1953 Topps Baseball Cards |
Autographed Gateway Cachets
Gateway Stamp Company has provided collectors well over 1 MILLION
authenticated certified autographs over the last 30 years.
Silk Cachets from Gateway Stamp Company Even though a "stamp company", Gateway rarely dealt in stamps, going down a new and creative road becoming one of the world's most unique secrets in autograph collecting combining the best in art, color photographs, history and autographs with their full-color silk cachet envelopes. Gateway's first client was Cardinals Hall of Famer Lou Brock with hundreds to follow.
WHAT ARE FULL-COLOR SILK CACHETS?
WHY POSTMARKS? |
Vintage Baseball Card Auction terminology
Register:With name, address & email so we can
contact you after auctions with your winning bids.
Click for more info on my Weekly Vintage BASEBALL CARD AUCTIONS
2 Types of Bidding: [YES] / [NO] auction bids - Click on YES button to make only the next bid. [MAXBID] auction bids - Enter MAXIMUM you would bid on this item. If outbid, auction software makes the next bid if is not more than your auction [MAXBID]. Minimum or Start Bid: More expensive auction items may have minimum or starting bids. Saves time rather than auction bids going up .25 at a time, taking many dozens of bids to reach even fractions of value. Reserve Bid: "Reserve" auction bids come into play after an auction ends. If "Hammer" price is less than "Reserve" bid no sale. Not very auction bidder friendly.
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Grade/Condition Centering, corner wear, photo clarity, edges, creases, print flaws ... all combine to determine a card's condition or grade. Along with rarity/scarcity it is the major factor in a card's value.
Graded Card As values increased the condition of cards and the determination of fakes and alterations became increasingly more important. Various companies became "graders" of your cards. For a fee they would grade your card (usually on a 1 to 10 scale) and then placed in a sealed plastic holder with labelling of the vital information.
From past experiences, most people are NOT HAPPY with the grades they receive. To keep values up, graders can be extremely picky. Things you don't see, they do so don't be surprized when the NEAR MINT card you send in ends up with an EX or EX/MINT grade.
There are TOO many grading companies - if you do, do choose carefully. PSA / SGC / GAI / BGS are some of the many companies. It is good to know that getting a card graded by a company that people do not recognize or respect will usually just cost you time and money and not help you in any way.