "type card collectors"
Id say...
Very Rare PreWar Minor League "Type Cards" in mid to lower grade (Raw).... if you can find them for 1999 prices ....

ie 1910 Balt News, 1911 Big Eaters, D380, 1940 Crowley's, 1928 PCL Exhibits, 1940 Hughe's Confections, 1913 Oaks Team Issue, 1918 Zeenuts w/tabs, etc.



PS. 2nd choice would be Hall of Famer PreRookies (the oldest known cards/premiums/postcards of HOFers)

Dpeck100

Find this in a PSA 10 and you will hit a gold mine. Will easily top $5,000.

bking

<< <i>


Find this in a PSA 10 and you will hit a gold mine. Will easily top $5,000. >>



Which is probably more than TNA nets on a PPV after they pay this dinosaur. No offense to Hogan in his prime, but it's time for him to hang it up.

jmmiller777

I'm going with the 50's-60's PSA/Beckett 8-10 graded HOFer's for investment. Once you start going back farther than the 50's you will start laying down some serious money for those grades in the 6-9 range. I also love old programs, tickets, oddball stuff (post/jello/etc) and even magazines. There is still some nice stuff out there.

zendude

<< <i>PSA 8 or higher Ed Farmer rookie cards. >>



Thanks so much for the tip. I'm going to corner the market on Ed Farmer rookie cards. Who needs a 401k when I've got Ed Farmer to lead me to the promised land of untold wealth and prosperity.

otwcards

In 20 years, Ed may be the only farmer left . . .

Estil

I'd say the only thing that has investment potential is unopened material (provided it can be properly authenticated). You see, the supply of key graded cards will only go up as more people submit cards to PSA. Sure a card that's in PSA 10 with only 1-2 in that grade is often worth major bucks, but what happens later down the road when more submissions come in (from people no doubt hoping to cash in) and we get say, 5-10 PSA 10s? The value will likely go down.

But with unopened packs OTOH, they're already pretty darn rare (especially 60s and earlier) and very valuable. In fact, even late 70s and early 80s Topps wax boxes are typically more expensive than the complete set--what you're paying extra for is the rarity and collectiblity of the box, not for what might be in it. And as people continue to bust the packs open (and if you've been on here regularly you know there's lots of collectors who can't get enough of opening vintage packs) they will only get rarer and rarer. And thus the value will go up.

Make sense?

53BKid

That's really a good question zendude. Not easy to answer.

I think that there's still a lot of potential in short prints and high numbers from the 50s and 60s. They can be so difficult to find. I also think those years where cards are prone to chipping--'53, '62, '63, '71 and are difficult to find in sharp condition will have better performance.

itzagoner

Rick and Willie.

fiveniner

Mick "the quick" Rivers rookie cards. Jusy Kiddin!! Actually the Mays and Aaron and Musial cards.They were three of the greatest players in the Golden Era however not to take away anything from the Mick or Ted Williams those 3 cards I believe stll have some potential for growth.

eagles33

1965 lampo Cassius clay cards. For one of the most famous athletes of all time his "rookie" card is still undervalued IMO. I think the lampo has all of the characteristics to make it a great investment. It's a scarce card. It's the first traditional card of Ali that isn't hand cut or from a game, it's about the size of a traditional card and is in color so has good eye appeal. I know boxing cards are nowhere near as popular as baseball or football but I think Ali's popularity could carry this card. Also psa just started grading these which could increase demand. A bgs 3.5 sold for 1000. No psa ones have hit the market but 6 have been graded. The only thing holding this back is the confusion as to what Ali's rookie is. Some prefer his handcut cards from 1960, other choose the 64 game card ect...

Not vintage but I think 80 s star basketball has upside. Besides containing the first cards of some of the nba's best of all time there is a potential catalyst for them to trade higher. IF psa ever decides to grade these it would be huge for them. They might never decide to grade them though... You still would have the first cards of several HOFers that are considerably more rare than 86 fleer

RookieWax

<< <i>I'd say the only thing that has investment potential is unopened material (provided it can be properly authenticated). You see, the supply of key graded cards will only go up as more people submit cards to PSA. Sure a card that's in PSA 10 with only 1-2 in that grade is often worth major bucks, but what happens later down the road when more submissions come in (from people no doubt hoping to cash in) and we get say, 5-10 PSA 10s? The value will likely go down.

