I would go with mainstream vintage HOFers.

Stay away from oddballs cards or players that are termed "undervalued". Those cards/players never gain exponential value.

Card
 

G1911- People “actually care about” all variety of sport. Since you don’t qualify as a person, I’ll give you a pass on that mistake. You have no idea where this card will come from and, as usual, contributed nothing. I’ll give you this, you’re consistent. Trent King

De la Cruz is a nice choice, but since he is a Cincinnati player it's hard to see to many people caring long term. The last few players who started with hype have fallen flat: Jarred Kelenic, Tatis Jr., Acuna (although he is rebounding). Personally, Ohtani should be the answer. If he can make a multi-MVP run like Trout or Bonds his cards should see continued growth.

My pick for pre-war is Gehrig. He saw growth even in niche products like Wheaties. My 1935 Wheaties increased ten-fold in price from when I bought it in 2018. My Kevin Mize AU Alt 33 Goudey likely increased three-fold. He is under appreciated side-by-side with Ruth. More under appreciated is Dimaggio and Williams.

I also agree women's sports will likely hold the highest percentage increase for the greatest number of cards. I'm not sure when that'll be, my wife hates cards, but at some time we must anticipate that our good ol boys club will be infiltrated by more women than currently occupy the space. Robinson and Paige as minority stars / crossover Negro League stars saw massive spikes together in 2021 and 2022. I would assume at some point that the entire market for female cards will rise, following the mantra: rising water raises all boats. WNBA and NWSL are the two sports most likely to see this growth, but it's possible that Women's gymnastics could creep into that conversation. Olivia Dunne on social media has an obscene amount of college males who follow her on Instagram and social media. When will this flood be? I don't know. But more publicity should push women's collectibles higher some day.

I bought my daughter the Wheaties Simone Biles boxes to pin onto her walls, and I bought a Biles card from Peter. I also bought the Topps Now female coach cards, and I obtained the Serena Williams SI Kids card too. My local Target had Parkside NWSL cards I bought for her.

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Read it. "A large number of people actually care about". I care about boxing, but it's not really relevant anymore and not very popular. It has very limited growth potential.

I love how this dipshit comes in every couple months out of the blue to deliver over the top insults over nothing. Yeah, I'm not a human being, I am some sort of devil in species.

Card
 

G1911- I actually DID read it, clown show! Thus, my remark... It's delightfully
ironic that the very description you assign to me, fits you perfectly (I'm sure
you missed it though). Pure class as always from you, 1911! Trent King

PS- I don't think you're a "devil", you wouldn't pass that IQ test. Now,
"dullard" deserves some consideration. And you still have zero idea where
that big gainer card will come from, other than the insightful remark about
it coming from a sport people actually care about. I'll alert the media, that's
gold.

Time to up your dosage again?

This might be the most innocuous comment to have spawned a tantrum I've seen here lol.

Going off the comments on Ruth, I think this card is one that has a lot of breathing room left to it. If people are correct about Ruth in general, then it'll mean that his lesser expensive cards will inevitably become expensive as people move on down the line to acquire any Ruth at all for their collection.

Right now, this card is still pretty affordable. Especially when you consider your options for the grade whereas most of us would be relegated to either Authentic, 1 or perhaps a 1.5 when it comes to picking up a 33 Goudey in your price range:


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...0ea16e47_c.jpg

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I think you made a solid decision! That 14 Cobb isn't going anywhere but UP!

Like housing and stocks, they only go up.

It’s easy to say the “house hold” name cards will always stay on top. T206 Wagner, 1952 Topps Mantle, Babe Ruth anything etc. As much as we love type cards and oddball obscure cards & items they will always remain oddball items. I’ve noticed (and I’m sure all or most of you have too) Certain cards and sets run in hot streaks for a time or limited time for unknown reasons.. Example 1952 Topps Mantle, sales, highest graded auction blowout yadda yadda, drove this card’s popularity up (even more than it was) and also had the trickle down effect making collectors seek out his 51 bowman and other cards/issues as well. I have seen more 52 Topps mantles within the last 2 years than my entire lifetime.

T206s and CJ’s respectively take turns out front.

Pandemic and post pandemic besides everything going up, then down. I noticed a huge peak in price of the ex-Negro League players. (Jackie Satch etc) I fell victim of this particular player spike.

Pre-War & Vintage will always be in demand, but which card or sets will be leading the pack? This always changes, this is what I love about the hobby. Here are my honest opinions, to increase heavily over time. Again all vintage increases never decreases (usually)

T206 Wagner
1933 Goudey Ruth’s
1952 Topps Mantle
Rookie Year Jackie Robinson items

I just noticed that in REA’s current auction there is a Candace Parker rookie card. This is the first time I have seen a WNBA card in one of the major auctions and it is currently almost $3500 with the vig. I’m glad to see this happening and expect that it will become more common in the future.

