Money in the hobby

[drcy]

I can't think of a good analogy, but modern and antique printing technology are mutually exclusive, just as the words modern and antique are mutually exclusive.

You identify and date the printing technology by looking at the printing at the microscopic level, not the naked eye level. So a digital printing technology (say a laser printer) can make a great reproduction at the naked eye level, but is identified as modern printing under the microscope.

[Exhibitman]

"accumulate then minimize. Building quantity and moving for quality in a repeated process"

Steve, can I use that with my wife? It sounds so much better than "buying a lot of stuff I like"?

[nat]

While we're talking about authentication, here's something I've been wondering about:

Does PSA have the world's greatest type collection? You can check that a card's printing is period with a microscope, but to check to see if the card stock is right for a particular issue you'd need to compare it to an example that you know belongs to that set. So if you send them something from a super-obscure set, does the grader have access to a known-authentic example from that set that he can compare your card to?

[drcy]

For the conspiracy theorists, there was a Doctor Who episode where a time-travelling chameleonic alien went back in time as Leonardo da Vinci in order to make multiple Mona Lisas for the future.

[ls7plus]

Originally Posted by drcy

I can't think of a good analogy, but modern and antique printing technology are mutually exclusive, just as the words modern and antique are mutually exclusive.

You identify and date the printing technology by looking at the printing at the microscopic level, not the naked eye level. So a digital printing technology (say a laser printer) can make a great reproduction at the naked eye level, but is identified as modern printing under the microscope.

Absolutely, David--and a great couple of articles you authored, by the way--they are much appreciated! Examples made by taking different paths leave different footprints.

Further thoughts: The sky is not falling, nor is the bottom dropping out of the hobby because some prices are rising quite quickly, and it's not only PSA 9's and 10's. The autographed Dietsche Cobb rookie that recently sold in the BST 10/23/16 auction for $26,220.00 previously sold for a fraction of that, $5377.00 in October, 2012. The PSA 5 Dietsche Fielding Pose Cobb rookie which sold tor $10,875.70 in the May 16, 2015 Heritage auction went for $7852.81 on 3/16/12. Our hobby is simply catching up with other collectible markets such as coins with regard to really rare and significant items, but is doing so IMHO much faster due to the internet. I started collecting again as an adult circa 1990, and you could attend the National, major regional shows, as well as all the locals and not come close to finding all of the rare and significant cards that appear on ebay or in one or more of the major auctions on a relatively frequent basis. The internet, as well as the proliferation of major auction houses, coupled with real and legitimate growth of the hobby has vastly altered the demand versus supply equation with regard to such items, which of course multiplies value in a big way.

This is not to say that some of the big money collectors are not simply investors, but that is not all bad. If you study the history of the coin field, you'll see that when a herd of such investors come in, prices soar (especially for very high numbered mint state items--mint state is numbered from 60-70 in coins-- which may be relatively common in only slightly lower mint state grades), only to fall back when a number of these individuals exit stage right. But some of them stay, decide they like what they've purchased, and become real collectors. The market has then not only recovered, but grown in subsequent years! And what's not to like about vintage cards? They are truly a two-dimensional slice of a 3-dimensional moment in the player's life and career, made contemporaneously with that single instant, and preserved for decades, centuries, and millenniums (?). The card does in fact connect you to the player, and take you back to the time!

Best wishes to all, and much thanks again for the links to the two articles, David,

Larry