$50,000 investment

[calvindog]

1 high grade Pete Rose rookie card. SGC 98.

Or maybe three of them.

[FrankWakefield]

Can't be done.

Invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, a home, real estate, an education for yourself, spouse or child...

[calvindog]

What can't be done? Investing in baseball cards?

Frank, how about I make you a million dollar bet: I say you can invest 50K in baseball cards, you say you can't. Are we on?

[ullmandds]

I'd buy one of the icons of the hobby...like the 33 goudey lajoie...or a t206 plank...or a t206 magie...or a run of t206 backs...or any super scarce...yet popular issue depicting one of the 1st class of hof'ers...i can think of many ways to spend/invest 50K on bb cards!!!

[3-2-count]

I'd go for 19th century and early 20th century cabinets and start with this one.

[Bill Stone]

I would buy the finest example possible of a T210 Stengel then invest the rest , if any, in early Pacific Coast League pennants.

[MBMiller25]

I would buy 5 of the nicest NM graded (SGC or PSA) 51 Bowman Mantles that I could find. Finding 5 will be difficult (from a time spent standpoint), but from a shear investment standpoint, I think this card is very undervalued and would allow you to do well on a 50K investment.

Edit to add: I just got into collecting about two years ago, so I have Zero knowledge of the Pre-War card market and what might constitute a nice investment on the Pre-War side of the hobby, as my focus has been on Post War from 48-55.

[camlov2]

isn't the first rule of investing to diversify?

I wouldn't want to put all the money in one area/card (example-Pete Rose) just to find out that 5 more Gem mint 10's were graded over the next few months.

Like any investment I would look to buy low. Anything that I thought was a good deal and that could be resold would get a second look.

[4815162342]

I don't think baseball cards are for investing; they're for collecting. Invest in mutual funds for retirement; collect baseball cards for enjoyment.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by camlov2

Like any investment I would look to buy low. Anything that I thought was a good deal and that could be resold would get a second look.

I think this is really key!!! More money can be made on the buy side than the sell side, especially in this hobby (imo). If I had 50k to invest I would look for the best looking cards for the grade, of higher end HOF'ers. I would want to buy cards in the 2-4 grade range that present 1-3 grades higher, but pay at the bottom of those scales. As for the era I would stick with Pre-WWII but arguments could be made for post war also.

Frank- this is hypothetical. I DON'T think it would be unwise to put some money into our hobby as a piece of your investment strategy. It's all about balance.....and I am meaning this on a general basis. My balance is heavily weighted in cards but I am an addict and don't recommend it.