Are your cards ===mint=== ???

[dabigyankeeman]

I am so tired of when I tell people I collect old Yankee baseball cards of having them ask me "Are all your cards MINT?"

I explain to them that to have a collection of old Yankees with cards of guys like Ruth, Gehrig, DiMag, Mantle, etc, to own as many as I have in MINT condition, I would have to be Bill Gates. I tell them I have so many, and then I take the time to try to explain the monstrous difference in value from mint cards to lessor condition cards, but they can't or won't understand, and its like they make a face and look down on me and my collection because its not in mint condition, and that horror of horrors, a lot of my cards would grade only a 1 on a scale of 1 to 10. Even when I tell them I have cards that go back to the very early 1900's it makes no difference to them.

Thats usually the end of the conversation, they don't even want to talk about my cards because they are not mint.

I realize people outside the hobby just don't understand, but I really do try to explain the whole situation, but at least with the people I know, its like talking to a wall.

Oh well, I am a COLLECTOR, not an INVESTOR, and I will go on loving my collection, but it would be nice if once in a blue moon someone in my life could appreciate or understand what I have even though most are not mint!

[Leon]

Arnie- we understand. Quite honestly, if I was chatting with someone and they told me they had MINT cards I wouldn't be as interested. Unless it's that 1 in a million chance of a Black Swamp Find, then their cards would be new and I don't collect those. (not that there is anything wrong with them)

We love our well-loved cards!!

[hammer]

Thats a great Ruth.

[jb217676]

That's why I collect pre-war baseball postcards. Some are so darn rare you can't be picky when it comes to condition so I never ask. Sweet Ruth Leon!

As long as my cards have good eye appeal who cares, grading is subjective.

[MattyC]

I am naturally wary of any old card that is too mint. Additionally, some wear on much older cards looks appropriate, adds charm and character, and thus-- for me-- enhances eye appeal.

Time and again we have seen cards in higher numerical grade (closer to MINT) look worse to the eye than lower grade examples.

I tend to really appreciate a collection that manages to find hugely appealing pieces that are not obvious mint blazers. Sure, if the money is in hand, it's easy to throw big dollars around and obtain a Mint 9 Mantle or Clemente RC. But try finding one that looks great for under 4k. The latter is some challenge.

Conversely, I don't see anything to celebrate when a card labeled MINT 9 or GEM MT 10 is purchased-- but it actually looks overgraded, as many are. I get a sinking feeling when I see a 10 being brandished, that say has obvious tilt or a touched corner.

I love cards with total pops in the 100-range or less, because you are just thrilled to have an example in your collection-- and one with any eye appeal is just gravy! Hence why most of my favorite cards are lowly 1s to 3s LOL.

[AMBST95]

The craze of the late 80s, early 90s really created a world full of idiots when it comes to card collecting. Most of my friends who I try to talk about collecting with have the similar mint mindset and still hold on to their shoeboxes full of 91 Topps hoping for a big payday one day because the cards are mint. My parents are like, "that's pretty neat" but always come back to "What is it worth?" That's why I don't regularly share my collection with others. People hear baseball cards and think stocks and bonds rather than strikes and balls.

I've learned to collect what I like, disregard the naysayers who can't appreciate a sweet card and only want to know how much money your collection is worth. They ask if the cards are mint because they equate mint to US Mint.

[Paul S]

Arnie, your collection sounds a lot like my own -- pre-and-post-war vintage collection...and I'm a lifelong Yankee fan as well. I don't even bother to mention the subject to "outsiders". My dear friends know about it and are supportive even if they don't quite get my enthusiasm, and I hang out on the board with those who "understand".
Here's a couple Minty Ruths:

[brian1961]

Arnie----Hate to say it, but a lot of people aren't intelligent enough to appreciate the merits of vintage lesser grade cards. Don't give up. If you haven't already done so, arm yourself with a bit of quick history of the facts of cardboard life to convey:


-- the paper drives of two world wars
-- the millions of mothers throwing away their children's card collections--- unless the kid himself threw them away during adolescence
-- as millions of people moved to the suburbs in the 40s-50s, and really anytime, objects seen as junk were left behind or pitched. I lost half my childhood collection when my family moved to a different Chicago suburb in 1964.
-- that card preservation holders were not even invented until the 1980s
-- baseball cards were not perceived as valuable until the adult hobby began to organize in about 1969. Collecting Consciousness, whereby everyone started to save everything, began in the mid-1970s
-- long ago, when baseball cards were simply thought of as cheap boys' toys, boys handled them a lot as they loved them, looking over the pictures and the write-ups again and again--improving their reading, math and organizational skills. They played games with their cards--flipping and other thought-up games. They used them to enhance the sound of their bicycles. I remember reading a story in the magazine, Reminisce. Kids would take their collection of Goudey cards and, with a hole-puncher, punch a hole in a bottom corner area, then attach their stack of cards to a sturdy detachable ring. They'd wear their ring of cards around a belt or belt loop. Before and after a neighborhood game, they'd show off their cards, and perhaps work a trade. Yup, cards were loads of innocent fun.

This might help, emphasis on might. If not, throw it back at them with something they might relate to. Is the Barbie you played with as a girl pristine? Why not? Is the car you drive still pristine? And why not, bub?

You collect rare survivors from a time when cards were loved, but often, dis-carded. It is what it was.

--Brian Powell

[GoldenAge50s]

I have known Arnie for a few yrs now (from another Board) & believe me when I say he has the most extensive Yankee card collection of anyone I know--ANYONE would be proud to have put together what Arnie has-REGARDLESS of condition!

From the very old to some of the newest, I've seen ALOT of it and would be PROUD to own ANY or ALL of them!

[dabigyankeeman]

Thank you Fred, and thanks to all here who have said similar things to what i said. This is one subject that drives me nuts!

But hey, as much as i say this, its also nice to see a bunch of high graded cards, and Fred has them all!!!!! LOL. Seriously, Fred has an incredible bunch of great high graded old cards, but Fred, since yours are mainly not graded 10's i guess my friends would look down on your stuff too.

[GoldenAge50s]

I don't really have much of anyone to share my cards w/ either. My family & relatives know I have a basement full of stuff but don't really ever ask to see anything. My wife is very understanding but would rather have the basement cleaned out to neaten the place up!

She gets the most excited when I tell her I sold something!

[conor912]

I found in the past that when you mention your hobby to someone not in the hobby, most of them always ask a question like that, as if "mint" is the only hobby word they know and are just trying to make conversation. Still, i feel your pain. It is one of the many reasons i don't mention it to people anymore. Too many cock-eyed looks and and stupid questions.

[MattyC]

Originally Posted by dabigyankeeman

Thank you Fred, and thanks to all here who have said similar things to what i said. This is one subject that drives me nuts!

But hey, as much as i say this, its also nice to see a bunch of high graded cards, and Fred has them all!!!!! LOL. Seriously, Fred has an incredible bunch of great high graded old cards, but Fred, since yours are mainly not graded 10's i guess my friends would look down on your stuff too.

Arnie,

I'm with you all the way on low graded cards-- ESPECIALLY YANKEES!

From one Yankee fan to another, here are my Yankee greats whose collective grades don't even add up to two MINT 9s, let alone their collective cost is probably not even remotely near what one of them would cost in MINT 9...

[wolf441]

That's why we come here. When I try to convey the excitement of picking up a great vintage card, my wife's eyes just glaze over. I've stopped even mentioning the fact that I collect if we go out with a group of people, because I get the inevitable "yeah, I used to collect baseball cards too....when I was 12".

This board is like a safe haven!!

[MattyC]

Aside from net54, there is always Manchurian-candidate-style child-rearing. For example, my three year-old son can name every player on every card in my collection now.

He especially loves Shoeless Joe and Babe Ruth. His first word was "Mi-Ma," which is what he calls Mickey Mantle. I think he even has a stare like The Mick on his 52 Topps... I figure if he just doesn't sell my cards for a car or worse when I'm long gone, I'll consider it a win. The downside to brainwashing our kids to love older cards though is that their friends won't know what the hell they're talking about-- kinda like what we deal with!

Anyways having some picture/posting trouble here but got a great GIF of my boy struggling to say Shoeless Joe. Will try and get it up here right.

[RTK]

Hardly mint...

The majority of my cards were obtained after riding my Schwinn Sting Ray through a field to the local Convenient store, standing at the counter trying to decide how much candy versus how many packs of baseball cards I would buy. I opened the cards in great anticipation, hoping to get Cubs and White Sox players. I kept my cards separated by team and held together with a rubber band. Myself and the neighborhood kids traded cards after our trips to the store. I have no idea how many Mantles, Mays or Aarons I traded. The value of my cards for me is how they relate to my childhood, my childhood friends and endless games of sandlot baseball we played. I've bought a few cards over my adult years; Ted Williams, Mays, Duke Snider, Ernie Banks, all '57's. I particularly like '57 cards despite them being from a time before I was born in 1960. I buy them regardless of the condition, more based on players I like and price. I'll probably buy more over time but I'm not an investor or an accumulator of cards, I just like the old cards and what they meant at the time they were printed. The '90's era of card collecting; rookie cards and special cards is lost on me. I never got caught up in that. I'll take a '67 Don Kessinger with rubber band marks any day.

[dabigyankeeman]

Matt, great stuff, and no need for higher grades, those cards have super eye appeal. 5 on the true Mantle rookie is really great! Mine is a 1, but again, with great eye appeal. I find that if you look hard enough you can get really good eye appeal in lower grades. Your 52 Mantle with a 3 grade is really nice, again mine is a 1. Love your Sporting News card, thats one i need, even if Babe is in a Boston uniform! I have a part of my collection that i call "Yankee players when they were on other teams" and that card would go in there.

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

The question I usually get is what is your most valuable card? Do you have a Babe Ruth? Luckily I can answer yes to the last question.

[Copa7]

Mint is a myth created by PSA to influence the hobby and line their pockets.

Mint is a matter of opinion.

