[lambeau legend4]

Hi everyone,

No, I'm not a noob. I've been a collector for @ 20 yrs now. But my main collecting focus has mostly been football, some basketball & a small touch of baseball (mostly Ken Griffey Jr).

I am wanting to switch some of my collecting focus to vintage stuff... mainly vintage baseball cards. I have always been a fan & collector of 1990's stuff. Imo, some of the coolest cards were made in that decade. But with the main focus of almost every brand in every sport focusing on "rookies" & "young stars," it's gotten pretty boring for me. Everytime I see a new product, it jus kills me to imagine how little thought & effort went into creating it. Yes, some of the new stuff is cool, but I think most of it is garbage.

Which brings me to vintage cards. I like the designs & the simplicity of the cards. Not everything needs a piece of GU or an auto attatched to it, lol. I have a few idea's of some sets & players I'd like to collect, but my question is..... what do I need to look for? I know that the condition/grading situation varies greatly from modern to vintage. Obviously, everyone wants cards in the best condition they can get/afford, but what are some clues/keys to look for? When buying ungraded, how much "damage" to the card is acceptable (the rounded/bent corners, centering, creases, ect...)? And when buying graded (I only buy PSA or BGS), what grades are acceptable for which cards/sets/years? For example: a PSA 4 would be laughed at if it were a modern card, but for some vintage (50's, 60's & 70's) these grades sometimes command great premiums.

Any help, tips or keys of what to look for, in helping understand the world of vintage would be GREATLY appreciated!!

Thanks everyone! ALL comments are welcome!!

[chasescardcave]

I would also like to know!

[waynetalger]

My suggestion if you are looking for pre-war 1940-1888 I would go with SGC and for 1950 to 1979 PSA ans for 1980 to current BG.
My opinion is go to your local LCS and touch and feel the vintage, get an idea what the measurements are for some vintage are smaller then todays cards and some are larger like the 89 Bowman.
If you are looking for T-206 for 1909-1911 I can be able to help and go further into detail.
When and if you get a chance look at my PC thread in Baseball I think the vintage starts on page 3 to get you differnt looks of the cards.

Welcome to the vintage world

[75toppsfan]

Vintage cards are awesome!!! Heres one of the reasons I love 'em. I wonder.....whats the story behind this card? what road did it travel before it landed in my hands? Did a youngster pull it from a pack and treasure it and protect it all these years? Did an adult pull it and stash it and forgot about them? Or maybe someone happened upon unopened boxes somewhere that had been sitting there like a time capsule!

Please share with us any vintage cards you pick up.....please!!

[newtmcknz]

Can't really tell you what to collect or how to collect. Different collectors have different likes and dislikes.

Best advice I could give for dealing with vintage would be to read as much baseball and sports history as you can. You'd be shocked how many card collectors and dealers have no clue who these players are or what makes them collectable.

[waynetalger]

(08-03-2012 09:00 PM)newtmcknz Wrote:  Can't really tell you what to collect or how to collect. Different collectors have different likes and dislikes.

Best advice I could give for dealing with vintage would be to read as much baseball and sports history as you can. You'd be shocked how many card collectors and dealers have no clue who these players are or what makes them collectable.

Thats a very true statement. Every T-206 card I pick up I look up the history of the player to know what he has done on and off the feild

[ricelynnevans75]

Research, research, and more research! Before you do pick up anything, hop online and do some google searches for how to spot fakes of the issue you are picking up. With the key cards/sets, they are out there so you want to watch yourself. Since you are just beginning, I wouldn't pick up any star cards that are NOT graded by either SGC/PSA/BVG.

When purchasing graded, I wouldn't put too much thought into what the label says. Look at the card itself and determine if the eye appeal of it is what you are looking for. If you are more intrigued by the number on the label, then have at it, but personally, I just want an attractive card. With that said, you are going to be able to pick up a card for cheaper simply because of the number up there. I've seen many T206 cards that receive a grade of "Good" that look better than some of the same card graded "Very Good". It all depends on what your looking for and what your pet peeves are. Mine is centering and wrinkles/creases going through the players head/face. I don't mind touched/rounded corners or some wear on the card at all but if it's not even remotely close to being centered, I'll pass on it.

Me personally, I allow for more wear the further back I go. With the pre-war, I like to target anything from poor to VG/EX all depending on the cost and eye appeal of the card. Some cards have common damage to them. You'll find many tobacco and candy cards that have paper loss on the back since it was at one time glued into somebody's scrap book. This is the case with some of my tobacco cards and it doesn't faze me at all. The fronts are beautiful and I like that little extra character to them knowing that it sat in someone's book in the past.

In regards to what grades are "acceptable". That's tough to answer since it's dependent on the tastes of each person. I hate saying that but it's true. Go with what you're comfortable with at a price you are willing to pay.

If you're interested in pre-war at all, I recommend checking out the site Old Cardboard. It gives a good breakdown of the various pre-war issues and is a good starting point for research.
http://www.oldcardboard.com/

I'd type more but I am heading to the American History museum and I could literally write on this topic forever. Good luck with your choice!

[cptnemo66]

Wayne & RLE pretty much summed it all up. Its really personal taste. Only thing I really see missing is vintage is borken up into 2. Post war & pre war. Pre war vintage 1948 and earlier will always have a market no matter the condition. Post war vintage 1948-1979 starting in the 40's & 50's I wouldnt get anything that would grade less than a 4-5 imo. 60's & 70's really need to be nice 6's or 7's. Low grade post war vintage doesnt have that big a market so values suffer.

[krykslr]

I'm not nearly the expert that others on the boards are, but I've gotten into vintage quite a bit recently, both pre-war and post-war. I'm working on a Boston Nat'l T206 team set and a 1952 Bowman complete set.

My advice first is to figure out what you personally like. Every collector has different preferences and tastes on sets, conditions, etc., so my first bit of advice is to collect something that you like. I have found the sets I've wanted to focus on and figured out my own personal limits on the condition I like. Some people like their cards to be higher grade and in better condition, while others (including me) like the cards to be worn a little and show their age.

My second bit of advice is to do as much research as you can on vintage and know what you're buying. I've found a couple websites to be quite helpful in the past:

http://www.alteredcards.com/
This site will be able to tell you how to examine cards for tampering and other alterations. It's amazing to me how much information this site has on the topic, and there are things on there I had never heard of.

http://cycleback.com/cardsauthentication.pdf
This one has a lot of information on authenticating vintage cards and what to look for. it's very easy to read and is great for beginners. I've used this guide more than any others. There are also a lot of other things on the general cycleback.com site that may be helpful too.

Finally, DON'T GET OVERWHELMED with all the information that you come across like these websites and stuff. It's easy to look at this stuff and think "I'll never remember all that" but just enjoy collecting and have fun with it!

Welcome to the world of vintage!

[uvaspina]

I'm by no means an expert on vintage- not even close. But you're about to delve into something that has more than 100 years of history. So, I'd recommend picking a player, set, team, brand, year, whatever. Then set a goal and try to reach it. One guy on here (I can't remember who) only collects vintage cards of catchers in their full gear. Another guy collected all cards that were in Yankee stadium. I think those are cool themes that definitely depend on the individual. If you just dabble in everything, you'll have a really scattered collection and it will be difficult (and expensive) to sustain momentum. Personally, I think it would be cool to start small- with a team and a year- and try to get em all. It'll make going to every card show and shop a mission for you.