Baseball card collecting is one of the most popular hobbies around. The first baseball cards entered circulation in the 1860s and their collection had become a billion dollar market by the late 1980s. Today, baseball cards are available in an extensive variety of shapes, sizes, and designs to appeal to a wide range of collectors. Here are some things you should know to get started with baseball card collecting.
Baseball Card Basics
Baseball cards are generally printed on a small rectangular piece of cardboard, although they can be found in a range of other sizes and materials. They typically have a prominent picture of a particular player on the front, while the back lists the player’s biography and statistics along with a card number and another image of the player. When first released, the cards were used by companies as advertising to sell products and were frequently given away for free. Today, some of the rarest baseball cards can sell for thousands of dollars.
Baseball Card Types
Base Cards – Base cards are the individual cards that make up regular sets, which can consist of hundreds of cards. There are some base sets targeting only the best players from the previous season that carry fewer than 100 cards.
Subsets – Subsets are collections of up to 40 cards within a base set that feature players with similar traits. Subsets can be identified by a unique printed symbol or a noticeable difference in design than the traditional base cards of the larger set.
Rookie Cards – Rookie cards are in high demand and often command a premium price. They are the base card from the first year a player is included in a major set.
Insert Cards – Insert cards are special edition cards that are often distinguished by a foil serial number or by a significantly different design from the base series. They can be very rare. The odds for potential inclusion of an insert card are listed on the back of the baseball card pack.
Parallel cards – Parallel cards look similar to a player’s base card except for a small change to the design. They are often serial-numbered and can have colored borders, colored foil, or a refractive image.
Autograph cards – Autograph cards come in three distinct types. The first is those that are hand-signed by the player, which are the most valuable. The second type has a signed autograph sticker placed on the card. The last type has autographs of deceased players that have been obtained from some other source.
Collection Types
The wide variety of baseball cards available means that a collector can make just about any theme the focus of their collection. Here are the most common types of baseball card collecting popular today.
Set Building – attempting to obtain one example of every card in a particular series of cards.
Team Collecting – collecting as many cards as possible of a favorite team.
Player Collecting – attempting to collect every card issued of a certain player.
Parallel Rainbow Collecting – collecting a set of similar cards that have different borders or colored foil.
Vintage Collecting – generally understood to be the collection of cards released prior to 1980, though time frames can vary.
Prospecting – the collection of cards of young players that have not yet reached the majors.
Ways To Get Baseball Cards
Trading – Trading remains a popular way to obtain baseball cards. Trading is often done in person but can also be done online on collecting forums and websites.
Retail Stores – While there are fewer local card stores carrying baseball cards than in the past, mass retailers have taken up the slack, with some offering exclusive cards at their stores to drive sales.
Card Shows – Card shows usually appear on the weekends in major cities and feature various dealers with tables of cards and memorabilia for sale. The biggest card show held annually is the National Sports Card Collectors Convention.
Mail Catalogs – Many established and well-known companies sell a wide selection of baseball cards through the mail via their catalogs.
Online – Many online sellers offer baseball cards for sale, including eBay, Amazon, and Facebook Marketplace. Cards can also be purchased from specialty baseball-focused websites and auctions.
Caring For Baseball Cards
If you want your baseball cards to keep their value, you must take proper care of them. The cards should be stored in a cool, dry place away from excessive humidity and out of direct sunlight. Cards should never be placed in a sticky photo album and should only be handled with clean, dry hands.
Common methods of storing baseball cards include:
Cardboard card boxes – come in different sizes to hold different amounts of cards, are stackable, and are easily stored in a closet or other storage space.
Plastic pages – are designed to display cards while protecting them between thin sheets of clear plastic and can be stored in an album.
Card holders – are made of semi-rigid clear plastic and are snapped or screwed together. They are often used in tandem with clear thin ‘penny sleeves’ to protect rare or valuable cards.
