By Michael Osacky for Kovels.com
As the snow melts and the days get longer, millions across the country will start the process of spring cleaning. The term “spring cleaning” can mean different things to different people.
Regardless, the term refers to “digging” through numerous items to either trash or keep belongings. Some of these items may have been purchased by kids or other family members over the decades.
Below is a quick checklist to help you find out if the sports collectibles stored away in your attic, barn or garage have any value.
1. What year is the sports card from? The year is usually printed on the reverse. If not, look at the biography listed on the back. If a player was born in 1970, you know the card is probably from the 1990s since the player would be in his 20s. Cards from the 80s, 90s and 2000s are generally not worth your time to sell. They were mass-produced and don’t have much value today unless you have a key rookie card from a Hall of Famer.
2. Paper items (scorecards, programs, ticket stubs): These are only valuable if what you have was made before 1970 or unless you have a key date in sports history. Example—the last game before a stadium was demolished or Tony Gwynn’s 3000th hit game.
3. Autographs: A NY Post article many years ago stated that 90 percent of sports collectibles are fake. That number seems a bit high to me, but I definitely think that more than 50 percent are indeed fake. Over the past 20 years, forgers have made large incomes faking autographs. The FBI has arrested many forgers in recent years, but fake autographs are still floating around.
4. The older the better? Just because you have a baseball card from 1952, doesn’t mean it is valuable. Condition is extremely important. If you have a “John Doe” and the condition is poor, there won’t be much demand for it and therefore, the value will be negligible.
5. Are all Hall of Fame autographs valuable? No! Bob Feller signed a few million autographs during his lifetime. You can get a signed Feller baseball for $35 today. Ernie Banks also signed a lot. Sandy Koufax hates signing autographs and his autograph on a baseball is worth a few hundred dollars.
I hope this is helpful in the next few weeks as you start digging through your collectibles.
I have many cards and a few autographed footballs and baseballs. Fixed income, NEED to sell. Need the money! I have a 1 of 1 card, many autographed cards, rare cards, many with fabric. Some graded cards gem mint 10. Too many to list. I would like to know what they are worth and would sell at a discount.
We went to a house sale at Dick Hoblitzell’s home in Williamstown WV a few years ago. My husband got a small box of photos,letters, and other paper, which includes a small pocket baseball rule book. There is no date. We tried to date it, but didn’t have much luck. Mr. Hoblitzell ended his career to join the Army as a dentist in 1918 or so. If it was his rulebook, it is maybe that old. The real treat at the sale was that we got to talk to his daughter Connie, and my husband was just thrilled.