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Welcome to the NOVA-Antiques Blog
NOVA-Antiques is the Mid Atlantic website for all things antique and collectible. Our website features antique & collectibles dealers, shops & malls; Flea Market Directory & Reviews; Monthly Antiques Show Calendar; Estate & Tag Sales Page; and our NOVA-Antiques Newsletter, which contains news, articles and information about the antiques & collectibles market. NOVA-Antiques Blog is an extension of our Newsletters.
Yesterday morning I wrote about the value of Michael Phelps Trading Cards. Yesterday evening prices realized on eBay for a Michael Phelps trading card surpassed every speculators estimate with one card selling for over $2550. The card was an Upper Deck signed and numbered trading card from 2004. In addition, other Michael Phelps memorabilia have also been commodities on the online auction site including an autographed Olympic ticket that sold for $1575 and autographed swimming caps as well as another set of signed cards that sold for $1500.
What a difference eBay has made in our lives. We no longer have to wait to see what an item will be worth, instant gratification. Can you imagine if computers, the Internet and eBay had been around when Wilt Chamberlain hit his 100th point in one game for the Philadelphia Warriors in 1962? How about when Babe Ruth hit his 60th home run in 1927 or when Rocky Marciano retired from the boxing ring as the heavyweight champion in 1955 without a defeat? Although value would have been relative in those days, what would their trading cards have been worth on eBay?
Unless you have been living under a rock the past few weeks you have all heard the name Michael Phelps a few times either on the news, or you have read it in the papers or your friends and neighbors have been abuzz with his name. If you have been under a rock, then let us fill you in, Michael Phelps is being billed as “the greatest Olympian” by many people because he just accomplished winning eight gold medals in swimming at the Beijing Olympics this week. We agree that it was no small feat, especially when you have to depend on others, during relay competitions, in order to achieve your goal. Congratulations to Michael Phelps on his achievement and thank you for representing us well at the Olympics.
What does Michael Phelps have to do with antiques and collectibles you ask? Let us not forget about trading cards. Although swimmers cards are not as popular or collectible as baseball cards, you can rest assured that the value of the Michael Phelps swimming card has gone up. Other sources on the Internet are reporting that the card that was worth a mere $25 a few months ago was trading at over $500 right before the Olympics began last week. Many speculators say that the market value could go up to the thousands of dollars within the next couple of weeks. If you have one, hang on to it because I think that card is going to appreciate even more in years to come.
The Library of Congress has a collection of 2100 of the most treasured baseball trading cards dating from 1887 to 1914 and features such legendary stars as Ty Cobb & Cy Young. The collection was donated to the Library by the poet and Lincoln biography writer Carl Sandburg. The collection was part of a larger collection of about 12,000 cards cataloged and preserved in albums by Benjamin K. Edwards.
The Library of Congress website states, “The mission of the Library of Congress is to make its resources available and useful to Congress and the American people and to sustain and preserve a universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future generations. The goal of the Library's National Digital Library Program is to offer broad public access to a wide range of historical and cultural documents as a contribution to education and lifelong learning."