Jackie’s early cards continue to do better and better. Trends will continue especially with the scarcer issues like bond bread and the rookie portrait card.


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Since this is a baseball forum, I'll lead with a pre-war baseball card that would seem to have catch-up potential: 1939 Play Ball Ted Williams. For some reason, the Splendid Splinter has lagged other inner-circle immortals in recent years (e.g. Ruth, Cobb, Gehrig, Mantle, Mays, Aaron). The Williams rookie has a significantly lower pop (PSA ~1200 plus qualifiers) than the latter three rookies (Mays 51B 2000, Mantle 51B 2260, Aaron 54T 6267).

Looking more generally, top vintage soccer rookies seem relatively undervalued. Yes, Pele (all of his rookies, but especially the 1958 Alifabolaget) and Maradona have skyrocketed in recent years, and Messi and C Ronaldo are still playing and generate interest, but the next tier of greats haven't moved commensurately. Soccer pops are much lower than for other sports, and to state the obvious, it is the biggest sport in the world, so a pickup in demand could have outsize impact. Meanwhile, Messi mania is in full swing in the U.S., and a quick perusal on Ebay suggests that the top watched cards have roughly as many watchers as for other major sports.

It'll be Ray Demmitt, Polar Bear back, in the white border tobacco series.


1952 Mantle's have a push on demand by those that saw him play, as I did once. He'll still be a star, an HOFer, but, to paraphrase an appeals court judge, he won't be the brightest star in the firmament.

Jackie Robinson will increase a bit more than normal cards... ditto for Ruth's, Mays', Wagner's, Johnson's, Young's, and Mathewsons.

So there are a LOT of T206 cards out there. Relatively new collectors of vintage cards gravitate towards T206s more so than the the other T cards, the caramel cards, and such. With more collectors, there'll be folks considering where to draw the line... 520, 518 (no Demmitt nor O'Hara), or some number closer to 500 where they're only going for one of the Cobb's, Johnson's, Mathewson's, and Young's. Or even down around 470, as they pass on those pesky Southern Leaguer's. But there'll be more folks after Demmitt and O'Hara. Are they equally rare? Who knows for certain? I think there was a time that folks thought that O'Hara was worth a few dollars more than Demmitt; but sometimes it seems otherwise. Maybe more NY Giants cards survived the years than the St Louis Browns cards (seems likely). I think it's Demmitt.

Can't disagree with Demmitt or O'Hara. The beauty of the T206 is that there are enough to them to be attainable and too few to be easy. When I started, I just wanted one pose of every MLB player, then every card, then all poses of all MLB players, then the next thing you know I'm shelling out four figures for a ratty O'Hara and Demmitt.

1907 Ty Cobb postcards
 

I believe the 1907 Ty Cobb postcards are still very undervalued compared to other greats of the day.

The man won 12 batting titles and was the first player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Value has gone up, but nowhere near what some of the other guys have been selling at - Mantle, J. Robinson, Gehrig... Population is still low.

This has always perplexed me as well. Always thought it was strange that at the time I bought them several years ago, the 1939 Joe DiMaggio Play Ball in mid-grades sold for almost the same price as the Williams rookie.

Well it likely won't increase the most, but I think Roberto Clemente's 2nd year card (1956) has lots of future upside. It's currently quite affordable and costs waaaaay less than his '55 Rookie. But it is an aesthetically beautiful card, and his legendary status seems to grow stronger as time marches on.

Shhh, I only have 1 of the 3 versions crossed off my want list.

White back, gray back, and what is the 3rd version?

I have often wondered if vintage cards will remain going higher. I always wondered as time goes on if the next generations would still have interest in these players or only care for the cards of today with auto's and 1 of 1's to hold.

Do people still collect items signed/owned by Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Lincoln, or do they only want Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden (please no political commentary, you get the point). Is Rembrandt, Monet, and Picasso losing interest and value to Banksy and Basquat (excuse spelling). Are classic early and original cars no longer desirable, as people collect first generation Teslas and Rivians?

Look, maybe in time people lose interest in the old old stuff- maybe bc it’s baseball, maybe bc it’s old, maybe both. But above are some examples where that has not happened and unlikely to happen, and I personally believe that prewar vintage is more like Washington and Monet than Lionel Trains and Delftware

Time will tell. I am long on the prewar blue chip. I hope I am right!

With the exception of the 311, it doesn't seem to me anyone has really cared all that much about second year cards. It's funny I was looking at 56 Clementes the other day and my thought was they seemed to have come way up in price.

I seem to recall seeing discussions of a "cream" colored version of some 56 Topps cards?

I don't know if that's totally true. The 52 Bowmans for Mantle and Mays do well. So does the 52 Topps Mays. The 53 Topps for each are also high priced, though Mays is an SP.

1950 Bowman Jackie's do pretty well too.

They are little collected and barely known, but a number of 1956 Topps cards have a cropping variation where the image is slightly different. This does not occur on the gray back, so it's a total of 3.

