How big is your card collection?

[Hammerin Hank]

I've been a collector of baseball cards for about five or six years now, and even though I haven't even bought any these last couple years my collection has about 2,000 cards. None of them are very valuable. Perhaps you have some that are. I have that organized by the team the player was on in the card and then alphabetically so I can easily find the card if I need to. Being a Cubs fan, I probably have more Cubs cards than anything else. And there are a lot of Sosa and Griffey cards too. Well, anywho, just tell me about your collection.

I started like 2 years ago, but found out that just wasnt my thing, I have like around 200 cards, mostly Padres. My collection includes Griffey Jr. Gonzo, Gwynn, Sosa by the most famous.
GL with this forum.

[Biggtone23]

I've been collecting for about 10 years now. I have somewhere around 20,000 to 25,000 cards. Most are from the late 80s - early 90s so they are not worth much. Most common cards from these sets book at a penny (Beckett Dec. 03). Some highlights of my collection.
1983 Fleer Tony Gwynn rookie $15.00
1993 Topps Traded Todd Helton Team USA $30.00
2001 Topps Ichiro Rookie $15.00
2002 Topps Barry Bonds 73 Home Run sub set
70 - $25.00
73 - $60.00

[Eddie Collins]

I haven't bought anything in about 6 years, but I have about 5,000 cards

[AutoMick]

Wow did that hurt me..... she did it when I was about 19 to some kid she was babysitting for. I had the entire Fleer collection of Ted Williams cards...... I had the Mays, Mantle, Aaron, Clemente, Ford, Berra, Wynn, Drysdale, Koufax, Pierce, Howards (Frank and Elston), Fox, Aparicio.......... ahhhhhh that hurts.

I didn't collect again till 1976 when my son was born.... but he never took to the game ..... at least yet and he's 27 now.

So I just kept it for myself.......... I did buy a few football cards and my prized possession there would be Walter Payton's rookie card.

So I've been buying some older cards and have amassed a huge White Sox collection........ as well as some very nice ones including the George Bretts, Nolan Ryans, Tony Gwynns, Sammy Sosa, Willie Stargell, Steve Carlton, Tom Seaver, Roger Clemens, Cal Ripken,, Ryne Sandberg, Andre Dawson, Tim Raines, Rickey henderson, Derek Jeter, Nomar Garciappara, Alex Rodriguez, Frank Thomas, Magglio Ordonez..... etc.

I alos have 20+ years of White Sox media Guides...... magazines, and newspapers. I have some posters, some bobble heads and autograph baseballs from Carlton Fisk and Frank Thomas as well as several souviner baseballs gotten from games at old Comiskey Park.

Great hobby....... great game....... but my sight is starting to fail me and it looks as though I will be selling these things in the not too distant future.......

[insanefishpossay]

20,000+, most i got from my dad/grandpa. Almost all are from 1985-1994, dont have much newer stuff, and I haven't actually bought anything for awhile. I have lots of rookies cards, I'll post some when I get the chance

[Zito75]

I used to work in a card shop when I was 16 to about when I was 19. I had around 30,000 cards at one point- but quantity means NOTHING. I am down to around 8-10K now, but have better "quality."
86 Fleer Jordan Rookie in MINT shape
59 Topps Musial
85 Topps McGwire Rookie
83 Topps Gwynn
82 Topps Ripken
'70 Topps Reggie Jackson & Nolan Ryan
89 Upper Deck Griffey

Lots of other various rookies.

[rudy]

I have thousands and thousands and thousands of baseball cards. I wouldnt have given up the hobby if they didn't come out with 650 different sets in each year. The fact that cards became worthless was only a good thing---the hobby became far cheaper. It was never about their worth anyway---it was about collecting all of the cards from your favorite players. I have every single Bo Jackson baseball card every printed, each one in their own case.

When my brother and I were young, about 15 years ago, we used to pick rookies and buy hundreds of their cards. Most of the times it didn't work out: Bruce Ruffin, Hensley Meulens, among so many others just did nothing. We did find one guy who turned out pretty good though: I have over 150 Sammy Sosa rookie cards, and he's not even, nor has he ever been, a favorite of mine.

