t206 vs 1988 topps... yeah you read that right!

[bn2cardz]

Originally Posted by poorlydrawncat

Here's two problems I see with this line of reasoning: distribution and ephemera status.

The T206 set was distributed as singles and were secondary to the cigarettes. Pure ephemera. Many were immediately taken out of circulation when the pack was thrown away. I have a feeling most non-surviving T206s were destroyed in the first 25 years of their existence.

1988 Topps were distributed in large numbers (sets, packs, etc) and the people who bought them were buying the cards as collectables, not the gum. There are still millions of sealed sets sitting in people's garages. Even if they are considered worthless, they will not be thrown away because they are no longer ephemera. Even if they are worthless you will be hard pressed to convince someone that they are LITERALLY trash, on the level of an empty cigarette pack.

BUT WHO KNOWS. My grandchildren might be in for a big payday someday... Definitely interesting to consider.

I do see the differences but again will anyone past our generation care? Our offspring won't want to deal with them. We hold on to them because of the original collectible value, our offspring won't. My Grandparents were collectors of certain things yet when my Grandpa passed away my aunts and uncles pitched a lot of it. Then when, recently, my Grandma went to a retirement home she couldn't take most of it and my Aunts and Uncles tossed the remaining bits. I was lucky enough to find a box with some rubber-banded baseball cards years prior to this cleansing and they were saved, but the other collectibles were pitched minus a few nostalgic pieces.


The t206s may not have made it past the first 25 years, but if 88 topps arent going to make it past 75 years. Maybe it isn't in 100 years, but what about in 150 years? Just a thought. Another thought would be what about instead of 88 topps cards you compared it to cards that were distributed by other means like cracker jack prize cards that were distributed in the early 90s? Or cereal box cards, or Denny's cards. Do these cards have a place in the future (not our futures, but several generations down the road)?