I’m slightly late on this one, but another collector alerted me to this lawsuit regarding a Fake PSA 10 Michael Jordan rookie card.

Donald Spence, who is a heavyweight in collecting circles (just take a look at his PSA registry here) is the plaintiff in the suit. 

Back in May 2017, Spence purchased a purported PSA 10 graded Michael Jordan Fleer rookie card from Common Cents Coins in an eBay transaction worth $19,999.99.  

I’ve covered the Jordan rookie card quite extensively, both from an authenticity standpoint (here, here and here) along with the investment side of investing in the card (here and here).

We’ve spoken about unopened vintage wax packs on the blog, but I have recently become slightly obsessed with vintage basketball packs.  Knowing that a 30+ year old pack that once sold for no more than 50 cents could hold a treasure worth in the multiple thousands is fascinating, to say the least.

I was buying ’86 fleer packs as a kid, and never did I realize that I should have had my parents mortgaging their house to buy every single 1986 Fleer case in existence to hold for 35 years. 

I purchased a couple of unopened 86 Fleer packs a few years back on eBay before I became more knowledgeable on packs, and know I likely bought some resealed packs.   I’ve also been a part of a few 1986 Fleer pack breaks, one of which a Jordan rookie card was pulled (not my spot, unfortunately).  

When I learned about the 1986 Fleer sequence, I became slightly obsessed with the topic, wondering if a) it might be possible to identify what packs actually hold a Jordan rookie card and b) if those packs could still be found available for sale at a discount.

Thus, this post will discuss 1986 Fleer packs in detail–both the numerical sequencing and the investment case for unopened 1986 Fleer basketball wax packs. 

Common print stain/defects on bird/magic rookie which can help us often distinguish real cards from the fakes.

The 1980-81 Topps Bird/Magic rookie card has seen a huge increase in price this year; for most grades, an increase of more than 300%.

Back in June of last year, we posited that the Bird/Magic rookie might actually be undervalued given the hysteria with Michael Jordan’s rookie card. 

With the rise in value for the Bird/Magic rookie card, there is certainly the potential for more fakes to hit the market. 

In this piece, we review the Bird/Magic rookie card, help identify and fakes, and ultimately try and help collectors avoid buying a counterfeit card.

If you have a Bird/Magic rookie card you think might be suspect, shoot me an email to chris@allvintagecards.com.  

It’s widely accepted that the only three major card graders in the hobby are PSA, SGC and Beckett.  

There have been many upstart graders over the years but those are the main three that are still standing strong.  

Still, we have many cards in circulation from other now defunct grading companies. I get questions from collectors all the time asking if they should trust so and so card in such and such holder they found on eBay.

So, I thought it would be helpful for collectors to have a ‘Sports Card Grading Graveyard’ where we list out old card graders and whether or not their slabs/grades should be trusted.  

Thus, this list is a collection of our experience with other grading companies along with our research sourcing opinions from other websites such as the Net54 Forums and Blowout Forums (both unbelievable resources).

Sports card values have been on an unworldly increase of late. 

The rise has given credence to the belief that sports cards should be earmarked for collectors as a part of their overall investment portfolio.  

And I certainly have advocated that cards should be thought of as an entirely distinct asset class, separate from stocks, bonds, art, etc. 

Yet, the hysteria of late has me moderately concerned; I’m noticing signs that indicate we may be in the midst of another asset bubble in the sports card world.  

In this piece I discuss some of my concerns regarding card prices, some of the red flags that I’ve noticed and where we might go from here. 

As always if you have any thoughts on the current state of the hobby–please comment below or feel free to email me at chris@allvintagecards.com

The Ryan Rookie card is the top rookie and most valuable card in the 1968 Topps set.

When talking about the most recognizable and most valuable cards in the hobby, the 1968 Topps Nolan Ryan Rookie card is near the top of the list. 

Ryan was one of the greatest pitchers to play the game of baseball, and from an early age he was wowing scouts with his fastball.  