I don't have any old-school cards...I think my oldest cards are George Brett cards from the mid-70's. My bro and I used to cleect certain player's cards: George Brett, Ruben Sierra, Darryl Strawberry, Eric Davis, and each of our two favorites, mine being Bo, his being Will Clark.

I still find myself dropping in to local card stores once in a while just to buy a few packs, and in some cases, I'll just buy boxes of cards, and spend an afternoon opening packs and making sets the real way. Ever since teh card industry went down, it has become so much cheaper to be a collector again! I'll stick to the late 80's and early 90's though....I still love the thrill of finding Bo cards!

[The Mick]

I've been a fanatical card/memorabilia collector for most of my life. I have thousands of cards - but over the last few years I have gone more team specific (Yankees-Steelers-Penguins-and autographed cards).

My sports memorabilia collection has actually gotten "out-of-hand" so to speak and it helps to have an understanding wife. I look at it as both a hobby and an investment. I figure my kids will be able to get several thousand for it after I am gone.

That may be a while though as I'm only 31. (haha)

[Chisox73]

I have most Topps sets dating back to 1973.I've only stuck with Topps.I'm one of the few who buy the cards for the sheer enjoyment of collecting.

Sometime next year,I want to start building my 1972 Topps set.I have all the White Sox players from that set,including Dick Allen.

I also collect team photo cards from the '60s and '70s.My favorite team card is the 1970 Topps Seattle Pilots team photo card(#713).The only Pilots team card issued.

[Utter Chaos]

I've been collecting non-stop since 1969. There were a few down periods like girls, high-school, girls, college and more girls but I still managed to buy some every year and keep my mom from throwing them out (even though she threatened to many times).

In the 80's I tried collecting everything there was but it got to be too much so now I just concentrate on the Topps regular issues. I have them all from 1963-2003 plus 1957 and 1960. I still need about 500 more to complete my goal which is the entire Topps run from 1952 on. I also have an Old Judge card from the 1800's, some T206's, Goudeys, Leafs, lots of old Bowmans, etc.

I'm guessing the total number of my collection is around 150,000. I collect for the enjoyment rather than the value. I enjoy reading the backs of the old cards to learn info like Dee received a purple heart for WWII or Archie is an English teacher in the off-season. Nowadays it's stuff like Joe and Dave share the same agent or Sam signed with the Yankees because they offered him the most money.

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

My card collection started at Camden Yards int 1998 when I bought 100 cards for a dollar. Now my collection has increased to about 550. I organize mine by team, and when my collection wasn't big I would go in depth, by last name!

[4-Man_Rotation]

I collected as a kid ... and stopped buying through my teen years ... then got married and have spent probably TOO much money on them these last few years.

I collect only certain players. I'm a huge Randy Johnson fan and have 620 different cards of him alone. I also like Ichiro, Barry Zito, A-Rod and Mark Grace. I have several hundred of each of them ... among others pertaining to hometown heroes ...

Some of my faves are:

-1987 Topps Tiffany Rafael Palmeiro PSA 9
-2002 Topps Heritage Certified Auto Hank Blalock
-1994 Flair Alex Rodriguez (RC)
-2001 UD Victory Ichiro (RC) BGS 9.5

and one I got for my B-day last week ... a piece of Game-Used base from 10/22/00 when Clemens (accidentally) threw the bat at Piazza in the WS.

[trillian42]

I've only been collecting for about six months...mostly Twins cards...have about 2000 now...another 1200 or so coming in the mail any time now (*fingers crossed*)...I started out collecting my favorite player. Unfortunately this weekend I had to do the tragic...moved him from the 'Current' to 'Former' binder.

I like to get the huge lots on ebay...preferrably UN-picked through...but haven't really gotten anything fantastic yet.

Love flipping through the bargain bins in the local card shop during my lunch break. Don't go too often though--the boys always look at me a little funny!

