Quote:I started reading a book called Mint Condition. It's about the rise and fall of baseball cards in the 80's and 90's.

 

It's interesting to me as I was one of the suckers that spent money loading up on cards of guys like Frank Thomas, Ken Griffey, Juan Gonzalez and Dave Justice thinking they would someday allow for an early retirement for me.

 

I was still pretty young then so the money I spent was usually money my grandparents had sent me for a birthday or the buck or two I could get out of my dad. But those resulted in what are now boxes and boxes of worthless pieces of cardboard.

 

I remember the 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey #1 card being the Holy Grail of modern baseball cards. It would be our generation's Honus Wagner card. It was a hot item. Now it can be had on eBay or under $50. And that's a lot for a card from that time. Most cards from that time can't be given away.

 

Anybody remember looking for things like Complete Sets and Uncut Sheets? Great baseball card buzzwords. I spent many Saturdays walking through shopping malls looking at tables and tables of cards (grab bags!) being sold by overweight middle aged men. I am sure at one point in 1990 I stared in amazement at that Kevin Maas card in the glass case. Wishing that I had $50 to buy it and then sell it one day to buy a new car.

 

The late 80s/early 90s bubble is why I loathe cards to this day.

 

They did a brilliant job of marketing cards then, just as truly collectible and rare cards were making news.  A "Holy Grail" card or two would pop up as families found shoe boxes or cigar boxes containing long forgotten cards they happened to stow away.

 

Topps struck hard and fast, overproducing and flooding the market.  Next came Fleer and Donruss, where collectors began to hoard as well since they weren't as initially easy to find.  But soon after, they too gave in to demand and mass produced.

 

One thing the "boom" did was change the quality of cards.  Upper Deck emerged as a "premium" alternative, so others followed in place with their own premium brands and/or random inserts, etc.

 

That bubble was the precursor to phenomenon of gaming cards much later on (Pokemon, Magic, etc.)

 

Sports memorabilia has since moved on to autographs, etc... but those, too have become somewhat saturated even though there are  a handful of athletes that are hard to sign (or don't.)

 

In both cards and autographs, what was once something magical in a child's eyes has become tainted by adult greed.  It's a shame, too because I know my kids won't experience them as I did.  But then, with the nature of the business today (and it is a business more than it is an enjoyable hobby as it once was) that's not necessarily a bad thing.

 

I've got a handful of memorabilia I'll be handing down one day, but it isn't anything like what my dad handed down.  The irony of the whole situation is that what's valuable today is what folks weren't holding onto back in the day.  If people are collecting it today, then it isn't rare today and won't likely be rare (also meaning not likely to be valuable) tomorrow.

 

That being said...

 

The meaning of memorabilia disappears when you look at it in terms of value.  As long as it has meaning to you, that's what's truly priceless.  There must be something special, something truly tangible about the item... especially on a personal level.  Otherwise, it's just a bunch of junk, no matter how valuable it might be.  And that's exactly what I'm teaching my kids about it.

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