When packs of modern sportscards are opened these days, especially the expensive stuff, usually it's done as if a medical procedure is taking place. It's done slowly, more often than not so as to find a pristine autographed card or RC, and not to cause any damage to it. Rookie Cards of today don't have much value unless they're found inside packs of Bowman Chrome, Topps Chrome, or some other high-end product. Autographed cards have taken over the top spot as being the most desired items to find in card packs and boxes. It used to be the jersey & bat pieces that collectors were looking for, but it's the autographs that are driving the hobby today, along with the 1 of 1 inserts, usually a cut signature.
If you buy cards by the pack, the odds are not with you that you'll find something valuable. Even some boxes won't have a high value card in there, as it might state on the outside of the box something like: "One autograhed card per box, on average." Which means you could end up with a little pile of common cards, and having pissed away $120 for the priviledge.
The main reason why cards of the past (vintage cards) are so valuable today is that there are not many of them around in super condition. They were treated as just another toy, something we played with when we were kids. Sure, we collected them, but we didn't care about conditioning- we didn't hear the terms "Mint" or "Near Mint" or even care. If I opened a pack of cards as a boy in 1960 and the players were nobody that I ever heard of, I would either put them in my bicycle spokes or use them as flippers. What's a flipper, you may ask? It was a card that we would flip to land in a small waste basket, or box, or bucket in order to win a stack of cards the other players had, and/or the flippers that didn't make it into the bucket. Besides being an early introduction to gambling, the game produced a lot of cards that ended up in poor condition, which is why the better condition cards from that era are prized today. Another reason-and this one hurts- is that when we grew up and moved out of the house, Mom usually tossed out our old toys, which included the baseball cards. So that alone reduced the number of cards that were in great condition.
Have fun out there!
If you buy cards by the pack, the odds are not with you that you'll find something valuable. Even some boxes won't have a high value card in there, as it might state on the outside of the box something like: "One autograhed card per box, on average." Which means you could end up with a little pile of common cards, and having pissed away $120 for the priviledge.
The main reason why cards of the past (vintage cards) are so valuable today is that there are not many of them around in super condition. They were treated as just another toy, something we played with when we were kids. Sure, we collected them, but we didn't care about conditioning- we didn't hear the terms "Mint" or "Near Mint" or even care. If I opened a pack of cards as a boy in 1960 and the players were nobody that I ever heard of, I would either put them in my bicycle spokes or use them as flippers. What's a flipper, you may ask? It was a card that we would flip to land in a small waste basket, or box, or bucket in order to win a stack of cards the other players had, and/or the flippers that didn't make it into the bucket. Besides being an early introduction to gambling, the game produced a lot of cards that ended up in poor condition, which is why the better condition cards from that era are prized today. Another reason-and this one hurts- is that when we grew up and moved out of the house, Mom usually tossed out our old toys, which included the baseball cards. So that alone reduced the number of cards that were in great condition.
Have fun out there!
