Best non prewar mainstream card to invest on

[BeanTown]

Which one still has the greatest potential of rising in value?

[darwinbulldog]

With the caveat that I'd be buying up any of them if I expected much of a rise in value in the future and that at the moment I am not buying any of them, I'd guess pins. I know there's a whole hobby of pin collectors who mostly don't overlap with baseball card collectors, and that could change at some point to drive baseball pin prices up closer to baseball card prices.

[BeanTown]

Originally Posted by darwinbulldog

With the caveat that I'd be buying up any of them if I expected much of a rise in value in the future and that at the moment I am not buying any of them, I'd guess pins. I know there's a whole hobby of pin collectors who mostly don't overlap with baseball card collectors, and that could change at some point to drive baseball pin prices up closer to baseball card prices.

That’s exactly how I thought back in early 2000s with postcards. Try to find the right stuff that still has a lot of meat left on the bone. Plus the TPG companies won’t have as much influences on the everything on the list, other than being authentic for what it is.

[mrreality68]

I agree I feel pins have the most upside especially if they have the player on it and then bonus if it also has advertising related

[Snapolit1]

I disagree on pins. Hakes has wonderfdul catalogs full of beautiful pins. They leave me cold. Even cool old Gehrig pins just don't move the needle for me. Often kind of small and boring imagery. I think will always be niche.

[puckpaul]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

I disagree on pins. Hakes has wonderfdul catalogs full of beautiful pins. They leave me cold. Even cool old Gehrig pins just don't move the needle for me. Often kind of small and boring imagery. I think will always be niche.

+1

Pins arent going anywhere.

[Rhotchkiss]

Disregarding that I feel supplements are effectively newspapers/magazines, I think newspapers and magazines (not supplements) have the most upside for one huge reason- they are the only thing in the poll that “card company” TPGs have not yet authenticated.

Look at supplements - M101-2s were not worth much until BVG started slabbing them. Recently, PSA (the market’s “preferred” TPG) started slabbing M101-2s and the prices have gone through the roof. I believe the same phenomena has happened with photos (but not sure bc I don’t collect them). If/when PSA starts slabbing magazines, newspapers and similar publications, they, like supplements, will take off.

If SGC was thinking, they should charge into this market and establish a position (hint hint)

[BeanTown]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

Disregarding that I feel supplements are effectively newspapers/magazines, I think newspapers and magazines (not supplements) have the most upside for one huge reason- they are the only thing in the poll that “card company” TPGs have not yet authenticated.

Look at supplements - M101-2s were not worth much until BVG started slabbing them. Recently, PSA (the market’s “preferred” TPG) started slabbing M101-2s and the prices have gone through the roof. I believe the same phenomena has happened with photos (but not sure bc I don’t collect them). If/when PSA starts slabbing magazines, newspapers and similar publications, they, like supplements, will take off.

If SGC was thinking, they should charge into this market and establish a position (hint hint)

That’s a great point Ryan, and that’s why they were listed as two different categories. Supplements come out of papers but papers and magazines are not graded as a whole that I’m aware of. Grading does move the needle on this group which we have seen happen on pins, type 1 photos and now supplements. Early poll results show tile 1 photos in the lead, but they have taken off over the last 5 years and wondered if they still have the most upside now that the secret is out (sorta speaking)

[JustinD]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

Disregarding that I feel supplements are effectively newspapers/magazines, I think newspapers and magazines (not supplements) have the most upside for one huge reason- they are the only thing in the poll that “card company” TPGs have not yet authenticated.

Look at supplements - M101-2s were not worth much until BVG started slabbing them. Recently, PSA (the market’s “preferred” TPG) started slabbing M101-2s and the prices have gone through the roof. I believe the same phenomena has happened with photos (but not sure bc I don’t collect them). If/when PSA starts slabbing magazines, newspapers and similar publications, they, like supplements, will take off.

If SGC was thinking, they should charge into this market and establish a position (hint hint)

Can you imagine the slabs they would use for these? They would be gigantic.

I just don't think there is huge growth in either as ephemera just never brings large crowds and is incredibly niche. We now have a populous born in the 2000's forward that have zero connection to newspapers or magazines as daily and monthly publications in physical form have effectively died.

I also can feel no joy whatsoever in owning a magazine slabbed up that I cannot even see or read the content. When CGC started the comic book grading I saw no enjoyment in that and have many friends that collect that refuse to touch them for the complete lack of enjoyment. I admit, they do have an important spot, but they are not as cemented as cards due to the inability to read them.

I would say personally that the answer is more than likely "none of the above" if I was thinking investment value specifically for value growth. These are often rotating the last few years at peaks hard to match, I can't see exponential growth worth a risk of large investment. My guess would be that clean visually displayable items like type 1s and supplements would continue to hold with the logical ups and downs that time will bring.

If I was to put something on this list it would be used/scored programs from important events. Tickets saw a large upswing due to the connection they had to a specific date or record. Programs are valuable but still could have room, and if there was a still displayable piece of slabbed ephemera after a change in policy, it would be a game program.

[BioCRN]

Since the mid-late 90s when graded cards started to gain steam, I've financed a notable chunk of my personal collection buying and storing slabs of guys that I felt would be HOF'rs one day, but are under-represented or under-collected.

Most recently, a decade+ of buying Jim Kaat and Scott Rolen rookies paid off very well.

I'm currently sitting on a years-long collected stack of Jim Leyland 1986-87 graded of 8-10s that were picked up for next to nothing. Billy Wagner is no longer being ignored, nor is he in the HOF yet, but people have starting snagging his stuff and they're no longer a bargain. If I wanted to flip the Wagners I have, I could make a healthy profit, but I'm waiting for the bigger payoff.

It's a lane of collecting that means you're sitting on cards for years (even a decade+), but when the HOF announcement rush starts you're swimming in profit even when inflation adjusted.