[abolishthedh]

In 1993 I had about 4200, and then I decided to sell the most valuable cards off and keep about 10% of the collection. What I have kept includes the gritty gamer type players, because these are the players I most admire. These are the players who I will probably be reminiscing about years from now!

It turned out to be a well timed decision, I suppose.

Everything I own is Topps, because I never gave any credibility to the new kids on the block companies. Fleer and Donruss are legitimate makers because they have been around, but Upper Deck and the other me-too companies were the very reason I decided to sell in 1993. More companies in the market meant that the money factor was more important to collectors and the industry, and I couldn't relate to it so I got out. I haven't collected in several years. The current collection has remained in the 400s.

Yet, the players I have kept are stored because of the power of that small cardboard paper with a bad photo. The industry exists because of sentiment, not wallets. Money can be spent, but sentimental value is priceless.

[Jose_Reyes_Revolution]

I mostly collect MLB Showdown. I have almost every card of those (2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003 sets). I have about 1,000 other regular baseball cards, and about 6,000 hockey cards. So all together I have just less than 10,000 cards (baseball + hockey)

[McNick]

My brother and I collected in the early 70's until he sold them at a garage sale. Back in '87 my 4 year old daughter found a beat up Will Clark rookie card and we started collecting together. She grew up learning the game through the cards and when she was 6 years old could imitate the swings of all of the good players, lefty or righty. She turned out to be a pretty good ball player, now a junior on a full softball scholarship at a great school getting a major in her chosen field.

Our collection went crazy, unfortunately during the years when cards were over-produced, therefore the value isn't there. But the time spent together buying and sorting was priceless.

A few years back, I decided to start buying unopened packs. I have about 2500 unopened packs now to go along with 100,000 plus cards.

3 years ago, I put together a 1960 set strictly off of eBay and gave it to my brother for his 40th birthday.

This year, I turned my attention to the 1963 set (my birth year) and am 60% done with every card PSA graded 7 or better.

[Etheridge2]

I started Collecting in 1985 and had literally thousands of thousands of cards but after several moves I had to get rid of almost all of them and as a result saved only some of my Cardinal Cards and a set of Cooperstown cards I boucght a few years ago.


I also have ALL of my OZZIE SMITH CARDS
that collection totals about 400 different Cards and Stickers and I still don't have them all

[uthminsta]

I began collecting cards with a little box set of MVP cards that K-Mart produced on 1982 - I was in 2nd grade. The cards replicated the player's Topps card from the year they were voted MVP. Remember those, anyone? I would read the backs of those 44 cards over and over and over. I still have those cards, although a few of them have had to be replaced because I lost them through the years.

I collected until 1994, my second year of college. The strike really disappointed me, I lost interest in the cards, first serious girlfriend, plus I was broke. I sold all of my cards dated after about 1990 or so.

About 1998, I began to take interest in the SPORT of baseball again, partly because of the home run chase. About 2001, I started reading about the 500 Home Run club and decided to dig my cards out and check them out again. Decided I would see if maybe I could complete a few of those old sets. Started making checklists. My wife should have known then - when she saw me making a checklist of baseball cards - that I was about to get into another time-consuming, painstaking, money-draining hobby. Too late now, dear.

Yeah, I'm a set builder. A rare breed these days, apparently. At all the local shops, no one's interested in anything that's more than a couple of months old... so I get pretty good bargains when I say I'm trying to complete EVERY Topps set, and I just want to see their commons boxes. There's even one local shop which has a box which holds about 6,000 cards all 1 cent each. And no matter how often I go there, it's always full. And it's always cards I want. And I always end up getting about 2000 cards for 20 bucks. Ah! It's easy to work on sets from the mid 90's to the present that way, or at least to find the commons.

I also collect cards of the 500 club members and all the players I think have a decent chance of making it there... plus all players with my last name (Shirley) and... anyone I know to be a Christian.

