Dean Hanley: Hi! I am Dean Hanley, owner of deancards.

com. Today we are going to talk about collecting sports cards. Now we are going to talk about determining the value of a sports cards collection.

Sports cards peaked in value in early 1990s, have declined a little bit, and have been studied ever since. The first thing to realize or first thing to determine when you are looking to value to your cards is what era your cards from. The most valuable ear is going to be prewar or pre-World War II cards. These cards are probably most scarcest to find and a lot of them are in rough condition, but they're valuable in just about any condition.

The next era of cards is vintage sport cards. These cards are generally from 50s and 60s and have a good value. They are condition sensitive, which means a card in pristine condition is going to be worth 5,10, 15, or 20 times a card in beat-up condition.

The next era of cards is semi-vintage cards or cards from 70s. These cards have more of a modest value. They have to be in very near perfect condition to have value for collectors. The most recent era is the era of modern cards. These cards are from 1980 and newer. These cards pretty much need to be in perfect condition and sometimes will have very limited value.

Once you determine what era your card is from, the main factor to consider is then the condition of the card. Cards in pristine condition like this one are worth anywhere 5, 10, 15, or 20 times a card in beat-up like this one here. And this can be very subtle differences to the non-collector's eye.

Another great reference for prices are hobby price guides. There is quite a few of these on market and can be found at your local bookstore. The Internet is also a great resource for cards prices. Not only you can see price guides online, but you can also see what dealers are actually selling the cards for, and what cards have sold for in the past.

One word of caution about price guides. The prices you will see inside the guide are for the cards in near mint or near perfect condition. This is very unrealistic for most vintage cards, because most vintage cards maybe less than 2%, cards from 50s and 60s actually grayed the sight, because of centering, gum stains, print effects in the cards.

So take these prices to with a grain of salt. So that leaves us with the question what can I actually get from vintage sports cards collection. The answer is, it's worth exactly what somebody is willing to pay. I would recommend seeking a professional and getting actual bids on the collections. So that's what you need to know about valuing your sports cards collection. Next up, we are going to talk about selling a sports cards collection.