Every collector knows there are 3 topics to never discuss at the holiday dinner table: religion, politics, and how to define "vintage" in the world of sports cards. I can't help you with the first 2--and even the question "What years count as vintage?" does not have a...
OK, everyone makes mistakes, right? And grading companies are no exception. Maybe a card comes back with a wrong label, or your grade is a real head-scratcher. But it's tough to beat this one. If you have a better story than this PSA grading blunder, post in the...
(First: I'm totally biased here, as the admin of two different Facebook groups that specialize in vintage baseball cards! I'll be clear about which groups I run in the text...) If you collect vintage actively you probably do at least some of your buying and selling...
In the wake of SGC being acquired by PSA parent company Collectors, which was announced at the end of February 2024, SGC President Peter Steinberg talked up the new relationship as a way to "continue to improve SGC’s products and services that collectors have come to...
PSA Statement on Eye Appeal and Subjectivity in Card Grading While perusing PSA's web site the other day I saw a blurb I had not noticed before. On the page that explains their grading standards, towards the bottom, there is a button titled "The Importance of Eye...
"So, how's the market?" "Hey Matt, the vintage sports card market seems a bit soft. Do you agree?" I get asked this question often. As an active collector, group admin, and Cardhound web site guy, I guess I'm relatively "in touch" with the market. And like any other...
So, you send in an SGC submission and receive a dreaded and unexpected "A" grade. Or maybe a card comes back from PSA not slabbed at all, and you wonder why. Unfortunately, understanding "A" grades isn't easy. And making sure your cards will be slabbed even if altered...
I'm always surprised when I see cards listed for sale at a discount due to surface wax. I'll admit, I'm a sucker for these deals just because I like cleaning them up! Surface wax removal is quick and easy, as you will see in this how-to. And the results can be really...
What do we mean by "rare"? "Rare." It's a word that gets tossed around often in vintage circles. Is rarity in the eye of the beholder? Is it set-dependent, or some kind of absolute? If only 10 known examples of a card exist, is it rare? How about 100? 1,000? In this...
(Disclosure: I will use Boca Card Subs in the example for this post, in part because I wrote this while preparing an actual card grading submission. Boca is a supporter of Cardhound Vintage but this is not a paid spot or promotional piece. I use Boca because in my...
