Let me explain my thinking. In 1981, Topps lost their dominance in baseball cards with the appearance of the Donruss and Fleer companies. It was during this time that baseball cards began to be mass produced and everyone starting “protecting” their baseball cards instead of “using” their baseball cards. The result is a glut of baseball cards from the 1980’s on and as a result, a reduced value of these cards. Old age definitely makes a baseball card vintage, but scarcity and as a result, value also make a baseball card vintage. So yes there are some cards produced after 1981 that are considered as vintage baseball cards.

One thing to keep in mind with old vintage baseball cards is that the older cardboard needs to be protected even more than the more modern cards. Additionally, for older vintage cards you should get them graded. Getting your baseball cards graded provides you the ability to determine their value, but you also get the added benefit of a protected case.

Topps is based in New York City. The company was established in 1939 and originally manufactured gum and tobacco. They produced their first baseball cards in 1951. In 1952, they began including player statistics. For nearly 4 decades they had a monopoly baseball card manufacturing.

Upper Deck was established in 1988, by Paul Sumner, who used his college background of holograms to create the unique upper deck logo on their brand of baseball cards. The glossy finish on their line of baseball cards revolutionized the baseball card industry. Today, they produce baseball cards, as well as cards for international sports teams.

Panini America (formerly known as Donruss) originally produced entertainment cards for Television shows such as “Dallas”, and “Dukes of Hazzard”. The company was founded in 1954. In 1981 The company (then called Donruss) produced their first line of baseball cards. They released their highly acclaimed “Diamond Kings” set in 1982, which became one of their best sellers. They ceased producing baseball cards in 2005.

Fleer was established in 1885. In 1959, they began producing baseball cards. Their first set was released in 1959. The set was elusively of Ted Williams. Fleer was also the only baseball company to produce a Roger Clemens, and Kirby Puckett card back in 1984. Fleer discontinued producing baseball cards in 2007.

These baseball card companies have truly changed the way we connect with athletes forever.

Peck & Snyder were the first company to mass-produce these cards. As a sporting goods retailer, they saw the cards as a way to advertise their merchandise. They used a 3-1/4” by 4- ½” piece of cardboard. On the front, they pasted a sepia-toned picture of the entire 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings team. On the back of the card, they printed advertisements for their company. These cards were handed out free of charge to their prospective customers. Early baseball fans used to paste the cards that they collected onto the pages of their scrapbooks. Other companies saw the success that Peck & Snyder were having and rapidly followed suit.

Tobacco companies entered the baseball card business in the mid 1880’s. The cards served a duel purpose. They advertised the tobacco companies and the stiff pieces of cardboard provided support for the delicate tobacco products. Goodwin and Company is considered to be the first tobacco company to distribute these cards on a national level. The cards advertised Goodwin and Company’s Old Judge and Gypsy Queen brands. These cards were smaller than the ones that Peck & Snyder produced. They were 1-1/2” by 2- ½”. The poses on these cards were staged. Baseball players would stand in front of an artificial backdrop with props and have their picture taken.

You might want to keep that in mind as you collect your cards because you never know where this glorious hobby of collecting baseball cards will take you.

But for now, just sit back and enjoy because there are a lot of nice cards to see …

First you have to decide what you want to collect. Inserts, full sets, rookies? It’s completely up to you. Then you need to find a place to buy your cards. It could be a hobby store, a department store, auctions, online auctions or trade shows. There’s a lot of places to buy baseball cards. Find a place that you are comfortable with.

Once you have your collection started, you have to take care of your cards. Some can be worth a lot of money if they are taken care of properly. Individual cards need to be handled by the human hand as little as possible. So you need to get them in plastic sleeves. If the card is really valuable, after it goes into a plastic sleeve, it should be put into one of those hard, plastic card holders that will not bend.

To find the true value of your cards, get them graded. Graded cards sell for more than un-graded cards. It makes it a lot easier to sell a card when the buyer see’s what the grade is on a card. Buying and selling un-graded cards is just like guessing at the value.

Trading cards were first introduced with the chewing gum as a way of promoting the sale of the gum. These early cards were not baseball cards, however. They were of Hopalong Cassidy, a popular Western character of the time. The first baseball cards that Topps produced, in 1951, were sets known as “Red Backs” and Blue Backs”. Each card had a blank side that was either red or blue, with the picture of a baseball player on the other side. These sets contained 52 cards, and could be used to play a game, similar to a regular card game.

Many valuable rookie cards have been discovered in packages of Topps. The 1952 set, which was designed at the kitchen table of Topps employee Sy Berger, continues to be very highly prized among collectors of sports cards. The popularity of baseball cards is due, in great part, to the Topps Company.

As people love baseball you are bound to find many other people who are interested in baseball card collecting too. There is no age limit which can be found in baseball card collecting. For the majority of collectors their hobby begins when they are children. As they grow more knowledgeable about the many different cards which are available they come to see how the condition of the card and its rarity can affect the price a person will need to pay.

There is one place that is well known and trusted by baseball collectors as the place to find quality baseball cards. This is a company that is known as Topps. The Topps company has long been associated with the selling of many different baseball cards. Some of these cards which you can find from Topps are quite valuable ones. Other cards which you may want to see about buying are the various gift sets which are freely available.

As time passes and your knowledge of baseball cards increases you will learn which cards have the potential to make your collection grow. These cards can however be quite expensive as they are the pinnacle of baseball card collecting. These cards are of Honus Wagner, Babe Ruth and Michael Jordan. These cards are for the most part are ones that you will like to own as they are not produced in large amounts.

To find a set of cards that you will like you should go through your entire collection. From this inspection you will find the cards that are missing from your collection. You will also find the cards that will help to increase the value of your card set. In the world of baseball cards collecting these types of cards is something that many collectors look forward to.

The baseball cards that you can buy such as the rare and vintage can be also found at flea markets and also second hand goods shops. When you are buying or even trading any type of baseball cards you will need to be careful that you are getting authentic cards. There are many fraudulent individuals who print fake cards. As these can lower the value of your card collection it is best that you be careful. If you can, before you buy, get cards appraised. Now if you feel that knowing the difference between a fake card and an actual card can be of help to you in the future, you should think about buying one of these fake cards. But be sure to keep this card out of your collection.

If some of the cards you are missing are very valuable, collecting them can be a challenge. You should also be able to exchange your cards with other people who are looking for baseball cards which they have missed. In the hobby of baseball card collecting you will come across different cards which are potential value raisers, so always keep a look out.

The Upper Deck concept was created by Paul Sumner, who worked in the sales division of a printing company in Anaheim California. He wanted to develop a unique card that no one had seen before, nor had ever been marketed. He was not content with cards that only showed pictures of athletes and their stats. He wanted an original logo, and glossy cards that would catch the eye of every sports fan. Sumner had a college background, where he studied holograms. His idea of putting a trademark hologram logo on each side of the card would keep it from being counterfeited.

Major League Baseball was the first sport that granted Upper Deck a license to produce cards with their athletes. The license was granted on December of 1988. The first order was shipped on February 28, 1989. The first order left the small printing facility in Yorba Linda, California, and arrived at Tulsa’s Baseball Store in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The cards were an immediate hit. Midway through 1989, Upper Deck sold out all of it’s stock of baseball cards. Before the next year even began, Upper Deck pre-sold it’s full stock of baseball cards. 1990 also marked the first year Upper Deck randomly selected packets of baseball card to include autographed cards. Sales grew tremendously due to their marketing.

Today, Upper Deck is one of the worlds leading memorabilia producing company for all the major US sports (NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB).