Population estimating

[Bram99]

Brian,

Thanks for your response. I collect the late 40s and 50's baseball cards. I have completed most of the sets from 53 to 60. I believe that the main drivers of long term value in cards are 1.) the popularity of the player and 2.) the relative scarcity of the issue. I view condition as a dimension of the second item: relative scarcity. That's why I don't think many of the later 70's and after cards will retain any measure of long term value. Most had both high numbers produced and a higher proportion of the cards survived in great condition.

But I am curious for instance how many more 1975 topps cards were made as compared to 1955 topps, and of those produced, what % are estimated to have survived. These factors seem to drive relative value of the card issues (year/manufacturer combination).

I have a few cards that I like and have bought that don't say short print officially but seem hard to find. When I look at pop reports there are way fewer of them graded. As an example, in 53 topps the Willy Miranda, which is part of the high number series so is kind of a short print, seems to be way more scarce than other of the 53T high numbers.

I am just wondering if there is an "industry standard" way of estimating how many of a given card or set there really are. It would help answer a question like the following: Are there fewer 53T Willy Mirandas than a 1933 Goudey?