Every collector knows that organization is key. In the world of sports cards, it’s crucial to have a system for each individual.
We live in a world where baseball cards are more of a niche hobby, but there are still plenty of avid collectors. Don’t stress out about sorting hundreds of cards. It can be done in three easy steps.
1. Finding the Right Storage
Everyone’s heard horror stories of the college kid that returned home only to discover their parents had trashed their lifelong collection of cards. Even for people long graduated from college, the main lesson of these anecdotes remains. Find a nice place to store the card collection.
The right storage will preserve the cards and protect them from damage, as well as keep them neatly organized. There are plenty of different ways to store cards. Some collectors prefer to buy a binder and pages. Others use the “shoeboxes” with different amounts of rows depending on how many cards they have. And for your nice cards, many of us use card briefcases which are similar to a Pelican case. These have locks and keep your cards well protected.
Binders keep cards separate and sealed but still allow for easy access whenever someone wants to take a look at the array of cards. For anyone with cards that are rare and valuable, invest in a safe.
2. Sorting the Cards Properly
Now, here comes the tricky part. There are probably a hundred different ways to organize a card collection effectively. Here’s a quick list of just a few popular methods.
- Alphabetical order by first name
- Alphabetical order by last name
- Separation by team
- Separation by sport
- Separation by personal favorites
The truth is that there is no right way to sort a group of cards. It depends on personal preference and what is easier for each individual to find.
3. Different types of cards
The final topic we’ll cover deals with the issue of card types. When we were young, everyone wanted rookie cards, then there was a long time when collectors wanted inserts, relics, and autographs. It is really important to make sure your cards are well organized because values change as sports start and conclude. There are many times people forget about a baseball prospect or young basketball player who get a start because of an injury or trade. If that player does well, the value and interest from other collectors spike. We keep our rookie cards separate from everything else because those are the ones that can increase the most in value.
Hopefully, sorting a card collection is pretty fun. For anyone looking to expand their collection or pick up some cards as a gift, check out Chalfont Sports Connection for some incredible options!