Vintage is a perspective, really.

[68Hawk]

I was thinking about some of the froth on this board around modern cards, bubbles, the mainstay that is vintage for most on here....

And it got me thinking about my cards, and how I view them.
My first few USA cards purchased were in 2000, a 93' Pinnacle Jeter BGS8, a couple other rooks of his - not SP's, a PSA8 Jerry Rice and PSA8 Montana. I'd grown up in Australia with the NFL getting broadcast one day a week around 3:00am, and most games revolved around the Dolphins and 49ers. It was early/mid 1980's after all.
And I was the only NFL nutcase I knew in the city of Melbourne, adored the 49ers, hated the Cowboys, and there it ended.
Baseball didn't even get in the sports show highlights back then in Oz.

Until I rolled up on to these shores in 2000.
I discovered eBay and sportscards on probably the same day just a few weeks after arriving and was besotted with them, feverishly needing cardboard of my 49er heroes and also a card of some local NY wonderboy who leapt off the screen that was Derek Jeter.

That lead maybe a couple months later into a discovery card that changed my life, truly, and this hobby has never left me since.
A blue backed 58' Aaron. I wasn't sure it was blue, the pic on the ebay listing was dim and trash, the seller didn't know what it was, but I could tell there seemed to be a lack of yellow around the Chief and thought - what if...?
I knew there wasn't a blue back in the collectors bible - I bought the newest series copy I could find almost immediately to discovering cards - and couldn't find reference to one online. My heart raced.
I got it for $120 give or take as a mid grade green with yellow writing, but it was in fact a blue.

That was vintage to me. The card was 42 years old, but from an era I knew only by historical reference.

And then I found this site and quickly discovered that phooey on me, if it wasn't pre 1945 it COULDN'T be considered truly vintage.

So looking at this pic below of my baseball card collection (I have some other sports too), and some cards I've purchased recently from the 70's and 80's, I realized that my 72' Topps Cloth Clemente was nearly 50 YEARS OLD.
It's absolutely got a cool vintage vibe, as do some of my 70's basketball.

And then I imagined a collector in the year 1972, who was collecting 'Vintage' of cards similarly 50 years back in time was looking for issues from the 20's or slightly earlier....
They certainly would have seemed vintage to him, the issues had unique styling and caught players in action he/she likely never saw live.

So maybe it's time for a modernization of what 'vintage' is in cards?
Maybe the 100+ year old stuff should be called Antique?
Perhaps there's gray in this area and we should celebrate ALL the cards and ALL the collectors equally for their tastes and choices.
Doesn't mean this site needs to specifically cater to discussion of post second world war, but it could be that young collectors of today buying cards of the 80's and earlier get that same vintage buzz we all felt when locking eyes on a T206 or American Caramel. I just bought an 88' Topps AS Jordan and definitely do!
And perhaps celebrating them and their collecting nouse is also celebrating todays vintage - not disparaging everything that is different as shiny and crap?

Just a perspective, and I've probably made too much of mine.....but sheesh, reading some of the sanctimony on here about todays collectors taste and penchant for spending on it drove me to it.

[Cmvorce]

Call it whatever you want, your collection is drool inducing.

[doug.goodman]

I wanted to make some witty post about the definition of "vintage" but my brain couldn't avoid memories of watching a partial eclipse near the Espanade in St. Kilda...

[conor912]

My daughter was born in 2009. She thinks the 90’s are vintage. It’s all relative, I guess.

[68Hawk]

Originally Posted by doug.goodman

I wanted to make some witty post about the definition of "vintage" but my brain couldn't avoid memories of watching a partial eclipse near the Espanade in St. Kilda...

ahh Doug, did you perhaps venture across the road to the Esplanade Hotel for a cold one? Best pub in Melbourne in my opinion, and an incredible venue for live music for bands that would eventually make it internationally...even here in the States.

[rjackson44]

Pretty cards

[doug.goodman]

Originally Posted by 68Hawk

ahh Doug, did you perhaps venture across the road to the Esplanade Hotel for a cold one? Best pub in Melbourne in my opinion, and an incredible venue for live music for bands that would eventually make it internationally...even here in the States.

The last time I was at the Espy for a gig was Danko Jones supported by Duff McKagan's band.

I also finally got to see the Angel's on that trip, albeit with Dave Gleeson singing, but he did a great job, and any version of the greatest band ever is better than none.

[nat]

I'm more of a Sydney kind of guy. Here's Bondi from the cliffs to the south of the beach.

