How baseball cards became an american obsession, dave jamieson tells the story of how baseball cards evolved from a. Yankees legend mickey mantle is set to shatter one of baseballs priciest records. Get an idea of the condition of the cards in your collection. Baseball cards are appraised based on many different criteria beyond the player on the card.
The rise and fall of baseball cards dave jamieson mint. Whether youre just starting a baseball card collection or are looking to round out sets of cards for a specific player or team, sellers on ebay make it easy to find the. Cards can be damaged by folding, paper loss, scuffing, dirt, rounded corners, and even factory printing errors. A lot of books have been written about baseball cards. Thats about 325 cards for every man, woman, and child in the united states, notes dave jamieson in his recent book, mint condition. We specialize in complete mint and factory sealed sets, unopened boxes and cases of packs made by topps.
Babe ruth, willie stargell, brooks robinson, lou gehrig and more captured on shimmering, mintcondition 22kt gold. When awardwinning journalist dave jamiesons parents sold his child. Up until a decade or so ago, collectors were forced to consult becketts yearly baseball card price guide and other similar publications to find out a cards estimated worth. New listing 4 kirby puckett baseball card lot 1995 gold signature 1986 fleer 1987 topps book. Now, the games alltime greats are immortalized on a surface of precious gold. As a former newspaper editor myself, i have no patience for boring writers but there were no dull sections in mint condition. What is the most valuable nolan ryan baseball card answers. Mint condition how baseball cards became an american obsession. Free online baseball card price guide baseball card. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers new books every 1, 2, or 3 months new customers receive 15% off your. How baseball cards became an american obsession by dave jamieson atlantic monthly press 2010 796. The picture will be centered within the borders with a ratio of 5545 or better allaround and the corners and edges will be sharp and clean like a new business card. The author would like to thank the topps company, inc.
The beckett price guides would list a baseball cards book value, which was basically an informed guess of a select number of experts. Baseball card grading is tricky, but this commonly used grading system below will help you grade your own cards. This book is indispensable for anyone who collects baseball cards. For anyone who can recall being excited to rip open their newest pack of cards, mint condition is a treat. Picture cards had long been used to advertise household products, but in the years after the civil war, tobacco companies started slipping them into cigarette packs as collectors items. A mint card will be a nearly perfect card that looks as clean and sharp as the day it was printed. Centering must be approximately 6040 to 6535 or better on the front and 9010 or better on the reverse. A cultural history of the baseball card the atlantic. The writer dave jamieson provided a wellresearched account of this period in his 2010 book, mint condition.
A 1963 topps pete rose is worth more than a 1983 topps pete rose. Mint condition contact info booking agent, manager. I was pleasantly surprised at how well written mint condition is, the result of jamieson being both a professional journalist and a knowledgeable collector. By the early 1990s, baseball card manufacturers were printing 81 billion of the things a year, or 325 for every man, woman and child in the u. Even though i am not an avid reader, i thoroughly enjoyed this book, and as a baseball card collector, i felt a personal connection to it.
My 88yearold mother, who, needless to say, doesnt know a clyde klutz from a bryce harper. Nice lot of current, 90s, and 80s stars and rookie cards. Whether youre just starting a baseball card collection or are looking to round out sets of cards for a. A psa mint 9 is a superb condition card that exhibits only one of the following minor flaws. Mint condition how baseball cards became an american obsession by dave jamieson is a chronological account of the trading card industry from the early. Everything you need to know about grading vintage baseball.
An engaging book on a narrow but fascinating topic. Factors such as condition, errors, scarcity, and print variation can also impact the price and value. Theres no wrong way to use it, and nothing to lose getting started. Mint condition booking agent, manager, and publicist contact info. Mint state psa graded vintage baseball, football, and. Mintcondition mickey mantle rookie card expected to break. Most people mistakenly think that their cards are in mint condition. I read the nonfiction book, mint condition 2011, by dave jamieson. Many of the cards pictured in this book do not even in exist in this grade, and mint examples would sell for lots of money.
