How to Display Baseball Trading Cards
A baseball card collection is often the result of years of hard work, and some of the items can be worth quite a bit. Keeping the cards in good shape is important in maintaining their value, but at the same time, who wants to shut them away where no one can see them? You may even wish to display them permanently in a portion of your house or for long periods at conventions. Doing so is very easy; it just takes a little investment in protective materials.
- Difficulty:
- Easy
Instructions
Things You'll Need
- Three-ring binders Plastic card sleeves for binders Hard-backed plastic sleeves Two-piece Lucite cases Screwdriver
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1
Organize your baseball card collection as formally as possible. You can organize them by team, by year of issue, by the quality of the cards or by overall value.
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2
Separate the collection into three categories: most valuable, relatively valuable and least valuable. The most valuable category should be the smallest, containing only the rarest and most expensive cards you wish to display. Relatively valuable cards should be a larger category, containing any cards worth more than $1 or so. The least valuable cards represent the remainder.
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3
Place the least-valuable cards in plastic three-ring binder sleeves and then place the sleeves in a binder. Each sleeve typically carries nine cards, arranged in rows of three. This allows for easy transport while letting you keep them in the order you wish. It also makes an easy way to show them to friends and fellow collectors without having to drag them out, one by one.
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4
Slide the relatively valuable cards into hard plastic sleeves. Unlike binder sleeves, these are set up for individual cards, but because they are harder, they provide added protection from bending or folding. If you want to "double-down" on your protection, buy soft-back plastic sleeves and place the cards in them with the sleeve opening along the bottom of the card. Then slide the card/sleeve combo into the harder sleeve, with the hard sleeve opening along the top of the card.
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5
Seal your rarest and most expensive cards in a Lucite block. These are thick pieces of plastic that screw together, sandwiching the card between them. The card remains safe, not only from food or spilled drinks, but from oxidizing elements in the air.
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6
Place your display in a case or on a mantle where everyone can see it. For cards in a binder, simply store them nearby for display when visitors come. Make sure the case is out of direct sunlight and cover it with a cloth when not in use. It should also be clear of any potential leaks or moist areas. The cooler and drier your collection can be, the more you can preserve its value.
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Tips & Warnings
Baseball card prices can fluctuate, and what is extremely valuable one year may not be worth as much the next. You may want to inventory your collection from time to time, and elevate move valuable cards to higher grades of protection while sending devalued cards "down to the minors," as it were.
Keep a careful eye on your collection when you are not displaying it at home. Valuable cards can be pocketed very easily, and at gatherings such as card conventions, it can be difficult to determine ownership of a given card. Register your valuable cards with the convention's organizers and don't carry them out on the floor with you.
