Baseball Card Collecting

So, the thought of starting a baseball card collection has crossed your mind, but you're not sure if it's worth starting one right? Of course you know that some could be valuable but what's the use of starting one now?

Well, first of all, if you're not into baseball, then just never mind it. It's not worth it to do if it's not something that you're going to have fun with, so that should be your first concern. By the way, don't feel like a big dope if you're an adult, because you can be assured that millions of adults, as well as kids are collecting baseball cards. These aren't Pokeman cards were talking about (though you'd be surprised by how many adults collect those as well).

Don't be frustrated because it seems that you're way behind already in your collection. Starting is ultimately the fun part of all this. And besides, nobody starts ahead. Who are you competing against anyways? Just start your own collection, and not pay attention to who's got the best baseball cards. Yours are the best as far as you're concerned right? Enjoy the process.

Now the good part is that yes, baseball cards can be looked at as an investment. I wouldn't put them up against your stocks, or plan on retiring off of them but it is good to know that they'll appreciate, and you can surely appreciate that can't you?

The value of a baseball card is determined by the performance level, and/or popularity of the player. Duh! I'm sure you figured that out right? But the point that I'm about to make relies on that little bit of info because if you factor that in, then the fun of being able to speculate the players who will have a valuable card comes into play then.

How do you do this? Very simple!

Keep track of the guys who aren't even major leaguers yet. How do you do that? Watch the minor leaguers. Keep track of the players on minor league teams, and when the ones who look promising come up, grab their rookie cardsand hope and pray they do just as well in the major leagues. You do that and you've got yourself a winner on your hands (or at least a cool trading tool).

Now comes the question of which brand of baseball cards is the best. There's no doubt that the one on the top of your list should be Bowman cards. Bowman Baseball Cardstend to keep the most value of all the cards on the market to date. However, if you can get your hands on a Topp's card, of any of your favorite players then that's not going to be a bad investment either.

Of course the best place to go for baseball cards is a hobby shop. They usually will have a good mixture of very valuable cards, the type that you'll have to get a second mortgage on your home, as well as the regular baseball cards of the guys who are presently playing. In other words they have a nice range of good cards.

The other way to find good cards for cheap is to buy them in packs at the grocery store, drug stores, or even the ice cream truck. Of course you're not going to get a Babe Ruth in there, but guess what! At one time, some kid probably got a Babe Ruth card from his local grocery store back in the day, socked away in a drawer, and now he can cash it in and put a down payment on his grandson's house. So don't underestimate the cheap cards.

Of course in the age of the Internet, your favorite card is just a click away. That's all good and well, but what about the fun and anticipation of it all?

Either way, enjoy the journey of the ultimate baseball card collection.

What would you do with $2.8 Million bucks?

Well not many people would think to go out and buy a baseball card, but one private collector did just that on Sept. 6th, buying the most valuable baseball card of all time, the 1909 T206 Honus Wagner Baseball Card. This card is so valuable mostly because of it's scarcity.

When American Tobacco started producing the card, Wagner squashed the printing of the cards automatically because he actually didn't want to be apart of promoting cigarette smoking toward children; so only about 100 were printed, and only about 50 or 60 are thought to be in existence today. The one that was sold for $2.8 million however was in perfect condition of course, being covered for decades and decades.

This is a card that's changed hands about 5 times in the last ten years, with Hockey player and Hall of Famer Wayne Gretsky being a past owner.

This just goes to show you that baseball cards are still going strong and the ones you have and are keeping in good condition are growing in value every single day.