Modern cards even go as far as to include swatches of. Older checklist cards in mint condition that have not been marked are. Mint is versatile enough to help anyones money make sense without much effort. The washington post when awardwinning journalist dave. At the height of their popularity in the early 1990s, card manufacturers produced an estimated 81 billion baseball cards a year. Rick calls in an expert to assess a rare 1923 babe ruth psa gem mint 10 strip card in this collection of scenes from. For more than 100 years, baseball cards have preserved the exciting history of americas national pastime. In mint condition, jamiesons fascinating history of baseball cards, he finds the answer, and much more. The aim is to provide factual information from the marketplace to help collectors. There are many exceptions to this rule, too many to list, but in general this is true. Some of the highest grade 1952 topps cards have great stories behind them. Written in such a way that anyone could enjoy, even noncollectors, mint condition is an informative ad breezy read that goes by quickly. Baseballs alltime greats immortalized on a gleaming surface of real gold. The best of pawn stars posted an episode of a show.
No doubt expecting to see the usual nicks and dings older cards often displayed, rosen was shocked to find the man bringing out a silver tray full of dozens of 1952 topps cards including a stack. Mint condition is charming, original history brimming with colorful characters, sure to delight baseball fans and collectors. Gem mint is the absolutely perfect card, considered higher than mint. A nmmt 8 is a super highend card that appears mint 9 at first glance, but upon closer inspection, the card can exhibit the following. The book focuses on the history of baseball cards in the us over the past century. Normally, the older a baseball card is the more likely it will have higher value.
Mint condition isnt a terrific baseball card or baseball book. Baseball card values and how to determine their worth. A nm mt card will appear as a mint card to the naked eye, but may have a little lesser centering and a light touch of wear that may be visible on a corner upon close examination. Published in 1994, this book sat right on the line between the baseball card boom and. The subtitle, how baseball cards became an american obsession, suggests the nearly 300page book is more than just about sports cards. Although theres great information and insight into all of the parts of the world of baseball card collecting, much of this book spends too much time.
Cards trading card database has prices achieved from actual card sales, not estimates. For example, common 1909 t206 cards are worth something while many common cards printed in the 1980s are not. Most collections typically include topps baseball cards, the leading baseball card producer, though donruss, fleer, and upper deck were also prominent. How did you get a publisher interested and what was that process like. Baseball card price guide prices from actual card sales. Mint condition is charming original history brimming with colorful characters, sure to delight baseball fans and collectors. In addition to the premiums afforded to gem mint condition graded cards, the presence of a clear best product every year, smaller print runs, shortprinted rookie cards and serialized parallels. There will be no surface flaws, bends, creases or stains on the front or the back. This is the exhaustively researched story of the collectible trading card in america. Picture cards had long been used for advertising, but after the civil war, tobacco companies started slipping them into cigarette packs as collectors items. What is the value of 1992 score baseball cards complete set. Buy baseball trading cards from top brands at great prices. A card that lists in order the cards and players in the set or series. Card grading is required to establish true baseball card values.
Glossary of baseball card terms complete with pictures, and cross reference links. In mint condition, his fascinating, eyeopening, endlessly entertaining book, jamieson finds the answer by tracing the complete story of this beloved piece of american childhood. If you want a dealer to buy your baseball cards as graded, it must be done by one of the professional sports card grading companies whose methods are accepted by sports card dealers. There is a wide variation of different types of cards. Charting the history of baseball cards, dave jamieson goes all the way back to the hobbys roots through to the very recent past. How baseball cards became an american obsession atlantic monthly press. Browse ebay baseball cards to find rare collectibles or cards featuring some of baseball s most popular players. Get the best deals on baseball card book when you shop the largest online selection at. Jamieson explores the history of card collecting through an entertaining cast of characters. Mint condition shines a light on thesignificant role that tobacco companies played in distributing trade cards in the 1860s, and subsequently how chewing gum would become associated with sports cards. Jamieson explores the history of card collecting through an. A professionally graded mint card receives a large premium in price, often 200% or much more than near mint prices quoted in price guides.
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