If you’re a vintage card collector, chances are you’re familiar with Nate, or as he’s known to many on Instagram, “incardboardveritas.” He co-hosts a well-regarded podcast, “Rough Cuts: Vintage Hobby Talk,” that’s focused on the vintage space – always a thoughtful, fun discussion between avid collectors where you’re sure to walk away with new ideas for your collection.
I wanted to ask Nate for his feedback on how he sees the hobby and what he enjoys most about the collecting journey.
The Podcasting Journey
Nate does the podcast with a couple of other passionate collectors, Jonathan and Matthew. He started out by going on other podcasts, including Sports Cards Live and The Sports Card Therapist, as a guest. Then he and Matthew did a few Instagram Live sessions together; Jonathan joined, and things evolved into the YouTube Live and podcast format, which is what Jonathan and Nate are still doing now. Matthew is on a break from the podcast.
The podcast is strictly for fun and engagement with the community. There are families and jobs and other hobbies to consider, and so 10 or so episodes per year suits them about right. At some point we may ramp that up a bit, but for now it’s the right balance. There’s a lot of care about the quality of each episode and a lot of time put into planning it and preparing for it in order to keep it tight and to try to deliver real value per minute for the listeners.
The vintage market is a world away from the modern card space, but has also seen a big run-up lately. In an ideal world, Nate would like to see vintage card values steadily trickle a healthy 5-10% per year. This creates stability and a degree of certainty. He mentioned that over the past couple years we’ve seen many in-demand vintage cards double or triple in value – and some even more than that.
There’s always a trade-off – on one hand, it’s nice because the value of your collection is going up. But in terms of continuing to grow and build a collection, it creates some real challenges. First, yes, you can simply be priced out of some cards. If a card was your grail for many years and it was always around $5,000, and now it’s $20,000, it may now be completely out of reach.
What Should Collectors Know Entering the Vintage Space?
What about new vintage collectors entering the space? Nate’s advice is to find some friends and mentors in the Hobby that you can bounce collecting ideas off of. He also recommends finding good, informative Hobby content you identify with, and drink it up. Collect what you like, but do so from a baseline of knowledge and belief; keep learning, collect with a long-term mindset, and don’t overextend yourself. Some people might be ready to jump in with both feet, but generally Nate believes it’s better to dip a toe in the water first to gauge the temperature. Buy a nice 1967 Mantle or a 1961 Fleer Bill Russell and see how it feels to you before picking up a high-priced rookie card.
Collecting with Family
Many collectors have a “collecting philosophy” – I wanted to learn more about how collecting together with his son has enriched the hobby for Nate. His approach is to collect beautiful old sports cards to hold a little piece of art & history in his hands – cardboard that carries stories & memories. He loves the learning and curation, the thrill of the search, and connecting with kindred spirits in the Hobby. He believes in the long-term value of these cultural treasures that we pass down from one generation to the next. That makes sharing the Hobby with his son so special.
The times they’ve had together have made it worthwhile on their own – much less when he adds in all that he’s learned, the great friendships he’s built, and the collection he’s been fortunate to put together. He told me that he can’t imagine having a more fun and fulfilling hobby – I’m with him 100%.
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BRIAN HOUGH
Brian Hough became a fan of the hobby by opening packs of 1986 Donruss and 1987 Topps baseball with his dad and little brother. He has been writing about the collectibles industry for years, initially as a price guide editor for Tuff Stuff Magazine, which was a monthly sports magazine focused on sports cards and collectibles, particularly known for its price guides and checklists, that initially launched in April 1984.
