Minor league cards and Jose Altuve... a conundrum.

[AustinMike]

Originally Posted by AstroJake09

Hi all,

I'm a big time 'Stros fan, have been since '04 (no I do not claim the 2017 title, the whole deal breaks my heart.) I was looking into some cards of Altuve and remembered that in 2008 he had a scarce and very limited team issued card when he was playing for the Greenville Astros. This is the first record of any card I can find for him at any level and also would have been his first year in the United States.

The card is rarely seen for sale and I actually passed on a graded copy for about $125 a few years back, I feel like I should have pulled the trigger at the time, especially with the way the market is now but hindsight is always 20/20. Plus with the stain that the cheating scandal leaves on a career regardless of the level of involvement, it makes collecting certain high value Astro cards tricky. With that said however, I've recently discovered another copy in raw, NM condition and am interested in pursuing it, I'm just unsure if I should place a hefty value on a minor league card of any player, regardless if it is the first printed card as is the case for Altuve. With everyone collecting flagship and chrome etc. do minor league cards like these still carry value for a guy like Altuve? If we were talking Trout I'm sure that answer is yes, but here I'm unsure. I'm a fan first but it is always nice to have a backup plan for whatever reason when purchasing something like this should I need to sell. So I'm curious as to the opinions on here and if anyone could help me come up with a valuation. Also, if anyone on here has a copy of Altuve's 2008 card, send me a PM!

Thanks and Go 'Stros!

Jake

Jake, I was a big collector of minor league cards primarily in the '90s. 2001 was the last year I bought minor league cards. So ... my perception is somewhat dated. I've always felt that minor league cards were under valued. Production figures of minor league cards are well below production figures for the majors. However, it's all about supply and demand. The demand for minor league cards is even "more well below" the demand for major league cards. Hence, a first year minor league card will hardly ever be as "valuable" as a first year major league card.

But with that said, it's really up to you. How badly do you want that Altuve card? Do you know how many were made? Some of the low minor team sets were produced in the 500 to 1,000 range. Is that the case here? If so, you need to factor that in. You won't have many opportunities to get it.

One other thing to consider - when I was buying minor league cards, I only bought complete team sets. I never bought singles that supposedly came from a team set. I felt that helped minimize the chances of getting a fake on big name players. Plus, typically, the cost of the team set isn't much more than the cost of the individual star player.

Lastly, being a 'Stros fan, you might enjoy seeing these. The card on the left is from the 1988 Tucson Toros Jones Photo team set (unfortunately, my picture is a little blurry). The one on the right is a proof.