Prewar v. Postwar & Big Names...?

[Exhibitman]

One exercise that might be interesting is to attend a large show like the National and walk the floor to get a feel for how much material is around. You will see a ton of high-graded slabbed postwar, a ton of postwar raw, and limited quantities of prewar. The more obscure prewar issue and postwar regional stuff will be few and far between. If rarity is your thing, that's the focus. It is for me. I would rather own one of a handful of known cards than one of thousands of known cards.

The corollary discussion of course is the relationship between rarity and demand. The 1952 Topps Mantle is the most extreme example. It is an easy card: every major auction has one and there are dozens at every National. Just a matter of shelling out the cash. Demand drives that card. A 1952 National Tea label is hella rare in any circumstance, way more than the Mantle, but no one except a few player and type collectors have even heard of them.