old ad for sports cards - guess the year!
 

From a certain sports collecting magazine (one of the few ads with vintage) - can you guess the year? It's no wonder the only thing I could afford was the magazine.

Makes you wonder if the best time to be buying is NOW!

Complete sets:
1934-36 Diamond Stars gd-vg/ex $4500
1954 topps ex/mt $6000
1954 topps vg-ex $3250
1965 topps ex/mt $3250
1965 topps vg/ex $1750
1972 topps ex/mt $1500
1975 topps ex-mt $750
1953 Bowman color vg/ex $6500
1970 kelloggs $250

pre-war
1934 Goudey Gehrig ex-em $2500
1933 Goudey Ruh ex-em $3000
t206 Cobbs pr $200 / fr-gd $450 / vg $875 / ex $1750

Here's the big clue:
psa graded cards:
1952 topps mathews psa 6 $3750
1969 topps jackson psa 7 $325
1955 topps Clemente psa 7 $2500

Another ad - same magazine, same date:
1954 Topps (nrmt) $7,999
1965 Topps (nrmt) $3,499
1973 Topps (nrmt) $699

Same ad - buy prices
1974 topps ex $199
1979 topps ex $79

I'm guessing not too long ago. 2010?

Beckett 2005?

Older.

More ads:
1982 topps traded ripken psa 9 - $400

1952 topps baseball factory reprint set - $250

1976 sspc mint set - $199

2001?

1993

August, 1999 Tuff Stuff

A 1968 Topps complete set is valued at $3000 in the price guide included in the magazine. A 1968 complete set in the latest edition of SCD's Vintage price guide is valued at....$3000!
1952 topps complete set NM then $62,000, now $120,000
1954 then $7500, now $11,000
1967 then $4500, now $4500
1972 then $1800, now $1500

From 1967 on, complete Topps baseball sets are actually priced the same or cheaper today than in 1999 - which explains how I was finally able to finish my sets and not have to mortgage my house.
I wonder if this explains at least a few of the "recently gotten back into the hobby" crowd?


The real bargains in 1999, by the way, were the unopened stuff. Here's some unopened boxes for sale from Mark "the kid" Murphy:

1976 topps vending box $250
1977 topps wax box $195
1978 topps wax box $450
1979 topps wax box $249

My guess is that the lack of change/decrease in prices on these sets is due to two things: a greater supply than earlier sets and the fact that the use of the internet to trade cards around this time frame became much more widespread and made it easier for anyone to sell off these cards and further increase the supply of these years.