What percent of your life savings is in Baseball Cards?

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Posted By: Eric Brehm

I don't consider baseball cards to be an 'investment' because when I buy them I have no intention of re-selling them. (By contrast, things like stocks and bonds are always bought with the intention of re-selling.) I do occasionally sell cards when I have some duplicates, or items that I picked up and then later decided they didn't fit in with my core collecting interests.

I do certainly consider baseball cards to be an 'asset' however. If I needed money for food, clothing, or shelter, or anything else essential to everyday life, that would be a place I might have to turn to raise the funds. Hopefully that won't happen. And the cards that do remain in my permanent collection might someday be part of my estate that will pass to my heirs, and possibly will be taxed by the govt at that time. Hopefully that won't happen either (i.e. the kids will be able to keep them without paying any estate tax). So I do a careful accounting of the cards that I have, how much I paid for them, and what their current market value is.