auto racing cards

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by Bored5000

I always thought the set was undervalued at $50 or so a card, but I never would have guessed there would enough interest in drivers largely unknown to most collectors to drive prices to $500-1,000 a card.

I'm not surprised. It isn't just that set. Non-baseball N and T cards are having a moment, have been for a year at least. I bought a collection of vintage NS cards a year or three ago, sold them for nice multiples, and watched them skyrocket from there to prices that make me throw up a little in my mouth.

IMO North American racing, esp. Indy and NASCAR, are primed to get moving. They both have Drive To Survive style shows, a long history, and some sporadically-issued but interesting card histories, and they lag way behind comparable F1. Mix in people like me who are frustrated with the prices on vintage baseball cards but still have the drive to collect old cardboard, and you have a formula for prices to go up on other types of cards. At least until us dilettante collectors are bored or prices fall back into line in baseball. Neither of which may ever happen. I am really enjoying the racing stuff and will probably keep on with it regardless.

[Bored5000]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

I'm not surprised. It isn't just that set. Non-baseball N and T cards are having a moment, have been for a year at least. I bought a collection of vintage NS cards a year or three ago, sold them for nice multiples, and watched them skyrocket from there to prices that make me throw up a little in my mouth.

One of the other non sports sets I watch that has gone crazy over the last several years is the N76 Great Americans set, at least when it comes to the iconic Presidents in the set like Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, etc. The big names in that set are up 10X in just a few years. Someone willing to pay any price for a vintage Lincoln or Washington card, I at least understand more so than a rabid bidding war for Bob Burman or Henry Fournier.