The baseball card bubble

[Sir Moses Hill]

Very enjoyable long-form article in the current holiday double issue of The Economist (20 December - 2 January) on the history of baseball card collecting in the US, and particularly the story of how a children's hobby became the subject of financial speculation especially in the 1980's and 1990's.

Being The Economist, there is a certain focus on how a cardboard-based hobby became a financial bubble, and the various drivers of supply and demand and how this linked into broader economic cycles over the years, but the author himself began as a boyhood collector and grew into an adult investor (and, presumably, writer for The Economist) and so there's more than enough in there for those interested only in the collecting angle.

Interesting to read of the role played by Beckett Baseball Card Monthly in tracking the price rises and encouraging folks into their attics to see what they could find. Also a wonderful photograph of one collector in a vast room with his boxed collection - the sort of photo that will set any sports collector's heart racing, especially those of us that love paper-based collectibles.

http://www.economist.com/news/.....ard-bubble

Worth pouring yourself an eggnog and brandy sometime over the next week and settling down to read.

The article may be protected by a paywall. If anyone can't access it, drop me a PM with your email address and I'll send it in a Word doc or PDF.

[Dorking]

Decent article, although I never buy the stuff I collect with a view to its resale value, or as an investment. I collect for the enjoyment it gives, and any future value is for whoever one day inherits it and chooses to sell it off!

The guy with room full of boxes of cards really needs to get some shelves!!!