Vintage Graded ?s

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aspoe093

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When it comes to cards from the 1950s if they are graded 6 or below are they still worth much? Looking into collecting some 1950s football cards but don't want to put a ton of money into graded cards that are between 5-7 if they would be about the same as a raw card. So is it worth getting graded cards that are below a 6 or just pay for the raw one? Thanks
 
There is no easy answer to this.

Commons from the 50s tend to be the same price or have a very negligible premium for anything under a 6. The lower the grade obviously the lower the price. When a card reaches the 1-2 level the cards tend to be at raw price or cheaper, if you can even find them graded that low. There will always be a slight rise in price for graded cards but usually not worth paying the fee yourself, but instead buying someone else’s.

A common graded 7 or higher will fetch a premium, with 9s a big jump and 10s astronomical.

This also changes if we are talking about 1958 Topps or 1952 Topps.

As for semi stars, anything in a 5 or higher will catch a decent premium.

For stars (Mantle, Mays, Aaron, Banks, etc) any grade raises the value. Just look at Mantle PSA 1 cards and you will see a good jump.

Grades are subjective though. A clean sharp raw copy will always garner more than a low grade card.

Resale wise, a graded raw card will sell on its own eventually. A raw card typically never sells on its own, they normally get loted up to sell in bulk for set builders.

If going graded, stay with PSA or SGC for vintage. Don’t get into BVG or any off brand TPG.

A good rule of thumb for common and low end stars is PSA 7 is considered investor grade, and PSA 4-6 is considered collector grade. For me, and many other collectors, I would look for a PSA 3-5 with good eye appeal over a PSA 7 that looks the same to the naked eye. You can save hundreds and be very happy with what you have.

Also look at complete sets. A raw complete set of some years will be $1500-2000, but a complete set of PSA 1-5 will be $5000.

It really depends on what you are looking to do.
 
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