Unique Not Unique, but It Is Profitable

For Ken and Bernie Peterson, sports memorabilia is more than just collectibles. It is art.

And a handsome retirement income.

Ken, a retired postal worker and avid collector of baseball cards and, more recently, sports pins, has discovered that a picture, signature and a couple of pins placed neatly in a frame turns $20 of material into art that can increase the value fivefold--and more.

“It’s like anything else,” Ken said. “If it is something you can hang up and enjoy, it is more valuable. I think it is better than storing them in a box.”

The Score baseball card of Bo Jackson from the Nike ad has recently sold for up to $20. The Beckett Baseball Card Monthly magazine with that same picture on the cover is being coveted for more than $5, twice its newstand price. Add three pins and another Jackson baseball card, put them in a frame and Peterson figures to get at least $100. Next month, the price will go up.

“It is an unbelievable business right now,” said Ken, who operates his out of a warehouse and the Orange County Fair swap meet on weekends. “It seems like every day more people want to collect sports memorabilia. Pins have been really hot since the ’84 (Los Angeles) Olympics.”

Ken and Bernie call their business Unique Stuff, but their business certainly is not unique. Others have found a gold mine in framing sports memorabilia. Framed works are flooding swap meets, card shows and sports fan shops.

At some point, it seems the country is going to run out of collectors, or at least walls. “I don’t know,” Peterson said. “I keep thinking I’m going to flood the market. But there seems to be more and more people wanting these things. I know we’re keeping busy.”

So, while Bernie takes special orders and keeps the business operating, Ken stalks the shows and stores for more sports memorabilia.

Suitable for framing.