Posted By:
Mark McClearyIn my opinion, there are two distinct questions we are touching on: (i) what is a card and (ii) what is a rookie card.
For me, the second question is easy - any card issued in the earliest year a card was issued is a rookie. I disagree with Elliot who thinks it's the earliest card to come out during the year, although this is another plausible definition.
As far as what is a "card," I think it's a "facts and circumstances" test, ie, a weighing off certain relevant factors. Two such factors not previously mentioned that I feel are important are i) was the primary purpose of the issuer to produce a collectible (the primary purpose of a postcard or game card, for example, is not that it be collected) and ii) is it manufactured on cardboard (that is where teh name "card" comes from after all).