If you have a stash of trading cards, make sure to hang onto them, or sell them. A recent story in the Erie Times-News discussed a collection worth millions. Read about it here. The rare series of baseball cards was dated around 1910.
It’s not just baseball cards that have value. At our house, we have football, baseball, basketball, hockey and, yes, Pokemon cards. Most of the valuable cards were cashed in for college educations around here, but we never hit the jackpot. And there are jackpots to hit.
Anyone who remembers Pokemon — and has the cards, popular in the 1990s — will want to read this article. It describes the 10 most valuable trading cards. A Pokemon Pikachu Illustrator is worth about $20,000. It is rare, but other cards are worth anywhere from $500 to $2,000.
I remember we spent a lot of time collecting cards when my boys were young. Over the years, they bought and sold them. Even local ENT Dr. Jack Anon got into trading cards with the kids. He bought them and gave them away — making a lot of friends. Before you toss a box of cards — check out the value. Who would have guessed that Pokemon would have big value decades later?
Pam Parker is the editor of Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times and House to Home at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa.
Pam – Thank you for your blog. It is articles like this that rekindle the passions we’ve all had for trading cards in the past. My son has collected baseball cards for most of his life and recently took the time to categorize them and organize them very nicely in a binder. He was very enthusiastic about talking to a collector to see if he had anything worth value. When my boyfriend took him to see a local collector (in an actual hobby shop) in Wesleyville, they were treated very poorly and felt like they were being intrusive and wasting the man’s time. He was very cold and rude and said nothing was worth anything and wouldn’t take any time to discuss anything further with them.
For this to be my 13-year-old’s first experience, I felt horrible for him. He hasn’t touched them since. What happened to the days when people were passionate and wanted to pass that love along to others…especially children?
How disappointing. Call some of the other shops in town and ask for an appointment. Hope your son can regain his interest. But the value isn’t always the most important thing. To my kids, it doesn’t matter what they are worth. They remember the experience of trading with their friends and the Pokemon cards that Dr. Anon gave them. We have a lot of worthless cards, but they are favorites of my boys and that’s all that matters.