Documenting the Collection
In our last blog we highlighted the significance of documenting your collection; now we’ll offer some suggestions for getting started. The number one piece of advice: Take your time; it doesn’t have to be completed in a day. No shortcuts; be thorough and have some patience.
If your collection is across the board with a little bit of everything, then separate it into individual sports. If your focus is one specified area—game-used bats, sticks, jerseys, programs, cards, or anything along those lines—that simplifies the process. Cards are currently the hobby’s hottest commodity and always popular to collect, so let’s start there.
The first step is to categorize the cards by years, starting with the oldest. In most cases those early cards will tend to be the most valuable. That is, unless you have a dozen mint Wayne Gretzky rookies—if that’s the case, I’ll suggest a good investment advisor!
Next, design a spreadsheet listing the completed sets in order year by year. Your data should include the card number in each set, condition, current estimated value, and initial cost. It’s prudent to compile the same information both for sets you have and for cards missing from those sets. This a great way to have an up to date “wish list” that will come in handy while wandering around flea markets, antique stores, or memorabilia shows. It’s also a good reference check when bidding in an auction or buying something online. In addition, it allows you to monitor price swings over the years.
I collected Toronto Maple Leafs Beehive Corn Syrup promotional photos from the mid-1930s to 1960s. To keep track of what I had and what I was still looking for, I compiled my data in a journal. In numerical order, I listed every Maple Leaf by year including with the range of prices for the photos from poor to mint. Attending card shows, the journal allowed me to check off what I had and what I needed—and to check prices against the ones I had researched.
When the collection was sold in 2016, the list saved enormous time and money dealing with the appraisers. I applied the same exercise for other promotional cards, sheriff coins, bottle caps, tiles—anything that was comprised in a set.
Collectables like bats, sticks, pucks, balls, or jerseys are usually “one of a kind,” so in addition to value, cost, and condition, the story behind the piece and its authentication are crucial. The story is paramount; a solid, well-documented narrative can be the difference between hundreds or thousands of dollars when a piece is appraised, insured, or sold.
Good stories are often tied to milestones or major events. For example, player X scored his 500th goal with this stick or wore this jersey during a Stanley Cup final. But a story without documentation—images, statements, etc.—is just a story. Anything that can add provenance to the piece is vital and sometimes priceless. Adding to the authentication of an item is always a good idea, especially when it comes to distinguishing between regular game-worn or used and a historic piece. You can never fact check enough.
Rule of Thumb: Record the story the day you acquire that special artifact. If you haven’t already, do it as soon as you finish reading this. Go through all your special artifacts (they’re all special) and add any written documentation that shows from whom the piece was acquired, including a player. Players are sometimes the worst at remembering or authenticating a piece. And rightfully so—their job is to play not deal in memorabilia. Ask questions and get as much written authentication as possible. Would you buy a house, car, suit, or even a pair of shoes without knowing the background? Of course you wouldn’t!
Once you have completed this exercise, save yourself several costly steps down the road and have your collection appraised.