I have a signed troy aikman jersey framed from the last year he played for the cowboys and I need too know what it is worth

Sports Fanatics from all over, lend me your ears!!! iTaggit.com is proud to present that it's finally that time of year again for sports collectors to come together at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleavland, Ohio.  This awesome event will be taking place at  International-Exposition Center / One I-X Center Drive / Cleveland, Ohio 44135.  The times and dates are as follows: Wednesday (9-5), Thurs-Sat (10-6), Sunday (10-5) / August 1-5, 2007.  As far as the cost of this event goes, one has the chance to purchase a ticket for  $15.00, or you can step up with the big dogs and purchase a VIP pass for $119 or All Access Pass for $219.  For more information on this event call  - X Center Customer Service (800).795.9690 or visit one of these links to find out more details on this event. 

Check this link for a list of all the athletes that will be attending and signing autographs:

http://www.tristarproductions.com/National/index.htm

Check this link to see what times certain athletes will be available and on what days:

http://www.nsccshow.com/

 

     For those of you who are sports card collectors of any type, one question may arise at some point that is unavoidable. Exactly how much are the cards worth that you possess? Even those loyal collectors who aren't into the hobby with the intentions of making a profit find it valuable to know the book values of their cards and sets. Good news is on the way because believe it or not, there are price guides all over that list the book values of almost every card ever printed. However, there is one issue that collectors may run into and that is not all price guides are created equal. I know as well as other collectors if I am getting my items priced, I want to make sure that I am using the right tools for the job. Unlike experienced card collectors who know exactly where to look, it may be confusing and frustrating for newcomers or people who don't normally have anything to do with sports to make sure everything is sorted out correctly.

     Well today is your lucky day because below are a couple of price guides and resources to get you started in order to help determine what your sports cards are worth!!! Also keep in mind that www.iTaggit.com has a tool where you can find out what your items is worth to you as well, so check it out.

1.) www.beckett.com

2.) www.tuffstuff.com

Rod Hampton is an athlete, sports enthusiast, entrepreneur, and business manager for Deion Sanders, former NFL cornerback.

Rod is founder and CEO of Basketball Unlimited, Inc.and head coach of the Hoop Wizards basketball team. He played basketball at Kimball High School in Dallas, TX, where he was coached by Jimmy Tubbs, head assistant coach at Southern Methodist University. Rod started for three years at SMU, ending tops in the conference each year in assists and steals.

 After college, Rod signed as a free agent with the Dallas Mavericks, but soon moved to Europe to play professionally for six years.

Rod's experience and relationships with athletes, coaches, team owners, and the public has defined his diverse and expert role in the world of sports.

 by: Bob Rardin

The other day I was cataloguing three boxes of baseball cards for a friend of mine and I began to think about how this entire card collecting and sports memorabilia phenomenon began. If you are a closet fan (as I am) of shows on television that travel from city to city checking out and pricing antiques for the general public, you’d be aware of the fact that often sports memorabilia is brought to the shows for assessment. So this tells me that a lot of people out there have sports memorabilia that they consider to be antiques, so collecting of sports memorabilia has been around for a long time.

WHEN DID SPORTS MEMORABILIA COLLECTING BEGIN?

If it’s true that nothing says “USA” like baseball does, then it’s natural that sports memorabilia collecting in this country began with a connection to the American pastime of baseball. Tobacco Companies introduced baseball cards to Americans in the late 1800’s in an attempt to sell their products. When I was younger I had always thought that the Bubble Gum Companies such as Topps first introduced baseball cards, but bubble gum baseball cards were really a product of the fifties and sixties.

These days Tobacco Companies are finding it next to impossible to have their names advertised any where near sports and sporting events, but in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, cigarette and cigar smoking was the norm. The Goodwin Company of New York put out the first real numbered collection of baseball cards in the 1870’s. The American Tobacco Company produced the most famous and therefore, today, the most valuable baseball card, the Honus Wagner T206 in 1909. It has been estimated that only around fifty of these cards exist today. Wagner was said to be not happy having his name connected to tobacco sales and production of his card was therefore limited. In the early 1900’s baseball card collecting began in earnest and spawned the hobby and business of sports memorabilia collecting, as we know it today.

Tobacco Companies continued to produce baseball cards through to the 1920’s and in the 1930’s Bubble Gum Companies began putting collection cards in their packages in an attempt to increase sales of their product. These sales were halted during the Second World War and in the 1950’s production began again with the first color photograph cards being offered. Baseball card production continues to this day in a highly competitive business although no longer are card sales inter-connected to sales of gum.

IT’S NOT JUST A HOBBY

Of course, sports memorabilia collecting today has gone well beyond just the hobby of the collecting of baseball cards and today it is a full fledged industry on it’s own accord. Collectors today are not only sports buffs; they are also interested in the investment aspect of their collections. Probably the most famous of all baseball memorabilia collectors, Barry Halper who recently passed away at the age of sixty-six at one time owned over 80,000 baseball related items. He began his lifetime of collecting at the age of eight and collected over thirty thousand baseball cards along with many signed baseballs and other assorted baseball memorabilia. Around twenty percent of his collection is now displayed at the Baseball Hall of Fame with the balance having been sold at auction for approximately twenty-two million dollars after Halper found himself in failing health.

About The Author Bob Rardin is the owner of Sports Player Network (SPN) that specializes in Authentic Sports Memorabilia. For more tips and information, visit his website at http://www.sportsplayer.net.