pre war for a 16 year old

[prichmond]

my son collects, mostly modern and now wants to take the $1000 he has earned and invest in some pre war with the hopes of selling them in several years. Any suggestions on what he should spend it on?

Pete

[Shoeless Moe]

Ruth....not slabbed but you are sure is authentic.

[Bill Stone]

I think it is nice to buy a card that has some personal meaning --was there a team in your city ? perhaps a T210 card or a player who was born in your town --some connection so he would be anxious to learn about the player and the team . It can still be an investment but also a wonderful learning opportunity as well.

[E93]

Most caramel cards are a steal right now. They are WAY down from a few years ago.
JimB

[cdn_collector]

There are so many options to choose from, that I think narrowing it down based on your son's own interests is a good idea. Along the lines of what Bill suggested, I think I would want to find him something that he can feel a personal connection with.

Does he have a favourite current team that has pre-war roots?
Are there any particular pre-war players that he knows of and is intrigued by?

If you can't narrow his focus down based on his current interests, then perhaps you can challenge him to do a bit more research by handing him a stack of books within your own realm of expertise/interest, and offer to supplement his investment a certain amount for each book he reads. Maybe that turns this into too much of a crusade, but I think having him educate himself about what he's about to invest in has a lot of upside.

Just a thought.

Regards,

Richard.

[PolarBear]

Two words: Old Judge

[oldjudge]

I'm with Don. Make sure the Old Judge have sharp photos. You will get a better deal if they are not slabbed, just make sure you can tell what an altered card looks like. If you decide to go in this direction I would be more than happy to help in any way I can. Good luck!

[sportscardpete]

I was 16 when I first started collecting.. Now I'm the ripe old age of 21 =)

My first major purchase was a t206 EPDG Cy young.. I wanted to buy a HOFer on a good price... Keep in mind this was around the peak of our hobby prices so I would probably take a loss on the card. Now is a great time for a 16 year old to buy some cards and watch the prices grow over time. I would strongly pursue e93's if I were him. They've really gone down in value and are a fantastic set!

Make sure he buys something he likes though. That way, if he doesn't find a strong market to sell it in, he can just keep it.


Take care,

Pete

[53Browns]

Cobb, Ruth, Gehrig...the classics never die and are always easy to sell.