Posted By:
JoannI think that in 2038 the collectible cards from present era may, unfortunately, turn out to be the chase cards or "Sets within the set" (minis, autos, etc).
Ever since the mid-70's or so, rarity of sets or cards has been almost nil. People started realizing that the older cards were valuable, and stopped throwing out their kids's collections. I can't even guess at how many full sets from the 80's and 90's are still around, and will always be around because their owners would rather keep them and hope they attain value someday.
But the chase cards and with-in set sets are rarer even today, and once the nostalgia for this era sets in someday, these will be the pursued collectibles.
So what would a type card collector be? Someone that wants every game-used jersey card issued by any company in 1998? Or someone going for every game-used anything card of Albert Pujols throughout his career? Or every Derek Jeter autograph card? Or would those be set collectors?
Granted, there are some that collect these things and these ways now, but maybe not with the vigor and enthusiasm with which we pursue our cards or maybe without the competition. Once they are older and people get nostalgic, I think it will pick up and the relative rarity will help drive the process.
J