What single card do you think will increase in value the most in 10 years

[darwinbulldog]

Originally Posted by ParisianJohn

When I saw the title of this thread I wondered what we all would have said to this question in 2013.

My gut reaction is that in 10 years Pele and Messi cards might spike the most as trading cards could go more global, with a push from the US as more American investors look for the next big thing and recognize the global popularity of that sport and go for those guys. I singled out Pele and Messi because they're pretty much the only soccer players I can name, and that counts for something, kind of like how in the past decade Ruth has spiked dramatically as more people got into this hobby, especially during COVID, and then with bets on this being a safer investment than the market (or at least a good way to diversify your holdings).

If we limit this to baseball cards then, like many others have said, I feel all things Jackie Robinson should spike, with lots of room for growth on his Bond Breads, Leafs, Bowmans and his 1952 Topps. I think the latter will go up the most since "1952 Topps" has that association to the famed 1952 Mantle that T206 as a whole has to the T206 Wagner. Jackie's got a historical significance where he's well-known outside of baseball, too.

Then again (returning to my opening sentence) I started collecting vintage around 2010, took a break in 2015 when my first kid was born, relapsed for a bit in 2016, then took a break in 2017 when my second kid was born and came back to the hobby early last year. In 2013 I would have looked at the price of cards for pre-war HOFers and thought they were close to maxed out and it was time for Aaron, Mays, Robinson and Williams to go nuts. Instead it has been the old, top-tier HOFers who spiked the most. Ruth, Young, Johnson, Cobb, Wagner.

So I'll say in the end it's Boston-era Ruth cards, his Baltimore minor league cards (good luck finding or affording one) and stuff from Messi and Pele that was produced before COVID. I could be horribly wrong!

Too late. Goldin sold a Pele card for $486,000 last year.

[ParisianJohn]

Originally Posted by darwinbulldog

Too late. Goldin sold a Pele card for $486,000 last year.

I wouldn't be surprised if $486K looks small in a few years.

[oldjudge]

Diana Taurasi is accumulating stats like few in any sport ever have. Last week she became the first WNBA player to score more than 10,000 points in a career. The next highest total is under 7500. That is Ruth/Gretzky type numbers. She is also very accessible to fans. It wasn’t long ago that virtually all WNBA players were fan friendly. This has changed over the last season or two, perhaps COVID-related. Stars like Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu will no longer sign autographs. A’ja Wilson is also a very reluctant signer.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

Diana Taurasi is accumulating stats like few in any sport ever have. Last week she became the first WNBA player to score more than 10,000 points in a career. The next highest total is under 7500. That is Ruth/Gretzky type numbers. She is also very accessible to fans. It wasn’t long ago that virtually all WNBA players were fan friendly. This has changed over the last season or two, perhaps COVID-related. Stars like Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu will no longer sign autographs. A’ja Wilson is also a very reluctant signer.

41 and scoring 18 per game, how great is that?

[ChasingPaper]

.

[Exhibitman]

I agree with Paul's now-deleted take on Taurasi: nope. Just because she is the Don Bradman of womens' basketball doesn't mean anyone cares or collects. Heck, I can't even get traction on Jack Dempsey or Joe Louis cards, and I'd bet that boxing is more popular than the WNBA.

Bradman, of course, is the Babe Ruth of cricket, and many of his prewar cards can sell for as much as tens of dollars each.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Look up what a PSA 9 Taurasi already goes for before you make analogies to cricket. Or Breanna.

[darwinbulldog]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

Bradman, of course, is the Babe Ruth of cricket, and many of his prewar cards can sell for as much as tens of dollars each.

Don't I know it.

[53toppscollector]

I don't collect modern cards at all, but I think its unlikely there is a sport out there that people are not paying any attention to that will one day show massive price jumps. A few years ago, I think Formula 1 had a moment where a bunch of rarer stuff really skyrocketed in price. Tennis cards seem to have a very limited (and capped?) market. Cricket doesn't seem to have much collector appeal. Auto racing beyond F1? No. Lacrosse? no. Pickleball? god I hope not.

The only sport I can see making big gains is Footy, but even the popularity of that sport has only slowly increased in the US over the last 20 years. It seems to be gaining more steam, but the interesting thing about that timing is 2 of the greatest players to ever play the sport are just about at the end of their careers, and its tough to see what the next generation is going to look like.