Hello Cointalk, I am posting this here in hopes that a discussion can be had about these sports cards and whether or not they are overpriced bullion or a unique collectible worthy of the premium. I also posted a similar thread on a sports card collecting website that I frequent, and I will share their responses with you all and vice versa. For those unfamiliar with the cards: These are not my cards, just examples. Now, let's look at the materials we have in a silver bar card: First we have 1 troy ounce of silver. That's $17.90 at current spot value. Next we have cardstock ( that's cardboard for those of you in Rio Linda ) it can be found in trashcans all over the world. Not worth a whole lot. We also have some ink involved, again pretty cheap. There isn't an attached autograph or even a piece of game used jersey. Now let's look at recent sales of these cards, and we'll include basketball cards too: as low as the upper $60s ( that's 3 oz worth of silver ) up to $600, 33 ounces worth of silver. Literally the only difference between the cards is the player depicted and numbering. The same amount of silver is attached to the card. The same next-to-worthless cardboard and ink surround the silver. Why such a premium? Does the painted cardboard surrounding the precious metal that has value all over the world command a 3x - 30x premium? Perhaps it is the numismatist in me that can't wrap his head around paying such a premium for a standard product. All this being said I do understand unique bullion collectables such as proofs, reverse proofs, first strikes, deep cameo, etc. Perhaps the sports card surrounding the metal can be considered as a similar type of unique collectable. However, I feel that the premium involved should be readjusted. For instance a gold bullion card is 1/2 troy ounce of 14k gold. 14k gold is just north of 50% pure gold, that means the bar is roughly 1/4 oz of pure gold or $375 gold value... ish. Recent sales are anywhere between $1,000 & $4,000! An ounce of pure gold is $1,300 as of this post ( slightly less actually ) and these cards contain 1/4oz roughly. Keep in mind that no where on these cards does Panini guarantee the purity of the metals. This is the company that placed 905 Magic Johnson autos on a baseball prospect's cards. This is the company that placed event used jersey pieces in an ultra high end product and claimed them to be game used. This is the company that claimed in a 10 card print run of Dan Marino cards, 9 were game used and the 10th was event used and the 10th was mislabeled. I mean, Mitchell & Ness pieces in a card! C'mon man! I really am legitimately wondering if these cards are being purchased as an investment or as a collectible? If an investment, I feel like money will be lost big time. If as a collectible, well, hobbies are money pits so there's that if it's any reassurance. Anyone care to play devil's advocate? Is there something I am missing? I'm not knocking anyone who enjoys these cards, these cards just highlighted for me how insanely overvalued sports cards are. Especially when you place them next to a historical, proven commodity like gold or silver. Let me know what you think about these cards, please!
