Baseball trading cards have been around since the mid 19th Century, and it is hard to find someone who has not come across one at some point in their life.
They are extremely popular in the United States, but are quite common in other countries like Canada, Cuba and Japan. Printed on them are one or more baseball players.
The first major baseball trading cards were made in 1903, by a confectionery company called the Breisch-Williams Company, based in Oxford, Pennsylvania.
Most of the cards today are rectangular, measuring 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches, and a lot of the early cards had adverts on the back, promoting a particular brand or company.
Other companies soon realized the enormous advertising power that baseball cards had, and they entered into the ever-increasing Kellogg’s began to produce 3D cards inserted with its cereal products!
Baseball cards can fetch quite a lot of money when autographed. In February 2007, the most expensive baseball trading card, a near mint-mint professionally graded and authenticated T206 Honus Wagner, was sold to a private collector for $2.35 million. The card was later sold again for $2.8 million.
Baseball trading card production has seen some major set backs over the years, mainly due to the poor quality of the cards and the over production of them. It is clear the the biggest boom in the baseball trading card industry had been and gone…until the birth of the internet.
Until the internet came along and exploded the baseball card trade, most purchasing took place at trade shows and hobby shops. These methods were soon to be over-powered though, and the safe, easy to use internet soon became leader in baseball card trading.
Although the internet is not 100% safe and secure, it is still the best choice for many to trade their baseball cards, as there are many sites on the web that are legitimate and secure. It is clear that the internet will continue to be the leader in baseball card trading.
