For sports nerds like us, collecting trading cards is a favorite pastime. We discussed the appeal of trading cards to us in previous Calling all Sports Nerds articles. Once you get into sports card collecting you need to start adding a particular focus to your card hunts. For us we most enjoy rookies, relics, and graded cards. Especially rookie or relics that are graded. If you’re new to the sports card hobby you may be asking what a graded card is. Simply put, graded cards are forever frozen in time.
A graded card is meticulously studied, sometimes even under a microscope, and examined to determine its condition and authenticity. Condition comes down to the corners, finish, edges, and if it’s been modified or altered in any way. Grades are usually given in a score format from 1 to 10 and sometimes in half-grades as well. The ultimate grade would be a 10 grade representing a “perfect” card or “mint”.
Most collectors strive for that 9 or 10 grade card as do we. However, at least for me personally, the older the card, the less the grade means to me. For example, I own two Mickey Mantle baseball cards, one from 1958 and the other from1960 and each is graded a “2”. To me that is almost even more awesome than a higher grade. I know you think I’m crazy but let me explain.
Authority Athletics is a member of the Fanatics Affiliate Program. By clicking the links to Fanatics and making a purchase we will receive a commission, at no expense to you. We thank you for supporting our website and helping us continue to post awesome sports content!
These are two incredibly popular cards that have survived over 66 and the other 64 years at the time of this writing and still remain in “good” shape (“good” being the word description given to a “2” graded card). Each one of those cards has a story. Each dog ear corner or crease has a history. I like to imagine a kid saving up money to buy a pack of cards and finding his favorite player. The kids show it to all of his friends, put it in his backpack, and avoided putting it in the wheel spokes of his bike. Probably got it taken away at school for looking at it instead of listening to his teacher.
That same kid might’ve traded it for his next current favorite player and so on and so forth. Somewhere down the line the card was sent in to get graded. Once graded, it became frozen in time. As long as nothing happens to the case, it will forever have that grade and keep its history in tack.
See, graded cards are the ultimate in sports card collecting!
Share our Article
Be the first to comment