(Editor's note: this story on The National will be updated daily during the show, so check back often! Thanks to Mark for providing some on-the-ground reporting and observations! -Matt) Monday: Calm Before the Storm It’s the calm before the storm. Dealers are packed...
Essays
The Challenges, Frustrations, and Rewards of Vintage Set Building
First, a confession: I'm really not a vintage set builder. Until very recently, the last set I built was 1982 Topps. I built it . . . in 1982, age 9. But then 2 things happened. First, I realized that I was "sort of close" to completing a rare Cuban set that features...
10 Tips for Surviving (and Thriving!) at The National
We are just 2 days away from the start of The National, aka The National Sports Card Convention, in Cleveland, Ohio. Cardhound Matt does not get to go this year (first missed National in a few years), but we do hope to have some eyes and ears on the ground and provide...
Review: BCW Graded Card Hard Cases (fits SGC!)
If you are an SGC collector like me, you know that finding storage for their slabs is a challenge. They are just enough larger than PSA that the fit in most cases is just a bit too snug for my liking. And if your slabs are in sleeves, it's usually a no-go. Enter BCW...
Soaking a Sanella Ruth
This post marks the birth of the Cardhound Vintage Youtube channel. Give it a follow! Might as well start by featuring a cool card, a 1932 Sanella Ruth that an owner wanted removed from the album. Soaking cards out of albums isn't for the weak-willed. There's a lot to...
Understanding the Crack / Resubmit Grading Craze
OK, maybe crack / resubmit isn't a full-on craze. But if you're into vintage and grading, you at least have heard of folks cracking graded cards and resubmitting them. Sometimes a PSA 7 gets cracked and resubmitted in hopes of an 8. Sometimes an SGC 6 gets cracked...
Today is National “Thank Your Facebook Group Admin” Day!
I hereby declare today as "National Thank Your Facebook Group Admin Day"! The official date of this holiday is whatever day you are reading this post. I have spent the last several years administering vintage groups on Facebook --some smaller (such as my Negro League...
Collecting the Negro Leagues (on a budget)
In late May MLB announced the recognition of some Negro Leagues as Major Leagues. Since then, there has been a noticeable uptick in interest in Negro League collecting. My little Negro League Buy / Sell / Trade Facebook group is growing like never before. "Want to...
Help needed: $2m in cards stolen from Cardhound member
Well-known vintage dealer Ashsh Jai of Cardhound advertiser Legacy Cardz had approximately $2 million dollars of cards stolen during the Dallas show over the weekend. Photos and video have made the rounds across the internet but this is still unsolved, and Ash is...
PSA vs. SGC: The Vintage Market Share Battle
The well-worn PSA vs. SGC debate took a turn earlier this year. It's old news now: as announced at the end of February 2024, PSA's parent company Collector's bought SGC. Let's cast aside the wild speculation about the future of SGC (which runs the gamut from "status...