Sports card collecting started mainly with baseball but now has expanded to include all kinds of sports – including basketball, football, hockey, and golf. People have been collecting and trading these cards for a long time, but it became a massive craze in 2020 during the pandemic. Even now, there are still potentially millions of dollars to be made. So, if you want to make money, how do you know what kinds of cards people are looking for?
Outside of his career as a communications professional, Shawn Behal is passionate about fitness, sports, and collecting sports memorabilia. Today he shares tips for identifying valuable sports cards.
Some of the most valuable sports cards of all time include:
- Mickey Mantle 1952 Topps ($5.2 million)
- LeBron James 2003 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Rookie Patch Autographs #79 ($5.2 million)
- Luka Doncic 2018 Panini National Treasures 1 of 1 Logoman Autograph ($4.6 million)
- Mike Trout 2009 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects Superfactor Autograph ($3.963 million)
- Honus Wagner 1909-11 T206 ($3.364 million)
When looking to purchase a sports card, you want to find something that is undervalued, meaning you can buy it, hang onto it for a time, and sell it for more than you paid for it. When looking at cards, you should look for:
- The age of the cards (cards made between 1980 and 1990 aren’t usually worth a lot because companies made a ton of cards during that time)
- Autographs, but only if the cards are from the year 2000 and on (these ones will be authenticated)
- The condition of the card. If the card is vintage, it can still be worth money with minor imperfections
- Rookie cards
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