While he often gets left out of the Top 10 lists for pitchers due to his less than stellar control (Ryan averaged nearly 5 walks per 9 innings over his career), his record as the all time strikeout leader speaks for itself.   Ryan’s seven no hitters are also a major league record.  

Ryan’s rookie card remains in high demand among vintage collectors, with higher graded copies of his Topps rookie (and OPC/Milton Bradley variations) fetching record prices at auction. 

In this piece, we’ll review the career of one Lynn ‘Nolan’ Ryan Jr. while examining his 1968 Topps rookie card, including the existing population, current values and investment potential. 

I’ve had the unfortunate experience of breaking the news to many eBay buyers that the card they spent multiple thousands of dollars on was a fake.

Thankfully eBay has strong buyer protection rules in place along with PayPal guarantees and options to dispute the transaction through your credit card company.  Thus, many of the buyers I’ve spoken to have been able to recover their funds.  

Still, I really hope that eBay can develop a program for sports cards, similar to what they have done with sneakers and watches.  

Despite this, I decided that I should create a guide to help buyers protect themselves from the most unscrupulous of eBay sellers. 

eBay does a good job of shutting down fake listings if enough people complain, but often times many fall through the cracks.  

Note that eBay does require that any cards that have a questionable authenticity be listed as a reprint, yet buyers are still bidding up these cards thinking they’ve found a diamond in the rough.

This guide will help you avoid these mistakes and help you become a better-informed buyer when purchasing sports cards on eBay. 

The 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth cards have been on absolute fire of late, with the Lou Gehrig cards (there are two) from the same set not too far behind.  

I often get inspiration for new counterfeit resource guides from the questions coming in to me.  And I’ve had a lot of requests for help of late in authenticating Goudey Ruth cards, with many of them ending up being outright fakes. 

So, in yet another attempt to help fellow collectors avoid getting scammed, this guide is all you need to know in distinguishing a fake Goudey Ruth or Gehrig from the real deal.   To note, the Goudeys can be among the toughest to distinguish in the hobby due to some better than average reprints. 

Also, one quick point too.  I’m not going to get every authentication question right.  Especially when dealing with only photos.  Sometimes, just the wrong angle or the wrong light can make a card look questionable from a photo.  So, all of this to say, buy a loupe and read this article!  

And…one last thing I need to get off my chest.  Often times the game of authentication (especially when not done in person) is a game of weighing the red flags.  For example, if a raw card is selling for only a small discount versus a graded copy, and there is even one small concern, forget about it.  Why take the risk?  And if you are dealing with the same question from a seller on eBay with questionable feedback…move on! 

Of course, once again, if you have any questions on a Goudey Ruth or Gehrig you might have, feel free to email me at chris@allvintagecards.com.

An authentic Michael Jordan 1984 Star XRC #101 Card

Ever since we published our interview with Star cards expert Steve Taft, we’ve had an increasing number of inquiries on Star basketball cards.

And the focus of the questions we receive typically are regarding the 1984 Michael Jordan Star XRC (or extended rookie card) #101.  

Jordan’s 1986 Fleer rookie card has become the essential card to own for nearly all vintage basketball collectors, yet Jordan’s Star XRC card still remains a bit of an afterthought in comparison.

In this piece, we examine the 1984 Star Jordan #101 XRC a bit closer and more importantly help collectors determine how to identify a fake copy.  

Vintage basketball card collectors have been pushing up values of Julius Erving’s rookie card of late.  And for good reason, Erving’s 1972 Topps rookie card is a hobby legend, one of the most valuable basketball cards of all time.

The rookie card of one ‘Dr J’ as he was better known, features Erving as a member of the Virgnia Squires, one of the teams of the American Basketball Association (ABA). 

Erving led a storied career, first with the Squires and Nets of the ABA, while finishing up his career with the Philadelphia 76ers.

While Erving tends to get overshadowed by some of the bigger name stars from the era such as Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, his rookie card has found renewed interest.  

In this piece, we’ll review the career of Dr. J, while examining his 1972 Topps rookie card, including the existing population, current values and investment potential.