1863 Baseball Card wanted ???????

[MLB535]

Gents,

I have recently gotten into vintage baseball cards. This forum has been great for finding vintage treasures and learning more about the hobby.

With that being said, I am looking for a baseball card from the first set / first time a baseball card was released to the general public.

Through some quick research I came up with 1863 as the earliest year that a baseball card was created/released... I know that there are a lot of professional-collectors on this site so I was hoping that through a few individuals support, I could find out when the first card was released, and if anyone has one for sale.

My only requests are that the price wont break the bank, and that the card is graded.

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated!

[swarmee]

This seems to be the 1863 set you are talking about. There are only five graded cards in existence (by PSA):
Harry Wright (1)
Hammond (1)
Unknown Player (2)
Harry and Sam Wright (1)

All five are graded authentic, which may mean that they're in very rough condition. Or that they were altered (cut to fit a frame?) in some way.

SGC doesn't seem to have graded any, but their search engine/pop report is pretty terrible, so that doesn't mean they haven't I just couldn't find it easily. PSA has some carte de visites listed from 1861-1864, but those probably aren't what you're looking for.

My guess is that if anyone has one for sale, it would be sold through a professional auctionhouse.

Some other options for you: 1884 Lawson's Patent Base Ball Game (250 graded by PSA, 47 got Gem Mint 10).

I guess my recommendation for you would be 1887 Old Judge or Gold Coin. Those were probably the first ones meant for scale distribution.

[MLB535]

Originally Posted by swarmee

This seems to be the 1863 set you are talking about. There are only five graded cards in existence (by PSA):
Harry Wright (1)
Hammond (1)
Unknown Player (2)
Harry and Sam Wright (1)

All five are graded authentic, which may mean that they're in very rough condition. Or that they were altered (cut to fit a frame?) in some way.

SGC doesn't seem to have graded any, but their search engine/pop report is pretty terrible, so that doesn't mean they haven't I just couldn't find it easily. PSA has some carte de visites listed from 1861-1864, but those probably aren't what you're looking for.

My guess is that if anyone has one for sale, it would be sold through a professional auctionhouse.

Some other options for you: 1884 Lawson's Patent Base Ball Game (250 graded by PSA, 47 got Gem Mint 10).

I guess my recommendation for you would be 1887 Old Judge or Gold Coin. Those were probably the first ones meant for scale distribution.

Thank you so much for the reply! My guess is that the 1863 cards (with the population being so low) will be very expensive. I have seen a lot of 1887 OJ postings, so I might look into these. Before I do though... is there anyone else with some information ... suggestions ... or cards for sale that fit the bill ?

[bn2cardz]

Peck and Snyders from 1868 are typically considered the first baseball card. Yet the concept of the first card varies by collector.

http://www.oldcardboard.com/n/peck-s...?cardsetID=675

There is an 1886 Old Judge that would predate the 1887 yet are even harder to find.

http://www.oldcardboard.com/n/n167/n...?cardsetID=656

I do not have either for sale and most times you are going to have to wait for one to show up in a large auction house.

[shernan30]

I have some 1887 Old Judge and Buchner Gold Coin cards available if you are interested.

[MLB535]

Originally Posted by shernan30

I have some 1887 Old Judge and Buchner Gold Coin cards available if you are interested.

pm me pics and prices please

[barrysloate]

The chance of finding any of the 1863 Grand Match cards is extremely slim, and it's unlikely you will get one. Perhaps you should shoot for a Peck and Snyder Cincinnati team card from 1869- difficult enough- or simply get a few nice examples from the 1887-88 era when cards were first mass produced.

[Bored5000]

Originally Posted by mlbtraderumorsn

Thank you so much for the reply! My guess is that the 1863 cards (with the population being so low) will be very expensive. I have seen a lot of 1887 OJ postings, so I might look into these.

An authentic "Grand Match at Hoboken" card sold for $32K+ at REA last year. If you are not looking for a Hall of Famer, you can pick up a nice Old Judge card for a few hundred dollars. Even Hall of Famers from the Old Judge set are going to be much cheaper than a "Grand Match at Hoboken" card.

http://www.robertedwardauctions.com/auction/2013/7.html