When I'm not scouring the web or local card shows for deals on vintage cards, I enjoy reading a good book.
I've discovered some excellent baseball card books over the years.
Here, I wanted to share a few different ideas for fellow collectors.
Not by any means an exhaustive list, so if you have a vintage baseball card book recommendation, please leave a comment below.
Someone asked me recently what the rarest baseball card is of all time?
While immediate thoughts for many center on the T206 Honus Wagner card, we have the population data that shows the card isn't quite as rare as most people think (about 50-75 copies of the T206 Wagner are thought to exist).
Collectors probably think the T206 Wagner card is the rarest of all time but it's not really close.
So, what is the rarest baseball card? The question is not an easy one to answer. The immediate starting point would be any card with an existing population less than say 50 cards (making it rarer than the Wagner).
But there are quite a few cards with low 'graded' populations. And then the guesswork comes in to try and determine the existing 'ungraded' population.
As an example, lets examine the 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth card, which is by most accounts, Ruth's rarest baseball card.
PSA has graded three copies, SGC has graded 6, so we can probably safely assume there are less than 20 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth rookies out there.
Most collectors eyeing an investment in the pre-war tobacco baseball cards shoot for the big time hall of famers like Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, and Christy Mathewson as a few examples.
And most without a strong familiarity of tobacco card options, head straight for the premier sets from the early 1900's such as the ever popular T206 White Borders set.
However, what if I were to tell you there's a much cheaper (and rarer) option than the T206 set, with the ability to get cards featuring multiple hall of famers on one card?
That set is the 1913 T200 Fatima Team Card set, and although there are only sixteen cards in the set, it is one that all vintage card investors need to be familiar with.
If you've followed some of my past writings, you might know that I often opine on the investment side of the sports card business.
And even pure collectors need to keep an eye on market activity!
Since one might be foolhardy to not at least take advantage of some of the immense market gains (or at least think about it).
Last January, I suggested that the vintage sports card market might indeed be in a bubble. And in March, I said we definitely might be there.
While, the card market definitely deflated in 2022, the most damage was done in the modern card market and newer vintage cards (think Jordan rookie card) with more overall supply.
Bob Feller was one of the best pitchers in baseball history. He played for the Cleveland Indians from 1936 to 1956, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.
Feller was a hard-throwing right-hander who struck out more than two hundred batters in a season five times. He also pitched three no-hitters, and was the first pitcher to throw a no-hitter on Opening Day.
Feller served in the Navy during World War II, and came back to baseball after the war. He helped the Indians win the World Series in 1948.
If you are a fan of baseball, then Bob Feller's baseball cards need to be on your radar.
In this piece we will discuss our picks for the best Bob Feller baseball cards to invest in.
Ernie Banks was not just a Hall of Fame player. He was a Chicago icon.
His signature "Let's play two!" approach to the game of baseball thrilled Cubs fans, as did his uncommon power from the shortstop position.
Off the field, his charitable work and success as a businessman earned him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. A testament to his enduring reputation among Americans, young and old.
The 1954 Ernie Banks rookie card is a timeless classic appealing to vintage baseball card collectors.
Let's take a deeper look at what makes this player and card so special.
Before the days of TV's and iPads and iPhones, US consumers were forced to keep themselves occupied without screens (can you imagine!?).
In the late 1800's and early 1900's board games were quite popular in the states.
Between 1904 and 1906 a company named Fan Craze out of Cincinnati, Ohio offered its own spin on the table game movement.
The less popular 1904 Fan Craze game featured a set of cards without player images. Each card included a baseball play (such as 'Bunt' or 'Homerun') and players would take turns selecting a card to advance their batter on a playing board (shown below).
(side note, PSA has erroneously labeled the 1906 Fan Craze AL set as 1904 Fan Craze and still does to this day even though both the AL and the NL sets were released in 1906).
The most popular pre-war tobacco card set is the 1909-1911 T206 'White Borders' set.
Known as 'The Monster' for its large size (a complete set is 524 cards), collectors remain drawn to the beauty and mystique of the set.
The popularity has never wavered, even in times of stress in the sports card market, as we are experiencing at the moment.
The low existing supplies and the high demand from collectors have kept prices on a steady upswing over the years.
Those with existing investments in T206 cards are more than happy to see prices rise.
Yet, for those looking to enter the T206 game, the high costs of many of the key HOF cards can leave many budget-minded collectors out of the loop.
Today, we estimate the cost to build a near complete 520 card T206 White Borders set to be $65K.
Note that these estimates are for a T206 set consisting of 520 cards. This leaves out the big four (Wagner, Plank, 'Magie', and Doyle NY), which are scarce and cost prohibitive.
Most vintage collectors, at one time or another, have had their eye on the T206 White Borders set.
For set builders, the complete 524 card set is nearly impossible, unless your pockets are lined with gold.
The reason?
The elusive holy grail card of Honus Wagner will cost at a minimum in the many millions.
Not to mention a very cost-prohibitive and rare Eddie Plank card.
And two very, very hard-to-find (and expensive) error cards of Sherry "Magie" and Joe Doyle (N.Y. Nat'l variation).
Thus, some collectors land at a target of 520 for the T206 set, skipping the impossible four of Wagner, Plank, Magie, and Doyle.
The 1957 Topps Baseball card set was the sixth baseball card issue for Topps and one of the all-time classic baseball card sets.
In our ranking of the best Topps sets of all time, we listed the 1957 Topps set as the fifth-best Topps set overall.
The set blends the simplicity of design with excellent star power (Mantle, Mays, Aaron). A solid rookie class, highlighted by the Frank Robinson and Brooks Robinson rookie cards make it a desired set for vintage collectors.
Follow along as I explore the 1957 Topps Baseball Card Set. As follows, I dive into scarcity, investment potential, and the most valuable cards in the set.
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