Question on old postcard collecting

[darkhorse9]

I know there are several people on here that collect vintage baseball related postcards. Some of them are really cool and would be a good addition to my collection.

My question is, though. Does having them written on and a postmark raise or lower the value? To me it would seem to raise the value since the date of issue is guaranteed. That's counterintuative to collecting anything else, though.

I'm sure it's been asked and answered before but I came across some neat old postcards that I might have wanted, but they were in excellent shape with no writing or postmark, so I passed on them. Hopefully I didn't miss a deal.

[Leon]

I have several hundred old baseball type postcards. To me they are better being canceled. I am not sure if value goes up much though. On the regular baseball postcard sets I think cancellation does add some value. I am not as fond of writing on the fronts, but depending on the writing, not a deal breaker. So basically I collect them any which way. I buy them way too often too!

I am ok with the writing on this one..
.

[x2drich2000]

In general I think the value still goes down as people consider them to be marked and the grade suffers as a result. Though I feel like the TPG don't hit them as hard for the writing as they would a standard card. Personally though, I think it gives a great snapshot into people's lives so I have no problem getting ones that are used.

[mrreality68]

I agree with the above mostly if you have it graded by PSA, SGC etc the grade would go down to the condition ( in part the mail and handling) and the writing etc.
The value also depends on the subject matter or the postcard and potentially even the date and context of the postcard writing. For example I saw a postcard that was about a historical game( sadly I do not recall the postcard) and it was dated and mailed on that game.

But in general I think post cards are still under appreciated and under valued. Although they are in recent years starting to escalate in price spending on the player or team etc on it

I was not into post cards but made the leap about 2 years ago

[EddieP]

I supposed the PC will go down in price with a postmark and writing because of the emphasis with looks and Grades. That being said I prefer the ones with postmarks ( free authentication from the USPS), messages and addresses. I view it as a time capsule that you can fit in the palm of your hand: 1) it shows how people thought during then, 2) it shows how the US population grew. The really old ones had only a name, city and state. Then postal codes were added, followed by zip codes, to finally the ZIP+ 4 numbers. 3) it shows how areas changed. Doing a google search on a home address most often shows the area became a retail/ business zone, and 4) you can get some really cool stamps.

[Casey2296]

Love that PC Leon.

[BobC]

If nothing else, a PC being mailed and cancelled pretty much guarantees authenticity, right? I personally don't mind any writing on the back as much, but as mentioned by some, there will always be those who devalue a PC for having any writing on it.

[JustinD]

I personally prefer them postally used for several reasons -

• Dates the piece
• I am a retired philatelist but still love a stamp on things
• The writing can really add to the piece if it pertains to the subject
• character
• character
• and character

I am also occasionally really good at bidding on postcards and then seeing Leon post them after he beats me out, lol.

[joejo20]

I like them postmarked especially if they have a note pertaining to the image but not sure if it increases value. Here is one which pictures three T206 Players who were hired guns on this Northern Michigan Team. It is one I wish had a postmark and writing on the back so I could learn more about it.

[Exhibitman]

I don't have a problem with postal use. It can sometimes turn out to be the most interesting part. I got this one for a dollar because of the condition:




The signed note is from the HOF fighter on the card, Billy Papke, who died in 1931.

Or this one:



This 1914 French PC of Johnson is postmarked 1914 and references a fight in Paris with Frank Moran. It took place June 27, 1914 with Moran losing in 20 rounds.

[prestigecollectibles]

I'd like to find a copy of this one postmarked. PSA has graded 71 of them, yet nobody I know believes it was produced in 1934. It seems like it was produced in the 1960s or 70s, but I haven't found proof yet. As far as I know SGC won't encapsulated them.

[BCauley]

I don't have any but have dabbled in trying to research these types of things a few times. I was always curious if anybody on here was ever lucky enough to stumble upon a bunch of them at an antique mall type place before as they always seem to have a basketful full or two of old post cards.

[riggs336]

I just like reading other people's mail. This message on a Wolverine News pc starts "Dear Pauline, Are you dead or married?"

[Leon]

Originally Posted by BCauley

I don't have any but have dabbled in trying to research these types of things a few times. I was always curious if anybody on here was ever lucky enough to stumble upon a bunch of them at an antique mall type place before as they always seem to have a basketful full or two of old post cards.

I go to antique stores and places as a pastime. I have looked through thousands of postcards and don't remember any I bought. Ebay and auctions have a plethora and they are fun to collect. This one is a rather common Indian team but a very scarce type of postcard. I was surprised I had to pay 500+ for it...but I liked it! It was written on the back by one of the team too. I would pay a little more for the cancellation and writing but that is just me. (and maybe a few others LOL)

[BCauley]

Originally Posted by Leon

I go to antique stores and places as a pastime. I have looked through thousands of postcards and don't remember any I bought. Ebay and auctions have a plethora and they are fun to collect. This one is a rather common Indian team but a very scarce type of postcard. I was surprised I had to pay 500+ for it...but I liked it! It was written on the back by one of the team too. I would pay a little more for the cancellation and writing but that is just me. (and maybe a few others LOL)

That's a great looking card! I agree with you, if I ever go looking to pick one of these up, I'd prefer to have writing on the back and the cancellation. Gives it a bit more of a story.

