Size-wise what is considered a 'card'?

[rainier2004]

The more I collect, the more I think they are all cards. I remember when I use to laugh at the thought that a PC could be considered a "card"...now I think the exact opposite. Same for premiums, T3's and just about everything else out there. Its all in the eye of the beholder.

[steve B]

To me it's something that fits a few criteria.

Was it sold or issued in a series
Is it obviously something else- A coin, a figurine, a plate etc.
Is it medium size or less- narrower than shoulder width, and not overly tall. I'm thinking 11x14 is about the biggest Id think of as a card. So posters are out but the roughly 5x7 cards made from the same art in the 80's are in.
It can't be simply cut down from packaging- The wiffleball boxes with Munson or Scott while collectible aren't cards even if the flap is cut off. But the cards printed 5 to a box are cards.
Other packaging items aren't cards - The Yaz Kielbasa label is cool, but it's not a card.

And there's a bunch of stuff that isn't readily categorized. B18s, silks, Bf2s that sort of stuff.

Steve B

[Exhibitman]

"Ephemera" or "paper emphemera" is what I call the other stuff. Go to a general paper collectibles show if you have a chance and you will see the incredible variety of stuff people classify that way.

I'd go to about 11 x 14 also as a card, even if made of cardboard. Anything more really tends towards a display piece or poster for me.

[ullmandds]

what steven said!

[novakjr]

The biggest I'd go is possibly the Baseball Magazine Premiums(and even that's debatable)...I wouldn't consider everything in my collection a "card", but everything gets treated as one.. Especially with my main focus being rookies(or pre-rookies), I'd prefer a pin/coin/premium/woodcut/whatever that pre-dates a card any day..

[frankh8147]

Thanks for your responses! This was always something I was curious about. I was never that scientific in my thought process- I considered everything which was smaller than the 1936-39 Wheaties panels to be a card but now given this, i think i'll change my thought process a little!

[Peter_Spaeth]

I agree with the first part of Steve B.'s analysis and don't think you need to go any further. If another noun better describes it, it's not a card. If not, it's a card.