My least favorite memory of Australia is getting up at, like, 6am or whatever, to watch Roy Halladay no-hit my beloved Cincinnati Reds in the playoffs. But at least by 2010 you could get baseball down under.

As for vintage vs. modern. Eh. I've got a few modern cards, but mostly I'm offended by gimmickry.

[pokerplyr80]

I suppose you have a point about where the cutoff should be. When I started collecting as a kid in 1989 50s cards were certainly considered vintage. I would assume 60s as well. An 82 Ripken is now older than a 52 Mantle was back then.

[Mark]

To my mind, the term "vintage" refers to older items that are from a given year, or era, and that are of high quality. Not everything that is old is vintage. I could understand speaking of "pre-war vintage" and "post-war vintage." But I am not inclined to think of them other terms, especially if they get blended into a conceptual soup.

[hcv123]

I am guilty of not accounting for my "becoming vintage" as I age while the cards I call vintage stay static.

[puckpaul]

Are there any Footy cards? I love that sport! Go Saints....

Australian rules football for the uninitiated...

[68Hawk]

Originally Posted by puckpaul

Are there any Footy cards? I love that sport! Go Saints....

Australian rules football for the uninitiated...

The one I usually post of the great Leigh Mathews rookie card, voted the best to have ever played the game...


1887-89 Old Judge of Carlton Football Club Captain Tommy Leyden...


An 1880's CDV of a South Melbourne Football Club player...


Another 1880's CDV of undisclosed footy player...


1929 Newspaper liftout of your beloved Saints ....


And finally just an image that brings me joy of some young local aboriginal boys flying for a mark (catching the football) at a park....

[Michael B]

Australia is my favorite place to visit. Rented a condo for a month near Darling Harbour for the 2000 Olympics. I was also there during the Rugby World Cup in 2003. I would be a Sydneysider if I had a choice with Palm Cove, north of Cairns being second and Brisbane being third. Five total trips there. My wife and I got married in Sydney in 2006. I want to make it to the Red Centre on my next trip and walk the circuit around Uluru (Ayers Rock). I have had some offers to go see some footy at the MCG the next time I head there.

Top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge 2002.
sydney-1.jpg

Wedding Day 2006. It was Thanksgiving in the U.S., the day after in Sydney.
sydney-2.jpg

Baby Koala 3 months old at the Kuranda Koala Gardens, Kuranda, Queensland
baby koala-1.jpg

Snowy Egret - Brisbane City Botanical Gardens. I won a $4,000 photo printer with this photo.
snowy egret-1.jpg

[packs]

That Old Judge is awesome. Never saw a rugby card from the set.

[puckpaul]

Originally Posted by 68Hawk

The one I usually post of the great Leigh Mathews rookie card, voted the best to have ever played the game...


1887-89 Old Judge of Carlton Football Club Captain Tommy Leyden...


An 1880's CDV of a South Melbourne Football Club player...


Another 1880's CDV of undisclosed footy player...


1929 Newspaper liftout of your beloved Saints ....


And finally just an image that brings me joy of some young local aboriginal boys flying for a mark (catching the football) at a park....

Awesome. Is there much interest in cards in Australia? Where could one buy such things? Very cool.

[Michael B]

Originally Posted by puckpaul

Awesome. Is there much interest in cards in Australia? Where could one buy such things? Very cool.

If you go the the ebay main page down at the bottom on the right will be an American flag with the words 'ebay sites'. Hit the arrow to get the display for all of the available countries. Australia is one of the choices as is the United Kingdom. They have some similar categories so you should be able to navigate it. You will find cards under the Sporting Goods category with sub-category of Sports trading cards and accessories. You can also look under Collectibles with sub-category posters, photographic with sub-sub-category photographs.

Many Australian sellers will list that they only ship within the country. However, I have found that by contacting them they will ship to the U.S. An Aussie dollar is about 80¢ U.S. It just hit a 3 year high due to a rise in commodity prices and lower unemployment over there.

Years ago I got my hands on packs of Australian Basketball League cards at a sporting goods convention here in the U.S. A lot of Americans play in that league. I saw quite a few familiar names.

[Knoxy24]

PM sent

[68Hawk]

Originally Posted by packs

That Old Judge is awesome. Never saw a rugby card from the set.

Australian Rules football actually.
They go for big dollars in Australian auctions, in the thousands each because they so seldom turn up.

Not sure I've ever seen a rugby one.