[BobbyStrawberry]

I started picking up some postcards last year and have had fun looking for them. I really don't know how to value them monetarily, but I love the writing and the cancellations on some of them. It's like a clearer window into the time period.

[nat]

I've shown it before, but here's a postcard mailed from Japan. In 1909 the University of Wisconsin sent its baseball team over to play a bunch of Japanese college teams. (Pro ball wouldn't start there for another 25 years.) The team sent two pitchers on the tour. One got injured in the second game, so Charles "Peck" Nash pitched all the rest of their games. Peck mailed this card back to a friend in Madison during the tour.

[JustinD]

I have plenty of more pricey RPPCs, but sometimes the most satisfaction can come from the least expensive.

This one was a cool fiver with free shipping and seems pointless -



However, the back is a write up on how they attended the opening game of the 1910 Cubs and Athletics World Series just the day prior.



Just fun stuff for pennies.

[GrewUpWithJunkWax]

I don't mind writing at all. Like already mentioned, it's a snapshot in time and can provide a glimpse of what life was like then. And if that lowers that item's value in the eyes of others, better off for us that can appreciate it.

[doug.goodman]

Originally Posted by GrewUpWithJunkWax

I don't mind writing at all. Like already mentioned, it's a snapshot in time and can provide a glimpse of what life was like then. And if that lowers that item's value in the eyes of others, better off for us that can appreciate it.

Yep, I agree.

[Leon]

They are interesting and, relatively speaking, fairly cheap to collect.

[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by Leon

I go to antique stores and places as a pastime. I have looked through thousands of postcards and don't remember any I bought. Ebay and auctions have a plethora and they are fun to collect. This one is a rather common Indian team but a very scarce type of postcard. I was surprised I had to pay 500+ for it...but I liked it! It was written on the back by one of the team too. I would pay a little more for the cancellation and writing but that is just me. (and maybe a few others LOL)

Hey Leon, the card was written by James E Beltzer, the owner/manager of the team. He co-owned the team with his brother Oren "Buck" Beltzer. They purchased the team from Guy Green around 1912. I got blown out of the water on that one. Not sure who your underbidder was, but it went for about $300 more than I bid, and $300 more than any Nebraska Indians postcard has ever sold for as far as I know.

[slidekellyslide]

I should add that James Beltzer is not shown on your postcard, but he is in this one. Far right in the dress suit. His brother Buck is wearing the regular Nebraska Indians uniform at the far left. Buck was an outstanding athlete at the University of Nebraska. The baseball field was named for him before we got a new ball park in 2001.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by BobC

If nothing else, a PC being mailed and cancelled pretty much guarantees authenticity, right? I personally don't mind any writing on the back as much, but as mentioned by some, there will always be those who devalue a PC for having any writing on it.

I've seen antique postcards mailed fairly recently, like maybe 10 years ago.

Some have also been reprinted out of nostalgia, and those get mailed a lot.

But in General, if it's got a stamp and cancel from 1910 then it's at least that old.

[steve B]

A nice one from the local stamp show.
The writing totally made it better.



And how I wrote it up with some help with images from members when I asked about it.




I've been doing similar pages for a lot of the miscellaneous ehemera I've gotten over the years. All of it stuff that was basically forgotten as to what it is and why it's special.

[Bigdaddy]

Not pre-war, but I picked up three Dormand Yankees postcards a couple of years ago off the 'Bay. All three were stamped and mailed to someone in the Bronx who must have requested them from the players. The J.Collins is signed on the back and the Rizzuto is addressed in his hand. Not sure about the addresses on the Collins and Bauer.

I would not trade these for nrmt copies without the writing and postmark/stamp.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by slidekellyslide

Hey Leon, the card was written by James E Beltzer, the owner/manager of the team. He co-owned the team with his brother Oren "Buck" Beltzer. They purchased the team from Guy Green around 1912. I got blown out of the water on that one. Not sure who your underbidder was, but it went for about $300 more than I bid, and $300 more than any Nebraska Indians postcard has ever sold for as far as I know.

I like it so I went deep as only a collector does LOL....
As I remember you told me this one was valued around 300 and I paid 600 for it. ..... And I would do it all over again too.

[egri]

I prefer writing on mine. A couple of years ago, I was looking for old postcards of New England, specifically Rhode Island, where I grew up. I ended up with about eight of them. I enjoyed getting to read the notes on the back and see how my hometown had changed over the years, though not always for the better. One of them, depicting a boarding school nearby, had a note from a student to his aunt, another showed my church but before its steeple was built and some nearby buildings were torn down, and another showed the town's waterfront before it was built up.

[honus94566]

There are some really cool old postcards out there. The written text on this says "Your picture is on the wall of the Vendenn Cigar Store." Which was a cigar store in or near Weiser, Idaho, where he was playing when he was discovered by scouts from the Senators and promptly whisked off to the big leagues. So somebody who knew him in Weiser mailed him this postcard, probably not long after he left. Walter Johnson kept it and it was eventually sent to auction by his family estate. Super cool piece of history.

[jbsports33]

I really look at it this way when collecting early postcards, does the card have good eye appeal. Writing does not bother me too much and having the stamp is fine which helps date the postcard as well. If there is writing all over front and back, then I start to say may not want that at all. There are several issues, some of the higher end baseball ones that are most likely better with no stamp or writing if you will be grading them. The 1925-29 Exhibit Postcards are a good example! Good luck collecting!

Jimmy