Vintage vs modern

[Joan P]

As a newcomer to collecting I've been focusing on current fav players of mine but being old as dirt I've noticed how the players who got me to love hockey in the first place are much easier to collect. I just bought a 35 yr old mint card of Borge Salming ,one of the best players I've ever seen , for 2.00. This makes no sense to me but I guess it doesn't have to ,to each their own..I'm going to switch my focus to collecting the late 60's and 70's. No judgement but I am curious if I'm the only one here who feels this way.

[Thick McRunfast]

You're definitely not the only one. I generally stick with vintage cards, too. Most modern cards just aren't as fun and simple.

But like you said, to each his own. As long as you're having fun collecting!

[Maggot]

Vintage cards still hold a certain mystique to me, and just feel "special" when you hold them.
The only downside to vintage collecting is that unless you're team is original 6 you can pretty quickly find all the OPC and Topps cards you need for your collection... then what? I guess graded cards could be the next pursuit but I personally don't collect them.

[pwskelly]

I collect some vintage Habs, especially Habs from the 1950s Parkhurst sets, however I also have lots of modern Habs, graded YGs, and my Liut PC. I think Maggot makes a great point when he cautions that there are not a lot of cards to collect unless you chase an original six franchise.

I have also found that the trading market for vintage is very limited. Most people on SCF for instance, trade in the latest and greatest. Once a release has been out for a couple of years, the demand lessens and collectors move onto newer projects and sets. This is not a judgement, just the reality.

[pwaldo]

Most current collectors weren't alive in the 1960s or 1970s so they don't know who these players were or really care for them. I mean people collecting or having interest in players they have seen or can see probably makes more sense than guys they've never seen play before.

[canucksfan007]

I personally have no attachment to Vintage stuff. I was not around to watch guys like Howe / Orr / Salming / Richard / Beliveau play.

The players I grew up watching were Fedorov, Hasek, Bure, Mogilny, Potvin ..... and I have found myself going back and collecting insert sets I wanted back from the mid 90s when I was a kid. I guess thats my "vintage"

If I do want the older guys, I usually find a nice auto set and grab a nice auto of jersey of them. Because the market today is so heavily focused on rookies, i think that effects the interest in real vintage stuff. How many people want Crosbys 06/07 UD Base card compared to his Young Guns? No one. How many people want Gretzkys 80/81 OPC Base card, compared to the 79/80 release. I know not no one, but basically no one unless its graded PSA 9 - 10

[30ranfordfan]

I have some cards I would consider vintage. Oldest card in my collection is from the 60s, I think. I have lots from the 70s, and certainly from the 80s.

Not really looking to build on it though. I chased RCs of all ex-Oilers (and current ones too). So my Dave Dryden or Poul Popiel RCs certainly count as vintage... but I have no interest in chasing down a bunch of similar cards. Been thinking of dipping into WHA era Oilers though, so never know :)

I think @canucksfan007 hit the nail on the head though. There is nothing about the career of Gordie Howe I can recall. When he played his final game in the NHL - I was 17 days old.... and while I do have an autograph he signed for me back in the early 90s, I just don't have any urge to go and collect a bunch of his cards from the 70s, or earlier.

Show me some shiny 90s of Bill Ranford, Doug Weight, Ryan Smyth, etc: There's something I'm interested in.

[pacadie]

With Vintage, everything is about condition. And about supply and offer.

You might have only paid 2 bucks for the Salming you bought, but try getting a good deal on a Near Mint or better RC of his. Good luck with that.

Personnally, I add vintage stuff to my PC every time I can. I was not born when Phil Esposito, Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr, Doug Harvey or Jean Beliveau were roaming the ice. But I respect everything they brought to to great game of hockey. My father used to talk to me about these players. For me, they are true legends. And it is always a pleasure to add a vintage cards of this kind of player to my PC.

[pwskelly]

I really love the 1950s Parkhurst cards, they are literally works of art. While I appreciate the great photography that Upper Deck brought to their cards starting with their inaugural set in 1990-91, there is something truly nostalgic about the painted players and action scenes on those old cards.