Insert cards occupy a strange place in the modern hobby because they are designed to feel special. Different card stock, foil surfaces, unusual artwork, die cuts, holograms and separate insert packs immediately tell the collector that this card is supposed to matter more than a normal base card. Many collectors remember their first insert because … Read more
Munetaka Murakami is exactly the kind of player the baseball card market wants to believe in. Japanese star, huge power, MLB rookie season, early home runs, Rookie of the Year talk, and enough mystery around the ceiling that collectors can still argue about him. I understand the appeal immediately. I pulled the redemption from Topps … Read more
Card shows do not really believe in internet prices. eBay sold listings may set the reference point, but the room quickly adds its own math: cash, trade value, condition, liquidity, player hype and whether the dealer actually wants to own that card. A card can be worth one number online, another number in a trade, … Read more
Zlatan Ibrahimović is one of those players where I am never completely sure whether collectors are buying the football career or the personality that eventually became larger than the career itself. Of course the football achievements are substantial. Ajax, Juventus, Inter, Barcelona, Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and LA Galaxy, league titles almost everywhere and … Read more
George Best is one of those players where I am never completely sure whether the memorabilia market is still buying the footballer or the whole damaged legend around him. Of course he was brilliant. Manchester United, 1968 European Cup, Ballon d’Or, the kind of player people still describe as if they saw something slightly impossible. … Read more
Eusébio is one of those names where I always wonder how much of the market is still active memory and how much is inherited football history. Most collectors today never saw him play. They know the outlines: Benfica, Portugal, the 1966 World Cup, the Ballon d’Or in 1965, the easy “Pelé of Portugal” comparison. I … Read more
I have opened a lot of packs, but I had never pulled a redemption card before. That changed with a Topps Series 2 box, and honestly, I still do not really know where to put the feeling. It was a redemption for a Munetaka Murakami 1991 Topps Baseball Autograph Gold Parallel, card 91B2-MUR from Series … Read more
Opening a pack sounds like the easiest part of collecting. Sometimes it is the first place where something can go wrong. Everybody talks about PSA 10s, corners, centering, surface condition and grading. But before a card ever reaches PSA, somebody has to get it out of the pack without adding a new problem. Sticker Packs … Read more
David Beckham is one of the few athletes where I am not entirely sure whether collectors are buying the football career, the celebrity, or both at the same time. Of course Beckham was a great footballer. Manchester United, Real Madrid, England, free kicks, Champions League, the No. 7 shirt, the red card against Argentina in … Read more
This question bothers me more than it probably should. A trading card is a machine-made object. Same with many stickers. Same with modern jerseys, even game-used jerseys before the player actually wears them. The thing starts as industrial production. Cardboard, ink, fabric, licensing, packaging and distribution. With gold, the story is different. With land, it … Read more