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Today's Collectors Focus: How to evaluate Trading Cards  

Trading cards are small cardboards collected by collectors usually associated both with sports such as baseball, hockey and basketballs as well as fantasy and comics. In recent years, trading cards became also a popular method to promote various occasions and subjects such as TV shows, sports clubs and special events.  

Trading cards do not have a real monetary value and are worth as much as a certain buyer is willing to pay. Nevertheless, the value of a trading card could be influenced by several factors such as its condition and popularity. Occasionally some cards manufacturers limit the production of a certain card series to increase their value.  

When determining the condition of a certain trading card several indications are being inspected such as the centering of the card, the corners of the card, the edges of the card and the surface of the card.  Imperfections such as tears and blurred images could lower the value of the card significantly.

There are ten grades given to describe the condition of a card:

Pristine describes a perfect card without any imperfections or damage to the naked eye and upon close inspection.

Mint condition describes a card without any printing imperfections or damage to the naked eye and with very minor printing imperfections or damage upon close inspection and with clean gloss with one or two scratches.

Near Mint or Mint describes a card without any printing imperfections or damage to the naked eye, but with slight printing imperfections or damage upon close inspection and with solid gloss with very minor scratches.

Near Mint describes a card with Noticeable, but minor, imperfections or wear on the card and with solid gloss with very minor scratches.

Excellent Mint describes a card with noticeable, but minor, imperfections or wear on the card and mostly solid gloss with minor scratches.

Excellent describes a card with noticeable imperfections or moderate wear on the card nad with some gloss lost with minor scratches..

Very good/Excellent describes a card with noticeable imperfections with heavy gloss lost with very minor scuffing, and an extremely subtle tear.

Very good describes a card with heavy imperfections or heavy wear on the card and with almost no gloss and minor scuffing or very minor tear.

Good describe a card with severe imperfections or wear on the card with no gloss and oticeable scuffing or tear.

Poor describes a card with destructive imperfections or wear on the card with no gloss and heavy scuffing, severe tear or heavy creases.

A Babe Ruth Trading Card: