When was the end of Junk era?

[steve B]

Originally Posted by Rookiemonster

I don't think it has stopped. Refractors came out in 1993 and autographs in pack 1996 . Both of those years were well in to the over production era. I've heard from the old timers that 1968 on is considered over production era.

In pack autos started in 1990 for major sets. Maybe earlier for some of the smaller producers?

While a lot of the stuff produced now still sort of falls under the "junk" category, there's a fair amount that I think has some upside. Yes, most sets are produced in a wide array of versions, which really skew our impressions. If there's 10 sets and each has some version numbered to 10 of each card, it looks as if a card that there's only 10 of isn't really all that hard to find.
So the demand gets watered down - even player collectors just shrug and leave it on the wantlist but move on to the next set issued.

Trying to find some stuff a few years afterward is more challenging than it might seem. The first set of Signature Rookies Hockey had signed promos, usually numbered at less than 500. I haven't gone after them as seriously as I could, but I still haven't even put together a solid checklist. For that matter I still see SR stuff I didn't know existed (And I have doubts about some of it. )

And the differences caused by cards being produced in multiple places or changes in production have led to some versions of even the junkiest stuff that are far less common.

Once the group of people collecting cards from the late 80s-early 90s gets beyond the "OMG it's the joe nobody ROOOOKIEEEE!!!" stage some of that will have some value. (And I freely admit that that may never happen )

To me the end of what I call the junk wax era was either right after the strike in 94, or around the time a lot of the formerly big card producers went under. So roughly 2005-2009 ish. Not a hard end, but a fading out of the companies that couldn't sustain enough business to keep the license.

Steve B