Liquidity
Investing carries with it the necessary requirement of liquidity. I don't see high liquidity in relatively "obscure" rarities such as a T206 Plank. The iniverse of subsequent buyers is small compared to a later, more well-known card/player. I don't think you will ever lose money or have a hard time finding buyers for upper grade (not a PSA 10, but solid 8s or 8.5s) of pre-WWII HOFers, especially Gehrig and Foxx. These are not out of reach for high-grade collectors, and there are established, oft-traded markets for these cards. Mid-grade Mantle, even a 52, can be more volatile than the pre-WWII HOFers, in my view.
If you need an ROI on your $25K that is vastly above what careful investing in the market can provide, cards may not be the right place in the first place. But if a 5-10% return is acceptable currently, with the prospect of muchmore but not with a risk of too much less, I think high-ish pre-WWII HOFers is a good place to be. I think its especially true where the market's been depressed (have to wait to get that ROI back up after the last 3 years) and solid buys can be had.
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