Damaged Card Can Lessen Value of Set

Question: I was recently attempting to complete a career set of baseball cards on a particular player. The card I wanted, however, was damaged. I know that players’ cards are worth more as a set, but is it worth the expenditure--a fairly heavy one in this case--to purchase a damaged card?--E.A.

Answer: There is general agreement among baseball-card collectors that a rule of thumb to follow is: Don’t buy damaged cards. An exception to this rule might be when you are absolutely sure that it would be almost impossible to locate a similar card in the marketplace, but this doesn’t happen too often.

The reason is that thousands of baseball cards have been produced over the years, and the chances of running across a particular player’s card are high. On the other hand, should you panic and purchase a damaged card, you can be sure that its value will be shaky and could actually decline. When there are so many dealers and collectors trading baseball cards these days, your chances of locating a particular card are high.

To be sure, you may have to pay a steep price for a card in fine condition, but that’s what the collectible marketplace is all about. You’re betting that with a complete set your cards will increase in value no matter what you pay for an individual card.

If you’re an experienced collector, you probably already know that one of the best ways to store your cards is in vinyl page jackets so that the card is completely protected but still visible from both sides.

Q: In the broad area of advertising collectibles, what difference is there between what’s known as a giveaway and a premium?--S.C.

A: Giveaways were just that--given to the general public at no charge. Advertising premiums, however, required some payment or something in return, such as a box top. Each has its own collectible following.

In both cases, giveaways and premiums that are several years old--but in good condition--are generally worth more than those items produced in recent years.

Among the most common giveaways were calendars carrying some sort of advertising on them. Such calendars can still be found at yard sales and flea markets at reasonable prices, and they tell us something about the country’s commercial history.

Other popular turn-of-the-century giveaways were buttons, paperweights and pocket matches, which advertise a wide range of products from soft drinks to tobacco.

Premiums were in their heyday during the radio serials of the 1930s and 1940s. Many of them, such as secret decoders or cowboy rings, have become highly collectible.

Like giveaways, you’ll invariably run across people selling premiums at flea markets. But prices are becoming inflated.

Should you be lucky enough to run across a batch of premiums that were stashed away for years and are being offered as part of an estate sale, so much the better. That’s why smart collectors watch newspaper classifieds for estate sales and, when possible, inspect the merchandise before it’s sold or put on the auction block.