By Chris Olds | Beckett Sports Card Monthly Editor

If you’ve been to the National Sports Collectors Convention, you’ve seen one thing in the hobby that’s alive and well, despite what you may see in your typical hobby shop.

It’s got nothing to do with the latest new products, prospects or even a single thing Chromed.

It’s vintage.

In the next issue of Beckett Sports Card Monthly, arriving in March, we’re taking a look at the cards from 1980 and before — the vintage years — via memorable sets, players and more. As part of that one, we’ll be taking at look at the pop reports for grading of vintage cards by  Beckett Grading Services as well as PSA to explore what’s interesting,  what’s most-graded and what’s perhaps not graded as often as it should be.

One piece that didn’t make its way into the magazine, but you can see right here as a teaser, is a Hobby Q&A with BGS senior vintage grader Andy Broome, who offered his insights on a few questions specific to older cards for that division of Beckett Media.

Of Beckett Grading Services’ overall incoming card volume, how much of it is vintage? Has that seemed to be steady over the years or is it perhaps down or up?
Vintage continues to be a growing part of our business. Last year was a record year for Beckett Grading Services and for the number of vintage submissions as well. Our vintage submissions have steadily increased over the last several years in both sports and non-sports.

Have you seen an uptick in any particular sets among vintage releases? Are any years or brands increasing … or just surprisingly steady?
I definitely see an uptick in 1950s and 60s mid-grade cards. There is also an increase of cards for set and player registries. It is still amazing that, in 2013, T206 cards are submitted nearly on a daily basis. There are still more that are new to the hobby surfacing and being submitted.

Are any players more obviously graded than others? Who would you say the top five are overall that you see on a regular basis?
Not in any order but Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Babe Ruth are our biggest hitters. The 1950s stars like Sandy Koufax, Duke Snider and Jackie Robinson are big, too. Most people do not think of Wayne Gretzky as vintage, but his Rookie Ccard qualifies as a vintage card. His RC is one of our most-submitted cards.

After baseball, which I’d presume to be No. 1, how do the other sports stack up for you in terms of grading volume? Any surprises or recent growth there in submissions?
Yes, baseball is No. 1 in vintage. No. 2 would be football followed by basketball and then hockey. Non-sports would be next in line. Basketball and hockey both seem to be growing in numbers of cards submitted.

How about vintage graded non-sports cards? Has that seemed to be growing at all?
This is an area that has seen some strong growth over the last couple of years. I believe it is still an area with untapped potential. I’d watch this part of our hobby with prices continuing to rise for high-end graded vintage non-sport. Popular vintage non-sport sets like Mars Attacks remain a challenge when it comes to high-grade examples.

When it comes to grading pre-1900s cards, does BGS seem to be seeing more or less? Which timeframes make up the majority of your vintage submissions?
We are seeing more but more is a relative term. The 19th century stuff is scarce to downright rare. We see Old Judge cards more than anything but they are the most plentiful. Next in line would be N300 Mayos. That is one of the most interesting areas to collect and study. Did you know there is a Hall of Famer with a card that shows him giving the middle finger? Old Judge cards can be affordable to most collectors and a great place to start. Have at least one authentic Old Judge card in your collection. Cool factor alone, it’s a 125-year old baseball card! From 1948 to the 1970s would be the No. 1 timeframe followed by 1930s and then pre-war.

How about submissions of vintage autographed items or cards to be graded/authenticated – would you say that area of collecting has been growing? Or are there any other areas for vintage that you have seen more of lately?
Vintage autographed cards is an area of collecting that has gotten hot in the last year or two. I think our partnership with James Spence Authentication is one factor in the popularity of collecting graded and encapsulated autographed cards. Collectors are finding vintage signed cards can still be affordable, even pre-war cards.

Like I said before, mid-grade 1950s is growing along with cards for set and player registries.  The 1960s and 1970s will be next because of the registry.

If someone was interested in having a batch of old cards graded, what would you say or show them to convince them to try it?
I would ask what are they wanting to do with the cards — sell them or keep them for their collection. If they are selling, grading some of the cards will increase the resale value. I suggest higher-condition cards and cards of stars like Mickey Mantle be graded at any grade. Buyers are looking for grade and they are looking for authentic and unaltered.

If the person was keeping their cards, there is no better protection than a Beckett holder. Especially for long-term storage and protection and for peace of mind. No one wants to talk about it but at some point when we pass on, someone will have to deal with our collections. Having your cards organized and in BGS holders where all the information is there on the label will be important for that family of loved one having to deal with the cards.

Protection is important and we do not always think about it. After hurricane Katrina, a customer sent us photos of his room where he kept his collection. His house was flooded and the only part of his collection to survive was his BGS graded cards. The photo he sent actually showed his BGS cards floating on top of the water.

In your experience, is there one vintage card or set that seems to continuously elusive for collectors when it comes to a high-grade specimen?
I do not think there is just one. I think there are many pre-war sets that have not survived well. T206 is an example. While there are high-end examples to be found, there are a lot of 1’s and 2’s that are beat up. A hundred-plus years is a long time for a piece of cardboard to survive! The 1950s regional sets are also tough as well.

