Postcards vs Cards

[JamesGallo]

I was recently considering picking up a high end post card, but I can't decide if I want to dump 3-5K into a postcard as opposed to a trading card.

It seems that although postcards are generally a lot rarer they just don't get the respect or have the same demand as a trading card. Even postcards that are part of a larger set seem to get very little interest.

I like post cards but I just can't get overly excited for them.


So do you ever think they will equal out and would you put money into a postcard over a trading card?




James G

[triwak]

Well, just try obtaining some of the Negro League HOFer postcards, and you might get a different perspective on just "how much love" PC's can get! Of course, that has to do with them sometimes being the only option available for those players. But I personally think postcards are TOTALLY legitimate "cards" and am often willing to spend as much as I would for a trade card, if the card meets my other criteria. But you're right about the disrespect felt by many collectors - provides good bargains sometimes!

[vintagecpa]

I believe because most of us now collect vintage baseball cards because we collected trading cards as a kid. Far fewer people collected postcards as a kid. I can appreciate the beauty and rarity of postcards, but I simply won't ever buy them because it was never anything I collected.

[bcbgcbrcb]

Good point, Ken. IMHO as long as you get a pretty good deal on a postcard based on current prices, I don't think that you will lose money in the long run. If anything, they are becoming more and more popular with mainstream collectors.

[Ladder7]

I have a sports card of every player I've wanted. Now for their stadiums, one has to seek out postcards. There are very few images of the parks or rinks on vintage trading cards.

As a plus, the larger images are easier to see. And man, is there any card as pretty as them Red Belts?

http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...rds/?start=all

[Touch'EmAll]

There are lots of way cool vintage stuff that does not measure approximately 2"x3" with square corners - pick it now when you can because it may be more difficult and costly later.

Larger Postcards/Exhibits
Old vintage Pins
Colgans Chips
Domino Discs
Silks
Blankets
Wheaties cards

Of course, go for the major HOF'ers

All very nice in their own right.

[docpatlv]

Originally Posted by 100backstroke

There are lots of way cool vintage stuff that does not measure approximately 2"x3" with square corners - pick it now when you can because it may be more difficult and costly later.

Larger Postcards/Exhibits
Old vintage Pins
Colgans Chips
Domino Discs
Silks
Blankets
Wheaties cards

Of course, go for the major HOF'ers

All very nice in their own right.

Domino Discs and old vintage pins suck....don't waste your money on those

[steve B]

I think many people can't get into postcards because of the nature of postcards themselves.

Trading cards, even ones where there are new discoveries - Are assumed to have a defined "set" which appeals to a human desire for order.

I know for sure how many T206s I need. But I don't have a very reliable way of knowing how many Red Sox postcards I need.

So the mental equation for buying a card is much easier.
Do I need it?
Is it a good price?
What chance is there that another will come along cheaper soon.

For a postcard?
How does it fit into my collection - Does it represent a certainplayer or era I collect or one that I don't have a sample of ?
Do I like it?
Do I like it X$ worth?
Will I be unhappy I bought it next week/month/decade....

There's an inherent disorder to collecting postcards that's someimes challenging. Especially with the real photo cards.


Steve B

[bijoem]

sometimes you can find postcards that are cooler than any card-company card.

of course, thats just a personal opinion. Its all a matter of what you like.

[barrysloate]

Steve- I like your new avatar. Uncle Leo died yesterday. RIP

Postcards may not get the respect baseball cards do because of their size.

[FrankWakefield]

This thread has helped me understand something about strip cards...

Most of our collections commenced with traditional cards. And as observed above, few of us collected postcards. We didn't appreciate them, they weren't at all like our traditional sports cards. I agree with that thinking. And I too now collect some postcards. (Especially those Cardinals postcards from the mid 50's, they're ugly, send yours to me.) When I started collecting old cards I had an aversion for strip cards. They weren't anything like what I had been collecting. Similar to the postcard thought process. But now I actually like W511's, 12's, and 14's. I had been enamored with W515's, too, but I'm thinking I need to move them to get more W514's... So the acceptance of postcards is a step away from the traditional sports card, a step similar to moving toward Exhibit cards or W-strip cards.

And in the spirit of docpatlv's post, Colgans Chips are round, black and white, with crap quality control as to focus and centering. Only a fool would collect those. I can swap some 2x3 shiny stuff for them so you can get back on a good collecting track.

[terjung]

Originally Posted by JamesGallo

It seems that although postcards are generally a lot rarer they just don't get the respect or have the same demand as a trading card. Even postcards that are part of a larger set seem to get very little interest.

I like post cards but I just can't get overly excited for them.

So do you ever think they will equal out and would you put money into a postcard over a trading card?

Some consider postcards to be the true rookies of a couple big named HOFers. Ty Cobb and Walter "Johnston" (sic) come to mind with their W601 and Novelty Cutlery. Those seem to get pretty strong prices. Personally, I think that postcards are starting to become more mainstream in their collection.

[Exhibitman]

Postcard collecting is at least as well entrenched as sports card collecting. In fact, Burdick wrote books on postcards. I have two of them. And there are postcard shows all over the place, still.

