1975 Topps MINI #487 Astros Team card, Mgr. Preston Gomez

Ways to sell your baseball cards

2 reasons auctions are popular way to sell vintage sports cards.
#1 Desirable items tend to get top dollar (or better !)
#2 Everything goes
... This can be good - Everything gone, happy with final total
... or can be very bad - Everything gone, but at super low prices

OTHER WAYS TO SELL YOUR CARDS
•eBay Buy-it-Now •card store •swap meet •Craigslist •garage/yard sale
or •DONATE to a charity for tax write-off
Not selling but perhaps easiest with possible $$$ return.
ASSUMPTIONS:
#1) You are one of the RARE tax payers left in America
#2) You have mostly late 80's & 90's "junk"
Consider donating the "junk" and keep better stuff to sell later. Tax deduction was based on LESSER of "what-it-cost" & "What-it's-Worth". For "What-it's-Worth", I use Beckett which can be higher than what you paid. Check with your tax guy.

Cut/Paste TurboTax discussion link below:
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3372284-are-trading-card-donations-deductible-if-so-how-much Possible Charities for Donations
•Goodwill •Salvation Army •Cerebal Palsy •Children's Hospitals •Cubs scout troops
...or an online charity
•Cards 2 Kids •Commons4Kids.org •CollectiblesWithCauses.org
Verify all "charities " before donating.

Vintage Sportscard Auction

1952 Topps Baseball Cards
Checklist & Values

1952 is often thought of as Topps 1st baseball card set, but it was not.
Topps issued several smaller baseball card sets prior to their huge 1952 set.
Topps buzz word was "BIGGER is BETTER" for their 1952 Topps set which Topps described as: "GIANT IN BOTH SIZE and NUMBER of CARDS" (407).

Key card in the 1952 Topps set is #311 MICKEY MANTLE. Often called Mickey Mantle's Rookie card - BUT IT IS NOT. That honor goes to his 1951 Bowman.
1952 Topps "High Numbers" (#311-#407), are very, very scarce with an interesting story:
This HUGE set was released in series weeks apart. By the last (6th) series, baseball season was over and football starting. Candy shops had plenty of baseball cards from earlier series so most cancelled their orders for the last series creating the scarcity.

Adding interest is how Topps disposed of the now un-needed cards including THOUSANDS of 1952 Topps MICKEY MANTLE's. They dumped them into the Atlantic Ocean like most of New York's trash in those days.

1952 Topps Baseball card checklist, values and prices.

1963 Fleer Baseball Cards
Checklist & Values

1960 & 1961 Fleer baseball card sets of old-timers like Babe Ruth bombed. Kids wanted Willie Mays & Mickey Mantle. Topps had rights to baseball cards & gum so Fleer tried something new ... COOKIES !!!
Cherry flavored cookies with 1963 baseball cards.
1963 Topps Fleer Cookie

1963 Fleer baseball card set was cut short at 66 cards & checklist by Topps lawsuit. But what 66 cards! Attractive & packed: Clemente,Koufax... & 2 very scare Short Prints.

Maury Wills 'rookie' card is a story. Majors in 1959, quickly superstar. But 1963 for rookie ??? In 1959 Topps deemed Wills NOT WORTHY.

Wills was upset. After 1962 MVP, Topps came knocking but he said "NO!". Finally, 1967, Wills first Topps & most costly card. Note: 1961 Post Cereal card, years BEFORE 'official' rookie. He also photo-bombed a 1960 Topps card.

Disclaimer: Above mostly true - but Wills has said "no feud".

1963 Fleer baseball cards Checklist and Prices

Tobacco Cards

Starting approximately in 1886, sportscards, mostly baseball cards, were often included with tobacco products, for promotional purposes and also because the card reinforced the packaging and protected cigarettes from damage. These sports cards are referred to as tobacco cards in the baseball card hobby. Over the next few years many different companies produced baseball cards. Tobacco cards soon started to disappear as the American Tobacco Company tried to develop a monopoly by buying out other companies.

They were reintroduced in the 1900s, as American Tobacco came under pressure from antitrust action and Turkish competition. The most famous and most expensive, baseball card is the rare T206 Honus Wagner. The card exists in very limited quantities compared to others of its type because Wagner forced the card to be removed from printing. It is widely (and incorrectly) believed that Wagner did so because he refused to promote tobacco, but the true explanation lies in a dispute over compensation.

Soon other companies also began producing baseball and football cards. Sports magazines such as The Sporting News were early entries to the market. Candy manufacturers soon joined the fray and reflected a shift toward a younger target audience for cards. Caramel companies were particularly active and baseball cards were one of the first prizes to be included in Cracker Jacks. World War I soon suppressed baseball card production.

1975 Topps MINI #487 Astros Team card, Mgr. Preston Gomez

Ways to sell your baseball cards

1952 Topps Baseball Cards Checklist & Values

1963 Fleer Baseball Cards Checklist & Values

1952 Topps Baseball Cards
Checklist & Values

1963 Fleer Baseball Cards
Checklist & Values