Mint is a term used by dealers to degrade items of historic value.

Anyone collector who has compared PSA cards and their grading system can easily see the vast discrepancy in opinioned number values they are given.

In the end, it still one person's opinion.

Make you own choices and enjoy.

[BradH]

Arnie - I feel your pain, but I think this is common with a lot of things in life - people don't tend to show a ton of interest or appreciation for things they don't care much about or understand.

We took our kids back home to see relatives in northern Indiana at Christmas time and one night my brother-in-law was talking about an old car he'd recently finished working on in his barn. (Other than basic maintenance and how to change a tire and my oil, I don't really know squat about cars.) So I showed some interest and asked him a few questions about it. After he talked for a while I realized I was doing just what you're talking about. My eyes had to have been glazed over. Then he said something that caught my attention. He said the car was a '68 Camaro SS and that he'd "rebuilt it with matching numbers." This intrigued me and I asked to see the car. We spent the next hour in his barn as he showed me this unbelievably beautiful vehicle (Google '68 Camaro SS and you'll see what I mean).

He explained the pains and searching involved in doing a car with parts that have matching serial numbers. This is a whole sub-culture that I was never aware of and he just beamed as he explained all of this too me. Some of the parts took him years to find and I realized how important this was to him and I was glad that he got to enjoy showing it off to me. And while I was tempted, I never asked the "how much is it worth" question because I hate it when people do that with my cards.

I think I've somewhat educated my family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. about my collection. Now some of them actually seem to be interested when I have a new addition to my collection. Sometimes they actually like the stories behind how I found a card hidden deep in an antique shop or at a flea market. Or how I searched for a card for years and finally found it.

Anyway - most of us understand what you're experiencing.

[wonkaticket]

Personally I have never experienced this most folks eyes glaze over before the topic of condition ever comes up…..guess it’s all in my delivery or I’m talking to the wrong people.

[bnorth]

Yes all my cards are mint. Take a look at these 2 mint beauties.

[KCRfan1]

Brad, it sounds like there are some similarities between card collecting and your brother-in-law putting together his Camero. There is common ground, just different items ( cards and a car ).

[DeanH3]

I love cards with total pops in the 100-range or less, because you are just thrilled to have an example in your collection-- and one with any eye appeal is just gravy! Hence why most of my favorite cards are lowly 1s to 3s LOL.[/QUOTE]

This is where I find myself as well. I prefer overall rarity vs condition rarity.

[midwaylandscaping]

In rebuilding part of my collection, I've made it a point to not go after "mint" cards. Instead, going after cards that were more in line with what I once had. For me it's more a realism thing or a character thing. Cards that aren't "mint" have a certain bit of character to them IMO

[ullmandds]

great cards, Dean...I totally agree. But there can't be more than a few dozen max on those!!!!

[tschock]

While I appreciate mint cards, like many of you, almost all of mine are more of a "cinnamon" in nature.

[DeanH3]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

great cards, Dean...I totally agree. But there can't be more than a few dozen max on those!!!!

Thanks Pete.

[dabigyankeeman]

Originally Posted by I Only Smoke 4 the Cards

The question I usually get is what is your most valuable card? Do you have a Babe Ruth? Luckily I can answer yes to the last question.

Me too, in fact I have about 14 cards of Ruth from his playing days, BUT THEY ARE NOT MINT!!!

Also, as many have said here, i constantly get asked how much is your collection worth. I hate that, i always say just that its got good value, but not great value due to the cards NOT BEING MINT!!!

But most of the time, their eyes just glaze over as Brad said, and they have zero interest in my collection!! Particularly after i say ITS NOT MINT!!!

chuckle chuckle snort snort

[EvilKing00]

Yea non collectors dont understand. Lol i have a few mint bonds rookies .... But i also have a few not so mint ruth cards

[ullmandds]

Quite honestly... Being around and handling Mint cards make me a little nervous... Aside from the potential that they are altered or tampered with... The fact that they are so perfect... Like friends that we may have who never do anything wrong... Make me uncomfortable!!!

[Rickyy]

This forum turned me onto non MINT cards...and I've never been more happier!

Ricky Y

[HOF Yankees]

I agree with what a lot of the members said on here, my cards aren't mint either and never will be I like to collect for the fun and love of owning the cards. It's always about owning the cards to me, never how much I can get for it. Brad I searched the Camaro and wow a beauty of a car. The worst question I always get asked is, "How much did you pay for that", I don't like to say cause people out side of collecting don't seem so interested and just get silent so I don't say really. Coming here on Net54 I can actually talk to fellow collectors who share the same passion, and know what were talking about and we crticze ones collection, cause we all seem to share the same interest, just different collecting themes.

[EvilKing00]

I guess a non collector wont know the difference, so maybe A, could be on a scale from A to Z. So the ruth would be on par with the other 2.

[hangman62]

I only collect Pre War cards in NM, NM to MT, MT, MT to Gem MT, and Gem Mint.
My collection is growing

Ralph G

[Bocabirdman]

Mints? I never eat them when handling my collection lest I get some sticky fingerprints on my beauties.

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