Posted By:
JimCrandellI just cannot understand those who dismiss the population of a card as a indicator of value. IMO, it has become the single most important indicator of value in mainstream pre-war and 1948-69 graded sportscards.
Simply put, price is a function of supply and demand. More collectors are getting their sportscards graded and indisputably more collectors are looking to put together high grade sets whether it is 1933 Goudey or 1957 Topps.
For example in 1962 Topps without question the most valuable card in high grade is Don Landrum which is a pop 1 in psa 8 or better.
In pre-war, pop 1 T206s in psa 8 have sold for over $5,000--how many nrmt-mt T206s are there that have not been graded? There are commparable examples in most other mainstream sets. As vintage collectors look to put together high grade sets in 8 or better, it seems to me that the demand for high end low pop cards will exceed the supply(and prices will go up). It has certainly worked out that way so far.
Thus, I feel the best investment you can make these days is low pop high end vintage graded cards.
\Dav