For any stock investors that were active traders during the late 1990’s the mention of the word ‘bubble’ brings back some rather unpleasant memories.

A more recent ‘bubble’ that younger collectors would be more familiar with involves the recent hysteria surrounding Bitcoin and other associated cryptocurrencies. Cards even experienced their own bubble during the early 90’s.

While I’ve advocated that vintage cards can be viewed as a good long term investment for collectors, there are some warning signs that we should all be aware of.  

I want to review some of my concerns and alert collector’s to some of my research on the topic.  

Note this isn’t meant as a piece to scare collectors into selling their entire collections but something that I think at least warrants a discussion.

I hope you will provide some commentary as to your thoughts on the subject. 

I had always been vaguely familiar with the Turkey Red (T3) Tobacco Cabinet cards, but it wasn’t until I had one in my hands that I truly appreciated their beauty. 

These over-sized ‘cabinet’ cards feature beautiful full length lithography and were issued as a premium for customers of Turkey Red cigarettes from 1910 through 1911. 

The 100 card set is chock full of Hall of Famers, including Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson, Cy Young and Nap Lajoie.  

What I found to be the most appealing feature of the set is the fact that the images (for the most part) are identical to their T206 counterparts, yet in a beautiful over-sized lithograph. 

The cards are actually scarcer than the T206 and T205 cards, and in my opinion undervalued comparatively.  

In this piece, we’ll take a deep dive into the T3 Turkey Reds set, examining the details and history of the cards, along with ways to collect and distinguish from counterfeits on the market.  

‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson was one of the best hitters to ever play the game of baseball. He batted over .370 in four different seasons and is third all time in overall batting average.

Babe Ruth named Jackson to his all-time baseball team, as did Ty Cobb.  Jackson hit .408 in 1911, which still marks the sixth-highest single-season total of all time.

Despite his prowess on the field, Jackson was never enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame, due to his involvement in the Black Sox scandal of 1919.

While some still argue that Jackson doesn’t deserve to be a Hall of Famer, his baseball cards remain immensely popular.

Shoeless Joe might never make it to the hall, but his old baseball cards will likely remain high desired by vintage collectors. 

In this piece, we take a look at Shoeless Joe’s baseball cards from his playing days.  Unfortunately, the majority of his cards are on the scarcer and pricier side, making it a bit tougher for the most cost conscious collectors.