There’s a big boom going on now in the industry, and valuations are through the roof now. It’s probably a good time to take stock of your inventory (and hope that you have them in plastic).

After graduation when I started making real money I invested in some nice cards that cost real money ($300-500 or so): Roger Staubach & Dr. J autographed rookies, Walter Payton rookie, etc. Recently I’ve managed to flip a few of these for several thousand $$ in the last few months.

Along the way I discovered that many of the cards I bought as a teenager had also appreciated substantially, mostly off brand rookie cards that were never worth more than $10 or so. Sadly there were a few who didn’t pan out like Blair Thomas & Bobby Bonilla, but there were also some Shaq, David Robinson, Barry Sanders, & Barry Bonds & others. For PSA 10s (highest mint condition rating) these are all going for $200-$500+.

Also I wish we had saved our kids’ Pokémon cards; those may be the most valuable of all.