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The overproduction of the early ’90s

Some time ago, I wrote a post about 1990 Topps, it was the first hobby pack that I remembered opening. It is hard to have a discussion about cards in the early '90s, without immediately gravitating to the word "overproduction."  That word defined the era.

You won’t get an argument from anyone who is sane and rational that overproduction occurred. It is just a fact of life and those printing presses may still be running. Most of us that built up huge collections of cards as kids, hoping for an early retirement, have long since resigned ourselves to the truth. Those cards aren't worth much at all and likely never will be.

As I was browsing eBay today though I thought of another unfortunate consequence of this overproduction. The superstars we grew up watching have a lack of collectible, rare, rookie cards. Aside from some Tiffanys here and there, rookie cards of even the biggest stars, in the best condition, are attainable for just a few dollars.

Why is this bad you ask? Just think for a second on how much you could spend on Mickey Mantle cards from the 50s and 60s. It could be a lifelong quest in which you expand hundreds of thousands of dollars, it is for some people. It could literally be as big as you want to make it.  A huge percentage of the dollars spent in our hobby are spent on rare vintage cards. What about collecting the finest grades of Frank Thomas rookie cards from the year 1990? Holy Grail?

Nope, how about Holy Fail. The card in the picture above sold for $15 bucks. Thus, collectors turn to other things, such as rare inserts etc. Yet even that isn't quite the same as a rookie card, how cool would it be, to have a Frank Thomas Gold Ref Auto /50? It could be the 1952 Topps Mantle of its day.  It would make a whole era of collecting interesting again.

However, there is likely an upside to all of this. As a kid, I didn't even have $15 to spend on cards, let alone thousands to buy Mantles. I did have 44 cents though and that bought me a pack of 1990 Topps. With that 44 cents I got a crack at rookies of Thomas, Juan Gonzalez, Sammy Sosa, Kevin Maas, Greg Vaughn, Bernie Williams and so much more. Had cards been priced a lot higher (with lower production runs) you could make an argument that significant chunk of people who are into cards today, might not be. They simply could not have afforded the entry price at the gate.

So although we wish there were big cards to chase of our favorite generational players, we also need to recognize that we might not be chasing cards at all, were it not for the low price of entry.

Want a rookie card of arguably one of the most dominant pitchers of a generation? Want it in the finest condition? Did you answer yes to both questions? Do you have six dollars? Then the card below can be yours!