condition

[vintagebaseballcardguy]

Originally Posted by jchcollins

Hi Robert,

I was actually looking for a thread like this. I'm getting back into collecting older cards (starting with the 1955 and '56 Topps sets I've always wanted to complete but never did...) now in my late 30's after at least a decade off from the hobby.

I've been there with the high-end, graded card hoopla - trust me. You get to the point where you really lose sight of the card as a whole and are only worrying about a grade on a case, or worse - fretting about only one corner on one card, or something equally ridiculous. I found myself up in the middle of the night looking at cards under a magnifying glass - really? Was my BVG 7 '56 Koufax better than the PSA 6 Koufax? At some point the hobby just got so frustrating to me at every turn that I kind of just put it aside. Since then I've gone back to school and had a family and realized that life is too short...

When I was a kid, the fact that a card was simply "old" was cool enough. If it was a card of a superstar that was all the better - and when I collected these types of vintage cards as a kid in back in the 1980's and early 90's - I was for sure not worried about some dinged corners or an occasional crease or other small flaw. Some of the most cherished cards that I recall having as a kid back then had some pretty serious issues from the PSA perspective. But when I look back now, that time period was when I had the most fun with collecting - hands down.

I'm hoping that getting back into collecting now with the ability to take things a bit less seriously will payoff. You are right, you can still get very presentable cards with a ton of eye appeal in the VG range - and for a fraction of what those who are participating in the high-end market wind up dishing out.

Good luck and long live those less than perfect cards!

You summed up a lot of my thoughts quite well. Thanks for the insight. It is somehow comforting to know that I am not alone.

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by vintagebaseballcardguy

You summed up a lot of my thoughts quite well. Thanks for the insight. It is somehow comforting to know that I am not alone.

You're welcome. If it makes you feel any better, I still fight the urge to occasionally splurge on a high-grade card that I don't need (or more accurately cannot afford...) but sooner or later I usually pull out of the clouds. I guess when I was single and just worried about myself that was one thing - but anymore I'm unhappy with myself in the long run if I know I've spent more on a card than I should have. It happens to us a lot of us from time to time, I guess.

I'd like to think that especially for set collectors - more people would do a better job of emphasizing the collectability of VG range cards. Think about it: These are small pieces of cardboard that were issued in wax wrappers with chewing gum to children - in many cases 50 or more years ago. And today we somehow think they aren't good unless they are close to perfect on a 10 point scale? That flies in the face of what is rational when it comes to what collecting is supposed to be about - in my humble opinion anyway...

-John