Anything else to add?
The launch of the new Beckett Graded Registry is coming in March. With the ability to create literally any type of collection within a custom registry, and even open it up to competition, the possibilities are endless. This alone is expected to easily double or triple our vintage submissions in 2013 with sustained growth after that. Look for large amounts of post-war vintage BVG to hit the market soon, followed by a nice uptick in pre-war and non-sports vintage material.

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Sports Card Monthly magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

 By Chris Olds | Beckett Sports Card Monthly Editor | Commentary

Collecting can bring out the little ironies of life — like when you buy dozens of packs and come up one card short of a set or when you visit a card show or shop and can’t find a card that costs 25 cents.

With vintage collecting, it can get even tougher as there are simply cards — not the Toppses and Bowmans of the world — that you just don’t see everyday … or every month … or every year.

One of the cards that I have a trivial interest in — that I have yet to see in-person — is a card of Floyd Olds, a former minor-league pitcher who won 101 games over nine seasons but never made it past Class-AA.

Ironies? His name, of course — he’s not related, but I looked — and he’s the only Olds to play baseball and have a card. He played for the Oakland Oaks and it’s during those years where he appeared on his only two releases in the Beckett database, a 1937-38 Zeenut card and the 1938 Oakland Oaks Signal Oil Stamps card seen above.

I’d like to own them both — for trivial reasons — but they’re just not the kind of cards you see every day. I fact, I’ve never even seen a scan of the Zeenut card.

Combined they’ll probably cost me $100, maybe more. That’s steep even to me, but I’ve never been presented with that dilemma, that choice by seeing either of them in person.

The Signal card above is from a 2010 Legendary Auctions sale of an entire album that actually was signed by several members of the team with the cards affixed to the pages. It went for $593. The Zeenut card? I’ve never even seen one for sale — though I’ll confess that I’m not also regularly scouring potential places to find it, either.

With all that said, for the upcoming Vintage Issue of Beckett Sports Card Monthly, we simply want to hear your tales of the one  vintage (pre-1980) card you simply cannot find — and why. It can be for any sport — or even non-sports.

Just tell us … What vintage card continues to elude you — and why? Did you pass one up and never see it again? Is it too rare? Or are you too picky?

We’ll select the most-interesting replies and they’ll appear in the issue. Who knows — somebody may see it and have the card for you.

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

Join Beckett Baseball‘s Chris Olds as he rips into some 2012 Bowman jumbo packs — and watches a collector rip into even more — in this Box Busters preview video.

Oh, and do you like vintage? Check it out.

What will he find inside? Watch and find out …

Beckett Baseball‘s Chris Olds noticed that a lot of you noticed his recent vintage baseball card grab bag video, so naturally he picked up another vintage baseball card grab bag to video just for you — and he’s hoping you’ll notice once again.

What will he find inside this time? Watch and find out …

By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor

A PSA 5 specimen of one of the hobby’s more sought-after pre-war cards sold for more than $100,000 as had been expected in Memory Lane Inc.‘s Winter Classics Auction that closed on Saturday night.

The Eddie Plank T206 card, which featured a Sweet Caporal back, sold for $107,100 after 16 bids and buyer’s premium as part of an event that generated $1.6 million in sales.

“The auction again showed the strength of rare and high grade material,” said Memory Lane’s J.P. Cohen. “Collectors are willing to invest in items that either exist only in small quantities or carry a grade that makes them desirable to those who want the best they can find.”

Meanwhile, a PSA 4 1902 W600 Sporting Life cabinet card of Honus Wagner sold for $33,842 and a rare Ty Cobb Tobacco tin finished with the third-highest bidding of the sale at $30,867.

The notable sales weren’t just all pre-war vintage, either, as high-grade vintage Topps cards grabbed attention from bidders as well. For example, a 1971 Topps baseball set that ranked fourth in the PSA set registry brought in $30,810, while a PSA 9 Al Kaline 1954 Topps Rookie Card fetched $18,040 and a ’54 Willie Mays went for $10,184.

Also in-demand were Red Man cards as a 1953 Stan Musial PSA 9 went for $10,767 and a ’52 Mays PSA 8.5 went for $8,804.

To see more results, visit Memory Lane Inc. by clicking here.

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor

A long-time collector of the Brooklyn Dodgers has decided to part ways with his 30-year stash of Dodger Blue treasures and Memory Lane Inc. will be the place for fans to look in its 2011 Summer Classics Auction which starts on Saturday and runs until Aug. 30.

The Tustin, Calif.-based auction house will have several items from the auction on display at the National Sports Collectors Convention next week. Among the highlights from the collection of Steve Ross are chairs from Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, items from Babe Ruth‘s brief turn as a Dodgers coach — including a team-signed ball in 1938 — and high-grade PSA-slabbed specimens of several key cards.

Also up for sale will be a 1916 Brooklyn Robins team photo, a squad that includes Casey Stengel.

Among the card highlights are a 1952 Topps PSA 8 Jackie Robinson as well as a PSA 8 1949 Bowman along with a PSA 8 1941 Play Ball Pee Wee Reese and a 1952 Topps Roy Campanella, also a PSA 8.

For more information, or to view more lots, click on the links above.

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.