You might be one of those collectors who says “I don’t buy graded cards”. While encapsulated cardboard may not be your thing, it’s a mistake to overlook them if you want to build a nice quality collection of vintage cards. It’s often a win-win situation for the buyer. As investors and high end collectors chase PSA 8 and 9 graded cards, there are many graded, near mint and ex-nr mint rookie cards offered at auction that take away the guesswork about a card’s integrity while giving you the chance to purchase a nice card a very fair price. You don’t necessarily have to keep the card in the slab if you store your cards in albums or regular card boxes. This week, we’re offering two high quality vintage rookie cards of Pro Football Hall of Famers in PSA 6 holders; a 1962 Topps Mike Ditka and a 1962 Topps Fran Tarkenton. Each is of very high quality considering the rather pedestrian grades that have been assigned. Of course, the 1962 Topps football set is notorious for condition sensitivity because of the deep, black borders that highlight even the smallest bit of edge and corner wear. Ditka is an icon, of course, known for his coaching and broadcasting careers more so than his excellent career as a top tight end. Tarkenton, too, had a career in the public eye after football, but carved out his niche with the Giants and Vikings, where he could throw and move in the pocket with equal ability. Collectors can keep these in their holders or crack them out, of course, but the professional grade ensures these are the real deal. We also have a scarce short print from the series, the #164 Norm Snead rookie card that has been graded PSA 7 and is also attracting interest from bidders. We think the 1962 Topps set is a great one for collectors to piece together and adding these key rookie cards in graded form would be a good way to start or continue your quest.