And I just love looking at those old T-205 and T-206 cards, Goudeys, PlayBalls... I have a few of each, but they're hard to come by in any decent condition without emptying my wallet. My wife actually casually collects the old 1948-1955 Bowman cards.

Oh yeah, the question. How large is my collection. About 50,000 in my collection proper, plus about 15-20,000 for trading. Of course the trading amount would change pretty often, and the collection rises steadily but very slowly now. I try to make a lot of my progress through trades with others who are also set builders. I am currently closest to finishing Topps sets from 1973-1983. So can I say I would love to work out a trade possibly with some other post-ers on here? I'm not sure if we're allowed to make such offers or not. If not, I'll delete it.

I thought this was going to be a brief post. But I just love baseball cards. I love that I can still trade, even though I'm almost 29 years old, because it's not just a kids' hobby. Millions of people love the sport, and many, many grown men still love to open a pack or build a set or... just the thrill of the search.

[Etheridge2]

Originally posted by uthminsta
I I also collect cards of the 500 club members and all the players I think have a decent chance of making it there... plus all players with my last name (Shirley) and... anyone I know to be a Christian.

Surely you can't be serious...heehee...do you collect Trot Nixon cards?? Jesus sometimes controls his bat...I assume by Christian you are talking about Dale Murphy like and not the I would like to thank God for all he ahs done but now I have to go cheat on my wife and beat my girlfriend types that seem to clutter the sport


Anyway I couldn't resist the surely line...gotta love Airplane..good luck on building those sets up.

[uthminsta]

Originally posted by Etheridge2
I assume by Christian you are talking about Dale Murphy like and not the I would like to thank God for all he ahs done but now I have to go cheat on my wife and beat my girlfriend types that seem to clutter the sport

I guess it's pretty hard to really figure that out. I prefer people like John Olerud, Gary Carter, Albert Pujols... I've read or heard all of them tell their testimonies. They have all publicly talked about a real relationship with God and are not ashamed to tell how He has changed their lives.

A lot of people who profess Christianity one day, don't even live like it that night... I know, and it is really disappointing. And it gives Jesus a bad name. Gives people a bad taste in their mouths. It just plain sucks. I guess some can't really handle the pressures of being a public figure and a positive role model.

Yeah. So anyway.

[4-Man_Rotation]

Orel Hershiser is another guy who's had a positive Christian attitude throughout his career ... I read a great essay written by him in Chicken Soup for the Baseball Fan's Soul.

[4-Man_Rotation]

Originally posted by Jose_Reyes_Revolution
I mostly collect MLB Showdown. I have almost every card of those (2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003 sets). I have about 1,000 other regular baseball cards, and about 6,000 hockey cards. So all together I have just less than 10,000 cards (baseball + hockey)

I love those MLB Showdown cards!!

Their pretty pricey as singles ... I have most of the Randy Johnson cards from those series ... I think ...

Lot of card set and cards out there these days!!

I try to focus on getting all the RJ's from one set at a time (including parallels, G/U, SP's, etc) ...

ANd I LOVE and constantly pursue Donruss/Leaf/Playoff SAMPLES and GOLD SAMPLES of RJ cards found in Becketts ...

eBay is my friend.

[BigRedMachine]

At least 10,000 cards. I plan to take an inventory of my card collection soon and hope to start back doing card shows again.
I've got several unopened cases and boxes.

Among my most prized cards are a 1961 Topps Mickey Mantle in excellent condition (not mint), a near mint Topps Eddie Murray rookie card and near mint rookie cards of Rickey Henderson and Barry Bonds.

Cards shows are a great learning experience. You can really have a lot of fun doing card shows and if you have kids, they can benefit from this learning experience as well.

In my opinion, it's important to have a well organized and high quality presentation of your cards at card shows.

[robbgessner]

my card collection is pretty extensive. a combination of my father and me, theres gotta be well over 25,000 cards prolly many more, dating from 1981 to 1995. i got many sets and speciality sets. i'm looking to get rid of some of them if anyone is interested. will sell at fair price.