Before Throwing Out Old Sports Cards, Take a Second Look

Somewhere in many homes there’s a small box sitting in the back of a closet.

Inside might be a colored marble, a Matchbox car, a junior-high school patch… and sometimes a small stack of old sports cards.

Many people assume these cards have little or no value. Often that’s true. But every so often something unexpected turns up.

Recently I came across a card that most people would overlook — a 1986 Panini Mike Tyson sticker issued in Europe. It doesn’t look like a traditional American sports card, yet even in average condition it can sell for hundreds of dollars because collectors recognize it as one of Tyson’s earliest collectibles.

Cards like this sometimes sit unnoticed for decades simply because they look ordinary.

The Mass-Production Era — and the Occasional Surprise

Let’s be honest — most sports cards produced from the mid-1980s through the late 1990s were printed in enormous quantities.

Many people saved them carefully, which means millions still exist today.

Because of that, most cards from that era usually have little collector demand today.

But every once in a while something unexpected appears.

The 1986 Panini Mike Tyson sticker shown here is a good example. It doesn’t look like a typical American card and wasn’t widely distributed in the United States, yet collectors recognize it as one of Tyson’s earliest collectibles.

Even in average condition it can sell for hundreds of dollars.

That’s why it can sometimes be worth taking a closer look before assuming everything in a box of old cards is common.

If You’re Not Sure What You Have

If you live in or near the Sarasota–Bradenton area and have come across old baseball, basketball, boxing, football, hockey, soccer cards, even non-sports cards, you’re welcome to reach out.

You can:

• Share photos of cards you’ve found

• Ask questions about a collection

• Discuss selling or consigning your cards

Contact Kenmore Collectibles