And The Crowd Goes Wild For Basketball Collector Cards
Are you an enthusiastic Basketball fan? Do you love collecting? Then now is the time to combine your two passions into one. Or you have been an avid collector of basketball cards for years now. Regardless, it is always exciting to either start 'The Hobby' or continue to search for those elusive rare basketball cards that have left holes in your collection for years.
The history of NBA cards
Since the production of the first NBA basketball cards, which were released in 1948 as a 72-piece set that included the rookie card for George Mikan, valued today at around $300,000. It is unknown how many sets have been produced over the years. Like anything, history has value and if you are a collector of history, then trading cards are the way to go.
As a collector of basketball cards there are several manufacturers, card sizes and players available for you to collect. There are the 1948 bowman, 1957-58 Topps and the 1961-62 Fleer, which are known as the only 'real' basketball sets from early in the sport being the most popular to collectors. There are also 'vintage' collector cards from before 1948 which were included in larger multi-sport sets from as early as 1911.
In the 1980's there was a resurgence in the popularity of basketball collector cards with Larry Bird and Magic Johnson and later in 1986-87 when a set was released, including the Michael Jordan rookie card.
The 1990's became the boom years for the collecting of basketball cards with several card manufacturers on the market, unfortunately with so many on the market the demand dropped, reducing the value of many cards. If you are a true collector, this likely will not impact your collection. It also became the time of the autographed collector card adding value to the cards yet again.
Then came the 'Exquisite' release in 2004, pushing prices up to the initial price of $500 per 5-card packs, which was unheard of. You will find unopened packs that can be priced at thousands of dollars today.
Shop today online
If you are a long-time member of 'The Hobby' or are just new to it, you are bound to find something of value to you as you search for your favourite players to add to your collection as you search through eBay.