But with unopened packs OTOH, they're already pretty darn rare (especially 60s and earlier) and very valuable. In fact, even late 70s and early 80s Topps wax boxes are typically more expensive than the complete set--what you're paying extra for is the rarity and collectiblity of the box, not for what might be in it. And as people continue to bust the packs open (and if you've been on here regularly you know there's lots of collectors who can't get enough of opening vintage packs) they will only get rarer and rarer. And thus the value will go up.

Make sense? >>



Great points. And even certain mass-produced late 1980s to early 1990s products which have HOF rookie cards have some potential to increase in UNOPENED form. Mainly because it is so cheap right now, it really has nowhere to go but up. Also, in open product, I think anything (even stuff from the 1980s) that was printed in lower quantities due to demand at the time (NOT short prints used as gimmick inserts) have good potential. I am talking about 1970s Topps basketball, the first few years of Fleer basketball, 1981 Donruss golf, and the Topps Tiffany and Score glossy cards.

hookem

<< <i>1965 lampo Cassius clay cards. For one of the most famous athletes of all time his "rookie" card is still undervalued IMO. I think the lampo has all of the characteristics to make it a great investment. It's a scarce card. It's the first traditional card of Ali that isn't hand cut or from a game, it's about the size of a traditional card and is in color so has good eye appeal. I know boxing cards are nowhere near as popular as baseball or football but I think Ali's popularity could carry this card. Also psa just started grading these which could increase demand. A bgs 3.5 sold for 1000. No psa ones have hit the market but 6 have been graded. The only thing holding this back is the confusion as to what Ali's rookie is. Some prefer his handcut cards from 1960, other choose the 64 game card ect...

Not vintage but I think 80 s star basketball has upside. Besides containing the first cards of some of the nba's best of all time there is a potential catalyst for them to trade higher. IF psa ever decides to grade these it would be huge for them. They might never decide to grade them though... You still would have the first cards of several HOFers that are considerably more rare than 86 fleer >>



I agree on both accounts except I like the 1960 Hemmlet's for Clay. I even like the 1962 Rekord.

I am really interested in the Star cards now that BGS is grading them. I am thinking of selling my 1986 Fleer Jordan and buying an 1984 Star.

wrestlingcardking

i prefer the Lampo Cassius Clay

NickM

IMO Hank Aaron cards have strong growth potential with as little downside risk as any card. As home run totals return to normalcy, Aaron's clean 755 will become even more impressive to fans - I don't see anyone passing 755 in the next couple decades who won't have an asterisk after their name in the public consciousness.

Nick

MBMiller25

I personally believe there is nice upside on highly graded post war HOF RC's that are autographed.

lanemyer85

<< <i>

<< <i>PSA 8 or higher Ed Farmer rookie cards. >>



Thanks so much for the tip. I'm going to corner the market on Ed Farmer rookie cards. Who needs a 401k when I've got Ed Farmer to lead me to the promised land of untold wealth and prosperity. >>



yes but Ed Farmer will also rob you of your organs (only White Sox fans will likely understand that one)

natetrook

Mickey Mantle cards in high grade rarely go down.
Mild softening at times, but usually stands the test of time.

Vintage RC of Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks, Sandy Koufax, Clemente, Mays should do well over time.

And, nobody has lost money on a Honus Wagner t-206.
Nate

TheCARDKid

-52 Topps Mantle. I think the first PSA 10 sold for $120,000 in 1996? And now it is $1.5 million, or something. Pretty good ROI in 15 years.

-33 Goudey Lajoie in a PSA 9. It's auctioned for $100-130 k. Seems cheap considering how rare it is, I wouldn't be suprised if it moves up in tandem with the t206 wagner, t206 plank, etc.

Unopened packs and boxes from the 50's and 60's. i don't think you'll lose much money on. Even a "weak" box, like 1968 topps football (for $4,800), I don't see how you'd lose much money at $200 a pack. Its hard to see any regular issue 60's topps pack going below $100 or $150 (because of the break value of the cards).

1952 topps (baseball) nickel packs use to be $1,500-2,000 in the 90's. Pretty good return.

-Ruth, Gehrig, Dimaggio, etc. I don't think people have lost much money with these.

MULLINS5

<< <i>


Find this in a PSA 10 and you will hit a gold mine. Will easily top $5,000. >>




eh...more like 2.8 ounces of gold.