Best memorabilia investment out there

[bigfanNY]

Originally Posted by Chris Counts

I see flannel jerseys as the pinnacle of baseball memorabilia, but not necessarily the best investment, since their prices are sky high.

I believe caps are the most undervalued genre of baseball memorabilia. They're at least as rare as flannel jerseys, but they're relatively affordable — '50s and '60s flannel jerseys routinely sell for thousands, while I've paid just a couple hundred dollars each for many of my best caps from the '50s and '60s.

Jerseys and caps are tough to find and make the great display items. I don't find bats and gloves nearly as interesting. People love to show off their stuff, and I believe the best display items will always be in demand.

I love publications, but I see their values headed south as the sheer number of the them available dwarfs the number of potential collectors in the future. I also like autographs, but they're such a rabbit hole of potential fraud that many collectors are scared off by them. As for pins, they are definitely rare and desirable, but overpriced.

Chris I am on the other end of the spectrum. I too like to display my items but I find that Bats are much easier to display than my caps. In fact I recently sold a nice Mike Trout Hat after I put up a bat display with my Mike Trout Bat. I also Love Love Publications and belive that scorecards and publications before 1910 are very undervalued and are in extremely short supply. Now as you move further on the supply increases. Take world series programs as an example. Easy to put together a collection from 1950 on but as you go back decades they get tougher to the point most WS collectors stop in the 20's. The first 5 are beyond scarce and even at current valuations I think under priced.
As for pins they have never been a focus of mine. Although I did collect PX7 Domino disks for a bit. But the earliest examples like Luxello's are beautiful and rare so again like publications. Early examples I think are undervalued. Funny but as I write this I seem to be saying that most memorabilia categories with examples before 1910 are scarce and undervalued. And you could make the same case for cards. Old Judges have always in my opinion been undervalued with a small group of collectors focused on those sets. Most vintage collectors like myself are satisfied with a few examples maybe a Hall of famer or two. Imagine if everyone who collects baseball cards ( shiny stuff included) decided they needed to have an old judge HOF in their collection the prices would rocket. But then most of us me included would be priced out of collecting stuuf we like. Which has happened to me more than once in the past 45 years of collecting.

[Jewish-collector]

Collect what you enjoy and enjoy what you collect.
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[Exhibitman]

Team issued photos of postwar superstars. Those are not the vaunted 'Type I' photos that have skyrocketed but the under-appreciated and not well-documented publicity photos by the teams. I've been grabbing them up for years. A few have gone very strong: MJ, Jim Brown, Wilt Chamberlain, etc. Most are not there yet, though, and even the ones that are moving up can still be found on the cheap relative to baseball. I think the wave is gathering, though, because the supply on eBay has dried up. And some images:

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by Jewish-collector

Collect what you enjoy and enjoy what you collect.

+1. The question was about investment, however, and to that I say: if you can predict the sports memorabilia market or the stock market or any other market, you're smarter than me.

[MVSNYC]

Hi Tony, thanks for your kind words...and I love that Arod gamer!...Re: My Rookie Jeter Bat- it was cracked, and then later professionally restored (it has since been rephotographed for the updated PSA/DNA LOA (GU10). The bat actually is due to go on display at The Yankee's Museum (at Yankee Stadium). They were planning a Jeter exhibit for 2020, and that was obviously postponed due to Covid. The exhibit has been on hold, but when they finally have it, I've agreed to loan it to them.

[David Atkatz]

Originally Posted by MVSNYC;2233714.

Re: My Rookie Jeter Bat- it was cracked, and then later professionally restored (it has since been rephotographed for the updated PSA/DNA LOA (GU10).

Why would you restore it? It's an historical artifact. Part of its history is that Jeter (most likely) stopped using it because it cracked. You've now erased that bit, and turned the bat into something it isn't.

[SyrNy1960]

Originally Posted by David Atkatz

Why would you restore it? It's an historical artifact. Part of its history is that Jeter (most likely) stopped using it because it cracked. You've now erased that bit, and turned the bat into something it isn't.

David, I agree! I will say however, depending on how bad the crack is (total separation), many prefer to have the bat repaired.

My Arod 1st Career Grand Slam Bat is cracked (no separation). PSA graded it a 9.5 due to the crack. The crack is a part of and a result of the grand slam, so I definitely want it to remain as is. PSA told me it graded a 9.5 due to the size (length) of the crack. If smaller, it would have graded a PSA 10. To me, if it's cracked as a result of its use, then it shouldn't matter. That's just my opinion.

PSA bat grading can be frustrating. I don't see a bat pounded with use, and having a crack, being downgraded .5 for the crack; it is a result of the use. Taking a bat with a crack, and then repairing it, now making it a PSA 10, doesn't make sense to me. The crack still occurred and is actually still there.

Not taking anything away from Michael's Jeter bat, as it's an awesome bat, and this is how PSA's process works.

[MVSNYC]

Thanks for your kind words, Tony.

David, I should clarify. I did not mean to say that I owned the bat cracked, then had it restored...The bat was photographed with the crack (you see part of it above), it was then professionally restored, then graded, then I purchased it. In the world of game used bat collecting, it is very common that cracks are repaired/restored, as long as it is properly mentioned in the LOA (which mine certainly is), it is widely accepted, and usually preferred, as the restoration helps preserve the bat, keeps it more structurally sound, and poses less of a danger to a person handling the bat.

[SyrNy1960]

Originally Posted by MVSNYC

Hi Tony, thanks for your kind words...and I love that Arod gamer!...Re: My Rookie Jeter Bat- it was cracked, and then later professionally restored (it has since been rephotographed for the updated PSA/DNA LOA (GU10). The bat actually is due to go on display at The Yankee's Museum (at Yankee Stadium). They were planning a Jeter exhibit for 2020, and that was obviously postponed due to Covid. The exhibit has been on hold, but when they finally have it, I've agreed to loan it to them.

Michael,

Thanks and I appreciate you sharing! Your Jeter bat will be an awesome display!

Tony

[ooo-ribay]

Originally Posted by Jewish-collector

Collect what you enjoy and enjoy what you collect.
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I could not agree more. Although a fair number of my items have appreciated in value, that has absolutely nothing to do with why I collect. My collection is a love; not an investment.

[UKCardGuy]

Originally Posted by ooo-ribay

I could not agree more. Although a fair number of my items have appreciated in value, that has absolutely nothing to do with why I collect. My collection is a love; not an investment.

I look at it the same way. I have a bit of a scattergun approach. I buy memorabilia that I like if I find it at a good price. If I want to give this approach heirs and graces then we can call it a "diversification strategy".

I'm not blind to the value and it certainly makes me feel better if the prices go up. But if my collection simply holds it's value then I feel like I'm ahead because I've been able to get the enjoyment from my collection.

All of that said, the OP asked what memorabilia might be a good investment. Others mentioned photos, GU caps, GU bat and GU jerseys. I think these are all great choices. Personally, I'd look at items where the demand will remain strong and the supply is limited. In my opinion, Type 1 photos, pre-war postcards and magazines are all really undervalued. They all have the benefit of being gradeable. I know that there's loads of issues with grading but it does help to create demand because it removes doubt for buyers.