Vintage Baseball Cards 101: 5 Essential Ways to Start Your Collection
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There is almost nothing that compares to the thrill of holding an old baseball card in your hand, letting your imagination take in the rich history of not just the player but the card itself. How many stops did the card make over the decades from the printing plant to you? Who else had the card in their collections? How did the card even survive all this time? Whatever the answers, the one certainty is that holding one vintage card in your hands pretty much guarantees you'll want others. But with more than a million different vintage cards out there, where do you even begin?
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Set Collecting
The approach to collecting that has the longest history and tradition is set collecting. Choose a set you like, whether it's a high budget endeavor such as 1933 Goudey or T206 or a lower budget affair such as 1979 Topps, and do your best to add every card in the set.
PROS:
- Extremely satisfying to complete a set
- Easy to know and track the cards you still need
CONS:
- Can get expensive quickly, particularly for older or very large sets
- May need to pay "Mickey Mantle" money for the set's rarities who are often otherwise obscure players
- Will spend more on players you don't care about than players you like
Team Collecting
One of the quickest ways to radically reduce the cost of set collecting is to confine focus to a single team. For example, a fan of 1975 Topps might decide to collect only the 31 Cubs cards rather than all 660 cards in the set. Though it can vary depending on the sets and teams involved, team collectors may find it's not only cheaper but more enjoyable as well to complete an entire decade of cards from their favorite team than even one single complete set covering all teams.
PROS:
- Far cheaper than set collecting
- No need to spend big bucks on players/teams you don't like as much
CONS:
- Fans of expansion teams have fewer sets to choose from
- Will miss out on the many great players who didn't play for your favorite team
Player Collecting
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As the name suggests, player collectors focus on a particular player or group of players. For example, a Yankee fan with very deep pockets might focus strictly on Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio while a Dodger fan on a limited budget might look to Maury Wills and Manny Mota.
PROS:
- Simple and clear focus
- All money is spent on favorite player(s)
CONS:
- Can get pricey quickly, particularly if favorite player is popular among other collectors
- Very likely to encounter rarities that are unattainable and prevent "completion" of collection
Type Collecting
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One of the oldest forms of collecting, type collecting involves the pursuit of a single card from as many sets as possible. While some type collectors take a more nuanced approach, most are simply happy to have any card in the set. For example, the type collector looking to add a 1952 Topps card would be just as happy with Elmer Valo as with Yogi Berra.
PROS:
- Incredible variety
- Flexibility to buy the least expensive card in a set
CONS:
- Many of the most expensive cards will come from obscure sets possibly of lesser interest
- May lead to a collection devoid of popular players
Collect What You Love!
While the above four approaches brings the focus many collectors seek, they can also feel limiting. In the end, there is no rule that says these approaches are mutually exclusive or prevent the collector from buying whatever cards they want. If a Tigers team collector wants a Hank Aaron card, so be it! And if a type collector wants the 1978 Topps set, who wouldn't! Structure can be a good thing, but it can also be confining.
PROS:
- Infinite flexibility
- No artificial limits
CONS:
- Can get out of control
- Can lead to many moments of "Why exactly did I buy this?"
Jason A. Schwartz is a collectibles expert whose work can be found regularly at SABR Baseball Cards, Hobby News Daily, and 1939Bruins.com. His collection of Hank Aaron baseball cards and memorabilia is currently on exhibit at the Atlanta History Center, and his collectibles-themed artwork is on display at the Honus Wagner Museum and PNC Park.