History Of Card Collecting

History Of Card Collecting Related Information:

From 1887 to the present, billions of baseball cards have been made. Some are valued at ten cents, while others, are valued at over one hundred thousand dollars. Since then, baseball cards have become a major part of many people's lives.

Most sports cards were originally promotional items distributed with tobacco. After the Second World War cards began to be produced by companies on a regular basis. Topps was the only card company from 1956 through 1980, after it bought out Bowman. In 1981, Fleer and Donruss entered the market, as did Upper Deck in 1989. From the late 1980s, there’s been a blast of card sets, with each of the four card companies producing dozens of sets in each sport under a variety of labels and names.

The first baseball cards were made of cloth. Many of these were "home made". It’s unknown what these cards contained, but we know that they were baseball, boxing, golf, and horse racing cards. These cards are worth a ton on money these days.

The “golden years” of baseball, as it’s called, took place from 1902 until 1935. In this era, there were many changes in cards. They began to be packaged with chewing tobacco, crackerjacks, and chewing gum. It was in this time that they really started to take off.

From 1936 until 1960, there were some changes in card collecting. Three major changes occurred during this time period. The cards themselves changed to a size that would be maintained to present time.

The period that really set cards in motion was from the 80's and 90's. Many present and future Hall-of-Famers had cards during this age. Card format basically remained the same.

There were only two companies who produced cards during this time duration: Topps and Fleer. These cards are very easy to find.

You can see that baseball cards have a very broad history. If you are thinking about getting into collecting, it’ll be a good idea to know some of this history, so that you might be able to anticipate changes in the value of cards as card producers introduce new cards into the market. Whether it's homemade cloth cards or store bought premium cards, you'll probably find something you like. The selection these days is vast, and there are now cards for all sports. You’d be surprised to know how many cards there really are.

While carding collecting started out as a promotional strategy, it captures the eyes of America and continues to be for some people, one of their favorite pastimes, and for others, a profitable business, by which they earn a living. Don’t be surprised. There is a lot of money to be made in card collecting. All you have to do is be up-to-date on cards, editions and changes in the market and you’ll be able to make sound investments that can bring you cash.

The history of card collecting is a rich one, and it is important to our culture. Card collecting has been and continues to be one of America’s favorite hobbies. There has been a rise in card collecting and shops are popping up everywhere. You might also look for conventions or shows.