Nonsense Newsletter No. 138: The Hot List, I'm back in business, cheap vintage football sets and more!
In this week’s edition of the Nonsense Newsletter, I announce my triumphant return to the game. Okay, maybe triumphant is a strong word, but I’m gonna roll with it. John Dudley gets down to brass tacks and talks about the hot list for the month of June. Plus, the Quick Hits section, as the kids say nowadays, is dope! So, that is a lot goin’ on… and it’s all for you!
By John Dudley
June flew by and the fireworks have already gone off for July. It’s time to check out who had the hottest (and coldest) cards for the month of June. The real theme of June was staying the course though. Most players saw little movement one way or the other. After a couple of years of declines, I’ll take stagnancy as a win.
Hot List
5. Vintage Baseball- Many of the top movers in the Card Ladder Player’s Indices are baseball players who have long been retired. This type of movement is likely the product of timing. Baseball gets a lot of attention around the All-Star break as it enjoys the spotlight unabated for a while. As people shift to thinking about baseball, the cards of their childhood heroes get a bump. It’s tough to do, but buying basketball when you are excited about baseball and vice versa can pay off.
4. Jordan Love- Quite a few NFL players came close to cracking this list this month and I expect them to start dominating it soon. Shoot, most quarterbacks with a shot at a starting job have seen their cards creeping up in value in the past month. Collectors are getting ready for the season and the expectations around Love are amongst the highest.
By John McTaggart
I have a confession to make — I'm really not very good at collecting cards.
In fact, I’m terrible at it.
Sure, I’ve technically been in the hobby since 1979, when at 7-years old I got my first pack of Topps baseball cards from the 7-11 at the corner of the street.
Between 7-and-14 years old I was strictly a collector, gathering all the baseball cards I could muster, placing them carefully in my binder by player. I asked for cards for birthdays, Christmas, good grades, good performances in Little League games, whatever. It was pretty much all I wanted, and much of that has stayed the same even today.
However, in 1986 I sold my first baseball card — a 1984 Topps Don Mattingly rookie to my friend, Dave — and that’s when the fireworks really started for me.
From that moment on, my passion for collecting turned into a passion for the business of the hobby. It’s a passion that has really never waned over the decades. I truly love it and the community of people who I proudly call colleagues.
If you’ve read this column lately, however, you’ll know that over the past month I’ve stepped away from the business end of the hobby. There’s a few reasons why I’ve done this, but the bottom line is, I want to focus on collecting for a while.
Quick Hits
Grading News- Grading volume dipped overall for June. The drop is likely a product of the calendar, but with premiums dropping for graded modern cards, it is worth watching to see if the decline in grading volume continues or if it is just a blip. Baseball got hit especially hard with double-digit percentage declines at all companies. Check out the full numbers at Gem Rate.
Grading News- After a couple of months of looking like they might finally have stopped the bleeding, CGC’s sports grading numbers are back to dreadful. They are doing gangbusters in the TCG world, but sports collectors haven’t stopped fleeing CGC since they ditched the $8-a-card pricing. The next time someone mentions a new company is going to kill PSA look at the example of CGC. They had experience, deep pockets, and the perfect market conditions and they still haven’t gained a significant foothold in the sports world.
Vintage- Football cards are cool. Vintage cards are cool. Cheap cards are cool. Cheap vintage football cards, well, those are super-cool! Check out a rundown of some of the coolest bargain-hunters vintage football card sets here.
Hobby News- Topps released 2024 Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball recently. Each $29.99 box comes with two sticker autos and three parallels numbered to 75 or less. It’s neat to see smaller sports get the proper Topps treatment. If you’ve got a softballer in your house, don’t miss this one.
The Sports Card Nonsense newsletters reflect the opinions of only the authors and contributors. They are for informational purposes only and are not a recommendation for purchases or of an investment strategy or to buy or sell any assets.