As for whether they are worth collecting, I guess it comes down to what you like, as noted above. I think some PCs are as nice as anything ever issued in a pack of gum. Additional reasons to like them are large format images and often postmarks and stamps that help authenticate them. And some of the messages written on them by their senders are hilarious.



They also make nice autograph vehicles, especially when they are postmarked with the approximate date of signature or are from businesses owned by the celebrity:




And you can't help but love the graphics:



There's also a nice, er, variety of subject matter available:

[bcbgcbrcb]

I think that once the major grading companies like SGC, Beckett & PSA started to grade them, popularity rose also.

[Ladder7]

Golly, She was smOkin.. Okay, Im off stadiums!

[tbob]

Originally Posted by bcbgcbrcb

I think that once the major grading companies like SGC, Beckett & PSA started to grade them, popularity rose also.

Absolutely. Once the grading started, the increase in popularity skyrocketed. I have a few postcards because they are beautiful but postcards and strip cards will never be a part of my collection.
To each his own...

[ksfarmboy]

I believe that postcard popularity is gaining momentum. I've especially seen it in the last couple of years. I like postcards over regular cards due to lower prices, limited numbers and in many cases better subject matter. I can't find any prewar cards from Kansas but there are many postcards from Kansas. The fun for me is finding a major leaguer before he made it to the bigs or while he was barnstorming here. I believe that prices will go up if you invest in the right ones just the same as with cards. Why someone would shun them is a personal choice but they sure are giving up a great opportunity at owning some really neat cards. I just posted a postcard I recently picked up with Jim Thorpe in it. If it wasn't a postcard I wouldn't be able to afford a Jim Thorpe baseball card from his playing days.

Whatever postcard that you are thinking of spending $3-5000 on must be one awesome postcard. Would like to see a picture of it if you get it.

[ls7plus]

Baseball cards have always come in all different sizes, and as Rob Lifson has said in at least one of his REA auction catalogues, some of the most dramatic actual photo cards of Ruth and Gehrig are in the 1920's Exhibits series, including the 1926-1929 Exhibits Postcard backs. In my opinion, the Exhibits cards feature the best photo images of players from the '20's and '30's, to the point that I consider them to be truly "high-end" cards! Two of the factors running against postcards being accepted as "real" baseball cards in the past had been the inability of PSA or SGC to grade them for quite a few years until developing suitable slabs for them, and their lack of listing in Krause's Standard Catalogue of Baseball cards in some cases. Those have been overcome for some time now, and as other members of this site have pointed out, Exhibit cards look really good in SGC holders!

Another thing that collectors have had to come to grips with is that some of the most significant cards in this field of collecting are postcards, or postcard sized baseball cards. Lou Gehrig's actual rookie card is found only in the 1925 Exhibits set. As at least Barry and I agree, Jimmie Foxx's rookie card is his 1926-1929 Exhibits Postcard Back card (the 1927 W560 is just so UGLY!), as I believe, is Lefty Grove's rookie. What most have come to consider to be real Ty Cobb rookie cards include his 1907 Dietsche Postcards (although I admit I'm a bit biased here, having both the 1907 batting and fielding poses!). They also are somewhat to exceedingly rare in some instances (see the 1931-32 Portrait, with tie, Babe Ruth, and to a lesser extent the 1939 Gehrig, which was almost certainly pulled from production with the announcement in May of '39 of his fatal illness) and can present quite a dedicated challenge to obtain. I also like the fact that the Exhibits company was making cards continuously from at least 1921-1966. As a kid, I liked the "bigger" baseball cards I obtained from the Exhibits machine in the nearby penny arcade better than the Topps issues! My favorite Mantle card is easily, to me, his most beautiful--the 1953-1955 Dormand Postcard, bat on shoulder--that one comes out only when I've taken the long dirt nap!

Boy, I did'nt even realize the extent of my passion for these cards until posting this reply! Best to everyone,

Larry

[ls7plus]

PS: I love the Max Stein Honus Wagner postcard, which, by recollection, featured him in an batting action, follow-through pose. A dealer at the 2009 National in Cleveland had one, but wanted either $3,000 or $4,000 for it then, and it didn't fit in my budget at that time. So if you can pick up some major HOF'er's at the right price, I don't think you'll go wrong in terms of their value down the road.

Larry

[Touch'EmAll]

Nice to see values for these "secondary" cards increase.

My most important determining factor when buying a vintage card/item is eye appeal - I like a card that looks neat - nice picture - nice centering - not a goofy unappealing looking thing.

Black & White is perfectly acceptable - what does/did Ansel Adams think of Black/White - can be pretty darn nice.

I don't have to go shopping thru hype priced Cracker Jacks, T206's & Goudeys to find nice eye appealing stuff. Don't get me wrong - CJ's, T206's & Goudey's are super duper nice -just not the value you might find in Exhibits.

psst.....there are really not all that many nice pre war Exhibit HOF'ers out there.......shhhhh.....keep it quiet

[Touch'EmAll]

I think PSA got the Hornsby wrong - oh, well