Vintage Baseball Cards

If you cannot find a collector's shop that offers a baseball card grading service in your local area you might want to think about sending your cards to a third party baseball card grading service. The baseball card grading services will evaluate your card and determine it's condition by grading it on a variety of criteria, including centering, sharpness of edges, surface quality, border color quality, and general wearing.

Which Companies Offer Baseball Card Grading Services?
Although there are many baseball card grading services there are a few well known companies that you should be aware of. Not every company has a standard criteria for baseball card grading so you will find some variances with the grades handed out by each of these companies. Perhaps the most well known baseball card grading company and recognized leader in the field is Becket Publications. Professional Sports Authenticator is probably the second most well known company and a couple other baseball grading companies that you should know that offer baseball card grading services are Global Authentication,, and Sportscard Guarantee.

Why Have Your Baseball Cards Graded In The First Place?
The answer to this question depends on what type of baseball card collector you are. If you are a serious collector then the reason for getting your baseball cards graded is to ascertain and protect the value of your card collection. Many collectors will only buy and sell graded cards. Knowing the value of a baseball card is is a requirement for any collector who is seriously pursuing buying and selling baseball cards as an investment; especially old and vintage baseball cards. In addition, baseball card grading companies will return your card back encased in a sealed hard plastic folder that will ensure that your card holds its value. For the not so serious collector, baseball card grading might be an occasional event. I know that at times, I've become curious about a not-so-valuable card and have sent one in to be graded; not so much as an investment but just for fun. Baseball card collectors are a curious bunch and therefore the desire to know the value of our passion is only human nature. Baseball card grading can be fun even if you're not collecting rare and vintage baseball cards.

Alternatives To Baseball Card Grading
If you don't want to pay the money to have your baseball cards graded but still want to know the general value of a card you can consult a baseball card price guide. Beckett's Baseball And Sports Market Report are two monthly publications that can help you keep up to date on recent baseball card market fluctuations. Additionally, there are the larger yearly baseball card price guides which provide market prices for nearly every baseball card printed but since they are generally printed once a year, the information may not always be up to date. Beckett's also provides an online baseball card price guide for a small monthly fee. Another method of evaluating your baseball cards is to take a look at online baseball card auctions. Ebay has plenty of these types of auctions but there are a variety of companies on the internet that provide the same service.

As you can see, if you are thinking about getting your baseball cards graded, there are a variety of methods and services available. Even if you are not yet a serious collector, you may choose to have a few cards graded just to get your feet wet and experience the process for yourself. Always remember though that even after you have your baseball cards graded, your cards' true value can only be determined by how much a buyer is willing to pay for it. Keep all this information in mind and you're sure to have a great time with baseball card grading services.

There is no universally agreed upon baseball card grading system. There are companies that specialize in grading cards but in the grand scheme of things, the ultimate judge of baseball card condition is the collector. We can however, provide a basic understanding of the baseball card grading system and give a general blueprint of accepted definitions that collectors use for describing baseball cards. I cannot stress enough that the definitions below are in no way authoritative and should only serve as a general outline for baseball card grading.

MT (Mint) Four sharp corners and a centering ratio of 55/45 or better (perfect balance is 50/50) with smooth edges and with original color border and gloss.

NM-MT (Near Mint-Mint) At first glance may seem like a mint card but when looked at closer with the naked eye or under a microscope has a slight imperfection to corners or print spots. Card should have a entering ratio of at least 60/40 with original color border and gloss.

NM (Near Mint) These cards may also look like a mint card at first glance but again when looked at closely reveals a minor flaw pertaining to either slightly rounded corners, noticeable print spots, minor color border discoloration, focus imperfections, or minor discoloration. Cards should have a centering ratio of 65/35 or better.

EXMT (Excellent-Mint) These are cards are similar to Near Mint cards but have more than one minor flaw with slightly rounded or fuzzy corners, noticeable print spots, minor border discoloration, focus imperfections, or minor discoloration. Cards should have a centering ratio of 70/30 or better.

EX (Excellent) These cards normally show signs of wear with light creases and/or slight notching. May contain other minor imperfections with focus, print spots, or minor discoloration. Cards should have a centering ratio of 75/25 or better.

VG (Very Good) These cards show noticeable signs of wear and can have soft, rounded corners, chipping and slight creases. Cards may also exhibit some minor scuffing, minor discoloration, and some light stains. Cards should have a centering ratio of 80/20 or better.

As you can see some of the criteria for grading baseball cards is entirely subjective. A collector, adept at baseball card grading, could assign a grade to a particular card which is one grade below or one grade higher than an equally adept baseball card collector's appraisal of the very same card. Some card collectors are met with frustration when faced with this situation. Other collectors revel in this fact and state that it is the beauty of baseball card collecting. Regardless of which side of the coin you reside that baseball card grading is in the eye of the beholder.

Hi and welcome to Vintage Baseball Cards where we will be writing about collecting and buying vintage baseball cards; including old tobacco baseball cards, Japanese baseball cards, and other baseball memorabilia. Please have a look around and if you have any questions about vintage baseball cards, feel free to leave a comment as we always appreciate any feedback.