Posted By:
John SpencerWhile I am first and foremost a collector, and at one time a part-time dealer, I always, like most of us, had an abiding interest in the value of my collection. My collecting interest has always been geared to pre-war cards, as I thought it was the "golden age" of the game. But equally important I thought the cards from this time would hold their value better than a boatload of Dwight Gooden rookies. I have been fortunate enough to buy the majority of my collection when prices were not at their current statrospheric levels. In other words I would not and could not start in this niche area in 2006. As an investment, like almost anything, cards will move in line with economic barometers; the stock market, the price of oil, jobless rate, housing values, disposal income, etc. Hence, timing is a critical component when buying and selling vintage cards. The REA and recent Mastro auctions confirm that we are certainly in a bull market. Perhaps a personal example will help illustrate. Around 1999, I bought on Ebay a PSA 7 E98 Bresnahan for around $500. In May of this year I consigned it to Mastro for the auction which ended last night. It fetched $7,000, bringing a return that far outsripped any investment I ever made in the past. Are prices like this sustainable? Who knows, but I am certain that card prices like stocks, bonds or commodities (not to mention swamp land in Florida or Dutch tulips)are cyclical and can fall at any time conditions warrant it. The beauty of being a collector versus an investor is that I won't ever feel compelled to sell the collection at a certain time to reach a price target. I can just enjoy it.