White back, cropping #1 (cap not cut by border)
Grey back, cropping #1 (cap not cut by border)
Whit back, cropping #2 (cap cut off by border)

Clemente is one of these cards and the biggest name. Pee Wee Reese is probably the second biggest name, there are probably more that we have not identified as some of the differences are even smaller than on the Clemente here. It probably has to do with the multiple slots on a sheet, but why it's only on the whites and not the grey sheets (I believe the grey to have been printed second, but that is a deduction and not a fact). Neither cropping appears to be rare.

Here are two examples; note the top of his cap and how on the raw card here it is cut off by the card border, but on the PSA example it is not.


EDIT: Also, the red dot on his uniform in the action picture is a recurring defect but I am not counting as a genuine variation as the three above actually are.

Fair enough, but for the most part, a second year card is not a big deal in the hobby.

I think you're right.

I also think there's a bit of a sea change with buyers trading down to 2nd year cards. It seems like prices on a lot of those pieces have risen a bit more due to that trading down effect. "If I can't get the rookie because it's so bloody expensive, then I'll pick up the 2nd year card instead".

Not sure whether the trend will continue, but it seems to be a relatively recent phenomenon, particularly in light of prices going to the moon on a lot of 1st year issues.

I don't think it'll get to the level of every HOFer's second year card will rise, but for the cream of the crop I think it'll remain true.

For others, sometimes there's a card that's so striking it outsells rookies or any other card for that player. I'm thinking of a card like the 1953 Bowman of Pee Wee Reese. Or the 1941 Play Ball DiMaggio.

I think the phenomenon rears its head the most in basketball. Second year Jordans do well, as do the Bird and Magic cards. Mostly because their rookies are multiplayer. But still.

52T Jackie, 50B is not even close.
Does anyone care about 40PB Ted?

Although rarely seen, the T210 Red Border Old Mill Joe Jackson should fetch a fortune if it ever comes up for auction.

Always wanted that card

Haha, that is one of the biggest stretches of a variation I have heard of. Makes the partial diamond on the '55 Jackie seem much more legit in comparison.

Thanks for answering my question though. Hadn't heard of that cropping issue on his helmet.

I'm waiting (and hoping, honestly) to see the pushback against the relic/1 of 1/variant card trend. When that happens I imagine it'll be hand in hand with a classic boom. If I had to guess what specifically takes off then, Jackie and Clemente are good bets.

It’s amazing that even cards that have spiked in recent years are still going up.
Overall it looks like all major players cards that are vintage and in higher grades seem like safe bets

Safe bet, guaranteed!

To the moon, Alice!

LOL, trees do not grow to the sky

Especially for a 4th year card of Robinson :D:

1947: Bond Bread portrait (s).
1948: Swell Sports Thrills
1949: Bowman, Leaf
1950: Bowman

I have the ultra RARE and almost never seen RED/Pink DOT Version with the white Back.

The variation in the 56 Clemente is the same as the 55 Jackie; a cropping difference resulting from multiple slots in the sheet and not sharing the exact same pattern between slots.

Not just talking my own book, but the W600 Cobb has enormous potential still, just that there are so few of them and they dont trade often (which is actually a negative…). Not hard to see that card be more like the Baltimore News Ruth, other than that Ruth has even more appeal than Cobb.

As for others, seems to me Ryan, Musial, and Ted W have room to appreciate a lot more. Though there are a lot of them, single signed balls of them are particularly cheap. But i would think the Ryan rookie is a great card to hold.

Not necessarily. Some Goudey's have come down a little recently....
.

bumping this back up six months later....appears jackie cards holding up better than most in this market while some even increasing.

Fun (re)read. Thanks for bumping.

The one card/player I don’t see mentioned anywhere in this thread, but whose stuff seems to have really jumped in the last year, is Joe Jackson. His M101-4/5s have gone to the moon, as has his Cracker Jacks and E90-1s. No comps on this baby though….

That is a beautiful card. I picked up a cheap decent looking reprint of it a few days ago for my collection.

N173 Old Judge HOF cabinets
https://photos.imageevent.com/rucker...ize/keefe2.jpg

Ken Griffey Jr cards will be the next generations Mickey Mantle. Some shiny Griffey 1/1 refractor will sell for $3 million. And you could prob buy it today for $20,000. But none of us will do that.

You read it here first.

I will bump this thread in 2038 so you can see I was right.

Jackie transcends the sport.

• He's taught in every elementary school.
• He has his own day.
• His jersey is retired league wide.

1948 Leaf in my opinion is Americana Pop Art perfection. That set has numerous cards that look like they belong in a museum.

I may be in the minority but I have a feeling 19th century cards will be the biggest money losers over the next decade. They are really cool to look at but I'm not sure who's going to take the place of people hunting Spotted Ties, for example.