Determining what is vintage

[vintagetoppsguy]

Ten years ago, if you asked us post-war collectors, "What is considered vintage?" most of us would probably agree anything produced before 1979.

Well, ten years later, do the parameters change? Do we expand it by 10 years and now consider 1989 Topps to be vintage? After all, 1989 Topps are now 29 years old. Yeah, yeah, I know that they were mass produced and there are still cases and cases sitting in warehouses. But do we let that (mass production) determine what is considered "vintage?"

When I started collecting in 1986, a card that was 29 years old (1957 Topps) would be considered vintage. So all these years later, why doesn't the same criteria apply to us collectors? In another 10 years, when the 1989 Topps are 39 years old, will they be considered vintage then?

I guess the point is, why do we allow production runs to determine what is vintage (because that's really what it boils down to if you think about it)? At what point will 1989 Topps (or fill in any other year) be considered vintage?

Thoughts?

[pawpawdiv9]

my opinon-
tobacco-ish cards = vintage
something like the goudeys and before = prewar
era 50's-70's = postwar
the donruss/late 80's-90-ish yrs = modern
new shiny stuff = ??? Y2K/test-tubers generation

**like how this N54 boards pretty sums it all up in each sections

[Bestdj777]

I was just thinking about this today as I flipped through 1987 Topps cards to sort out stars. It's hard not to consider 30 year old cards vintage. But, I think I'll decide the vintage category into good vintage and bad vintage.

[rats60]

I have never considered late 70s as vintage. My cut off would be 1973, the last set with high numbers, 1974 cards being issued as a single series. 80s cards are not and will never be vintage in my mind.

[Peter_Spaeth]

To me modern starts with multiple manufacturers in 1981. For quite some time I cut off my own collection at the Brett rookie in 1975 -- should have kept it that way!!

[smellthegum]

Vintage is anything older than I am!

[pokerplyr80]

I'd put the cutoff in the 1970-75 range. It will be quite a while before junk era cards will be considered vintage in my opinion. I see your point about production numbers, but to me vintage is more than just a certain number of years old. There has to be some element of desirability and rarity.

[Rookiemonster]

When I was a kid ( 1990s) I was talking to a old time dealer. It was in Garfield NJ his name was Bob he had a mustache and was always smoking( yes in the card show ). I ask him what he thought and he said most people thought 1969 and back was vintage. He also told me that 1969 Topps WAS OVER PRODUCED. So I always just kept 1969 as the cut off for vintage. But I do agree that the 80s should be vintage in today’s world.

[silvor]

I just got back into collecting again this year, so FWIW... I guess I always figured "vintage" was 1980 (or a case could be made for 1979).

Mostly because there was just one company, AND we never considered the cards worth much money. That is until the price guides came out and were around (at least in my circles) in the early 80's.

But, 1973 really makes more sense because at least some of the cards were more rare.

[Rich Klein]

Originally Posted by Rookiemonster

When I was a kid ( 1990s) I was talking to a old time dealer. It was in Garfield NJ his name was Bob he had a mustache and was always smoking( yes in the card show ). I ask him what he thought and he said most people thought 1969 and back was vintage. He also told me that 1969 Topps WAS OVER PRODUCED. So I always just kept 1969 as the cut off for vintage. But I do agree that the 80s should be vintage in today’s world.

BTW -- The Garfield show is still going strong to this day.

I can picture Bob now --- yep in those days some people smoked IN the card show. Such a different world.

I probably saw you at some of those local Garfield shows when I would come up to visit

Rich

[clydepepper]

Originally Posted by smellthegum

Vintage is anything older than I am!

Yup - There you go

[HRBAKER]

To me the modern era started with double knit uniforms, so pre-72ish or so.

[ALR-bishop]

I like the division on the board, pre war, post war , and post 1980. I hate the word vintage almost as much as the word poppage

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by rats60

I have never considered late 70s as vintage. My cut off would be 1973, the last set with high numbers, 1974 cards being issued as a single series. 80s cards are not and will never be vintage in my mind.

i agree with this. These arent cars...they are cards! Vintage age will keep getting older and older. What was 30 years to be vintage will now be 40 years+. in 10 years..vintage will be 50 years etc.

maybe a new category for the 80s will develop...but wont be vintage

which makes me wonder....if there is 80s music and 90s music...what will the music be called in the 00s and 10s...we just call it 2000s and 2010s? That doesnt sound as good as the 20s and 30s..

[nolemmings]

Originally Posted by rats60

I have never considered late 70s as vintage. My cut off would be 1973, the last set with high numbers, 1974 cards being issued as a single series. 80s cards are not and will never be vintage in my mind.

I would agree, although I would use 1972, as this was the last set with true high numbers, the 1973's being printed as a single series also, and issued that way in parts of the country.

[Chuck9788]

I've always felt that the Topps 1985 set is final "vintage" year.

The 1985 set included the last player/manager card (Pete Rose), a farewell to Yogi Berra and great HOF veterans (Ryan, Carlton, Fingers, Reggie Jackson). Gary Carter as an Expo, I could go on forever. Anyway, it was the final set that had the "vintage feel". It also passed the torch to the next talented/bad behavior generation (Gooden, McGwire, Clemens, etc..).

Anything after 1989 can not be accepted as vintage anytime soon.

[mrmopar]

When I was a kid and was buying "old" cards, they were from the 50s and 60s. It was rare that I would stumble upon a T card or a Goudey era card, but I had a couple. It is funny to think that I thought those 1950s Topps cards seemed so old at the time when in fact they were no more than 25 years old. At 10 years of age though, 25 years is a very long time.

If I were that same kid now, using the same standard, I might be buying 1993 Topps cards, amazed at how old they are.

Unless the hobby changes significantly with regard to how cards are made it will probably always be hard for anyone who bought cards older than about 1993 to consider UV coated cards to ever be "vintage".

And final food for thought, those fairly commonly seen T-206 cards are well over a Century old now.

[Volod]

Seems like just a semantic quibble to me. Vintage is a subjective measure, as it is with wines, so it doesn't necessarily refer to value, just age. Sort of like a number of vintage card collectors.

[Jwkeen]

Originally Posted by Chuck9788

I've always felt that the Topps 1985 set is final "vintage" year.

The 1985 set included the last player/manager card (Pete Rose), a farewell to Yogi Berra and great HOF veterans (Ryan, Carlton, Fingers, Reggie Jackson). Gary Carter as an Expo, I could go on forever. Anyway, it was the final set that had the "vintage feel". It also passed the torch to the next talented/bad behavior generation (Gooden, McGwire, Clemens, etc..).

Anything after 1989 can not be accepted as vintage anytime soon.

I believe Pete Rose actually had a separate player and manager card in the 86 and 87 sets as well.

[bauce]

For me, anything made after the Topps monopoly has ended will be the end of the Vintage Era and the beginning of the Era Of Gluttony.

[MCoxon]

Originally Posted by rats60

I have never considered late 70s as vintage. My cut off would be 1973, the last set with high numbers, 1974 cards being issued as a single series. 80s cards are not and will never be vintage in my mind.

This - series issue ended in 1973. After that more hobbyists and buying sets complete vs assembling

[RedsFan1941]

Originally Posted by MCoxon

This - series issue ended in 1973. After that more hobbyists and buying sets complete vs assembling

+1