Nonsense Newsletter No 47: The Real Value of a 9, Tony Gwynn and More!
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In this week’s edition, John Dudley breaks down the real value of a 9 (or 9.5) grade, while I get all mushy and sentimental about my favorite sports card of all-time, a 1983 Topps Tony Gwynn rookie. Plus, Upper Deck is ready to release a new Marvel set! And, of course, much more in your favorite trading card newsletter!
Contributor: John McTaggart
Of the thousands and thousands of cards that have crossed my path over the past three decades in the hobby — one stands out to me.
It’s not, by any means, the most valuable, the most coveted, nor would too many others consider it the crown jewel of their collection.
But for me, it was the one card that set me on my path in the hobby.
I guess you could say I started collecting cards beginning with packs of 1979 Topps baseball my mom would pick up for me with every trip to the 7-11 by our house.
But truthfully, I didn’t really start collecting until a few years later, when my Little League baseball coach told me about a young player in San Diego named Tony Gwynn.
I read everything I could on Gwynn, trying to learn from him, mimic his work ethic and attention to detail for the game.
And most of all, my baseball card collecting had a new focus, a direction, a purpose.
Contributor: John Dudley
It’s time to dust off one of my favorites and put a piece of conventional hobby wisdom to the test in a game I like to call fact or fiction. The advice being tested this week is one I’ve seen on numerous message boards: “9s are worth the same as raw cards now” but it also gives me a chance to look at another question that needs answering. Primarily, how do the various 9 grades from the different companies relate to each other price-wise?
9s (and 9.5s depending on the company) are a sad fact of card grading. And sure, 9s happen to everyone, but now 9s are seen almost as a loss instead of as breaking even or turning a small profit like they used to be. Is that wisdom correct though? Let’s figure that out.
First, though, let’s talk about 9.5s. Both SGC and CSG use 9.5 as a form of 9+. It allows for a bit more distinction between cards. BGS, of course, has 9.5 as their gem grade and is the lone holdout with that scale. There is still some confusion with CSG cards as they initially had 9.5 as their gem mint grade. Cards slabbed with the old green labels that are 9.5 are gem mint, whereas cards in the new black label with a 9.5 are not.
All that said, I still get confused by 9.5s from CSG and SGC. How do I price them? What should I value them when bidding? Comps are often hard to find for this tweener grade. Normally, I just toss my hands up and list the card as an auction and decide to let the market figure things out. Efficient, but not really best practices material. While checking in on 9 prices overall, it seems like a perfect chance to get a better handle on 9.5s as well.
Quick Hits
NFT News- The Chicago Bulls are the first NBA team to join the NFT universe. They’ve teamed up with Coinbase and will offer an NFT of the Bulls logo for their first offering. Expect a lot more from Coinbase and the NBA as the two have a reported $200 million deal in place.
Vintage- Sports Collectors Daily took an amazing look at the cards of the first black players in NFL history. Checking out this article is time well-spent. Click here to read all about it.
Pop Culture News- Upper Deck is releasing Marvel Beginnings at the end of the month. What sets this offering apart is the focus on first appearances (think rookies for comic characters). It’s a neat focus and could provide for some sought-after “rookies” down the line. Most likely, it will be overlooked, but it stands out a bit from the normal Upper Deck Marvel offerings.
Grading News- The only category of cards graded by SGC to see a decline in August was racing/miscellaneous sports cards (almost all racing and not much miscellaneous). The SGC numbers are particularly of interest as, with their lightning-fast turnaround times currently, they provide a snapshot of what is popular in the market. These numbers are somewhat tied to major releases though so don’t write off F1 yet though.
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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.