Which Would You Have?

We all do it. Every time we look on ebay for a card. Every time we see a cheap card on COMC or in a shop. We look at the condition. It's one of the biggest factors in this hobby. The condition of the card. It could mean the difference between a card selling/buying for a couple hundred dollars... or no more than $20. An entire industry has been created around it in grading services such as PSA, Beckett, etc. We've all skipped over a card "waiting for a better copy" to show up. We've all spent a few extra dollars for the NrMt copy as opposed to the Ex card.

It doesn't take a great mind or pretty words to figure out why. It's because it looks good. Why would you want a collection full of dilapidated barely legible pieces of shit when you could have nice clean crisp copies? You wouldn't. Unless you had to. For example, I know I'm not coming up with the funds to buy a Pristine copy of a 1967 Tom Seaver RC for my Mets team sets any time soon. I'm gonna have to wait for a beat up, creased up card to show up on ebay and hope I can avoid being outbid on it within the last 5 seconds.

But sometimes, some cards can seemingly become more intriguing when worn down. They seem to have more of a story, more of that "I've seen some things" vibe to them. I've never been a huge condition freak, especially when it comes to completing my vintage Mets team sets. The most important factor, within reason, is to have the card to begin with. I can always upgrade later if I must. Let's see if I can visualize my point...
holy shit, there's a point behind this!?!?

A nice clean NrMt '69 Lou Brock. This card has no crease, no stains, no pen marks. The corners are sharp and you could find more damaged cards out of factory fresh boxes. This is another card from my Uncle and it was obviously either hidden and forgotten or protected for a very long time before being given to me where it is now designated to a thick, hard case never to be removed or exposed to the elements again.

Now, we look at this...

This card has been around. I'm sure if we could figure out a way for it to talk, it would tell us tales about being flipped or traded or rung through bike spokes. Maybe it was taken to school or brought outside and tossed in a hat from 20ft away. I'm sure this card has more stories to tell then any PSA 9 Mickey Mantle could ever tell.


Some modern flavor includes a 2007 Topps Sterling David Wright. This is an absolutely great looking card. The border is suede. It's numbered to 50. The picture is shiny and refractory and it to is locked away, safely in a case. This would be one of the first cards I'd save in case of flood.


Now check out this Trot Nixon. For the past ohhh, 4 months or so, this card has been used as a bookmark. I have a small box full of "hurt" cards. It's full of cards that are creased, ripped, water damaged... beer damaged. Colored on, chewed on (the dog, not me I swear) and whatever else you could think of. I blindly pulled one out when I needed a bookmark and this is what I grabbed. Unfortunately for this card I have a few bad habits. For one, I fidget alot. I'm always moving my hands or feet to some beat that's constantly changing and never seems to leave my head. So while I'm reading holding the book in my left hand, the card is in my right hand being spun, twisted, bent, picked at and generally abused. Another habit I've developed is falling asleep while reading. I'll do the famous "close your eyes for 2 seconds, just to rest and then I'll keep doing what I'm doing" thing. So I'll wake up with the card underneath me, bent up and drooled on (ok, can't blame the dog this time). This is an instance where I'm glad the card can't talk. I'd probably have to kill it because I know it'd have some weird shit to say about what I do in my sleep. However, it would have some stories.

So what's the point of all this? Who the hell knows. I sure don't and I'm the one writing it! Maybe it's just an appreciation for the lesser appreciated (kindda a thing I have). Or maybe it's some subconscious effort to start looking at some things a little differently. Maybe I just really want some gummy bears. Who knows. Does this all mean I'm gonna stop buying Mint cards and only collect ratty looking ones regardless of year or player, hell no! Am I going to take that Lou Brock outside to play anytime soon? Not a chance. Does that make me almost kind of a hypocrite, hell yeah! I'm just saying that maybe I'll be a little less selective when looking at some cards later.

(...Joe)