When I started collecting as a kid in the 1950's I never thought of future value for the cards I enjoyed. I collected St. Louis Cardinal cards as the Omaha Cardinals played a few blocks from our apartment house. TV was just starting and the game of the week was in fuzzy black and white. To actually see a picture of the player was part of the enjoyment. To have their stats at your fingertips was cool. The core of most teams stayed together for years. I followed the National League and there were 8 teams. Cozy enough for even a kid to know the key players on every team. Today there are as many teams in the National League as there were in all of major league baseball in the 50's. Few players stay with one team for very long.
This week I walked into a local card store for the first time in 20 years. There were a couple of junior high age kids in there opening packs of cards. Their only interest was in getting a "hit" on an insert card. It was more like gambling than collecting. They opened 20 packs and left all of the common cards on the counter. I asked the owner if I could have them. As we talked I asked about early cards. Early to him was 1960. He did not even know about Goudey or T cards.
All that being said my daughter and I are trying to complete a 2002 topps t206 mini set. There are "old" players in the set and modern ones also. It is more family time and the collecting is simply an excuse to get together.
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