The World of Jersey Cards

It's like a bite sized candy bar. It's cheaper than a full size, but getting one's still a treat. These mystery joy patches are jersey cards. Rarer than rare are they in regular packs, as each one has an instant book value (regardless of player) of nearly ten bucks. Furthermore, they're just plain cool! Having a piece of memorabilia you can hold in your palm, boy, that's a rush. They range across all sports - from basketball to baseball, hockey to football - and all players - Ruth to Palmer, Shipley to Farve. Also, trading for one is nearly impossible, due to their prized nature.

Contrary to popular belief, there are many types of jersey cards. These include the jumbo swatch, the patch card and the event-worn card. Event-worn cards are most likely from jerseys worn at special games, such as the MLB All-Star game. Jumbo swatches are extremely rare, and are gigantic pieces of jersey, sometimes five or more times the size of a regular jersey card. Lastly come the patch cards, consisting of multiple jersey colors. Ones not named are multi-patch card, with patches of multiple players, and tag cards, ones with logos that are the only of their kind in existence.

So, to conclude, if you get a patch card, treasure it - especially if your talking about rookies or legends (still, remember, "take the trade" if it's in your favor). Maybe, just maybe, it'll one day be worth more than you can possibly imagine. Who knows, you could be holding the next Babe Ruth's jersey in the palm of your hand.

Take the Trade!

Sometimes, trading is like a Monopoly auction. You have to know when you're getting to high. Also, you need to be able to tell when you're getting an AMAZING deal. Here's one example of a real-life trade -

1991-92 Score Bernie Nicholls
2010 Score Martin St. Louis

for

2011 Topps Tim Hudson
2011 Topps Brandon Inge
2011 Topps Jon Lester
2011 Topps Randy Wolf
2011 Topps National League RBI Leaders


Who do you think's getting the better deal? Well, the first side of the trade (top) amounts to $1.50 to $2 of value. The second part (bottom) is worth about $7. This deal fell through. Strangely, it wasn't because the person with part two realized they offered too much. No, it was because the person with part one denied the offer! They believed, for some reason, that their cards were worth 10 times what they really were. Also, to make the situation worse, they were demanding a 2011 Topps Mickey Mantle to be added to the transaction - another few dollars of value. Sometimes, you just have to take the trade!

That Was Par-easy

OK, this is a quick one. My friend got a hold of a Donruss Zach Parise card. He wanted Pokemon cards, and I wanted that Parise. The same style seen in the "Trading Up" article was used. I'm not big on Pokemon cards, but I've got quite a few, so trading them seems like a fair idea. Here's the trade:

5 mid-level Pokemon cards

for

10-11 Donruss Zach Parise
10-11 Score Jimmy Howard

See, trading up. Money-wise, the exchange was fair - only two or three dollars - but both involved got what they wanted.

1955 Topps Hank Aaron

This is a very valuable card, needless to say. It has a book price of around $400, so you have to be a serious shopper to purchase a nice one. This card may be more significant because it comes from his breakout year. He slapped 27 home runs and accumulated 106 RBI's en route to his first of 21 straight all star game appearances. Unfortunately, this card isn't for sale for less than $120 online. As I'm sure you know, it's nearly impossible to get a measure of quality off the internet, so your best bet is to stop by a card shop. Beware, though, prices can skyrocket with dealers. They do have to make a profit, after all.

1958 Sporting Magazine All-Stars Mickey Mantle

The 1958 Sporting Magazine Mickey Mantle is a highly sought-after card by lower-level collectors. It isn't all that pricey - only $200 in near perfect condition - so most people serious about cards can purchase one. If you search hard enough, though, you may be able to snatch one in good condition for around $60. There is a picture of it off to the left. As you can tell, it's quite attractive visually, adding to it's allure. Also, as with most vintage cards, it nearly continually increases in value. If kept in good condition, there's no telling how much this card may be worth one day.

Trading Up

Trading is a fixture in the sports world. This applies in the real-life game, online spin offs, and, above all, card collecting. Collectors love to trade up - giving dozens of worthless or little-loved cards for a diamond in the rough. Personally, I do this all the time. Recently, I handed off a few dozen low-level Pokemon cards (!) for a quintuplet of NHL Pro Set, Topps, Score, and O-Pee-Chee cards. All I did was flood my fellow collector with options, and one was bound to stick. I walked away from the deal with $20 worth of Hall of Famers -

- 1992 O-Pee-Chee Nicklas Lidstrom

- 1991 Score Jarome Jagr

- 1991 Topps Mark Messier

- 1990 Pro Set Mark Recchi

- 1991 Pro Set Dominik Hasek Rookie

I'd say it was a pretty good deal! Still, above all, you have to be willing to compromise. Bend but don't break. You don't want to get ripped off, and the other person doesn't, either. Give them what they want, so you get what you want. Complex, right? It's actually really simple. For example:

Your "foe" wants, say, an Alex Ovechkin card, and you're dying for a Crosby. Duplicates are helpful. They give security, if you will. It's a back up, almost like a spare tire. Say you have two Ovechkin's. Give them one, and take a Crosby back in return. Maybe you can get something else, too. After all, it's Ovechkin! See? Simple.