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Posted By: Gilbert Maines

Exhibits are a quite attractive set in many respects. However, they are postcard sized, which is thought of as too big by some collectors. Their price is lower than many issues, and I am sure that the price of these cards reflects their lack of popularity. An additional cause of this set being less popular than some, is that it was issued without a product. This factor is considered important by some collectors because they feel that the product which the card is issued with somehow validates the card.

Regarding scarcity, I would place no emphasis on the population numbers published by grading companies. There are numerous factors in play here which tend to skew this information.

As you note, the Exhibits are one of the longest running sets in our hobby. The set requires some study in order to determine the dating for the cards with reliability. Quite often identical player images were used for several years. Some years can be identified by the color of the cards, other years have numerous colors incorporated within its year of issuance.

As far as investment potential, our hobby has been experiencing an increase in card values across the board for a while now. There is no indication that any area is substantially weakening, nor is a softening of the market forecast. However, in my opinion, this hobby is a lot more fun if appreciation is not considered as a motivating factor in card acquisition. Not everyone agrees with this philosophy.

Good luck.