No comments about The Sport Americana Team Baseball Card Checklist, No 6 (Sport Americana Team Baseball Card Checklist).

No comments about National League Baseball Card Classics.

2 comments about Baseball Games: Home Versions of the National Pastime, 1860S-1960s (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

1. This is simply a picture book of a bunch of baseball games with some organization and text fill. The games are organized by century (18th & 19th), and by type (player-endorsed, non-endorsed, card, action and coin-operated). There's a bit of baseball history, but what you'll want this for is the attention to historical detail in the games themselves. There are hundreds of games photographed in a reasonable (if not exceptional) amount of detail; most of the text is just a description of what's in the pictures. Many versions of popular games are compared, with information on how to tell the versions apart, which will be invaluable if you're a collector. For some reason there's four pages on Cadaco, but neither APBA nor Strat-O-Matic get a look in, nor do more contemporary games from 3M or Sports Illustrated or Avalon Hill. Don't expect a forty-dollar art book with prose that'll entertain you into the night. The printing quality, photo quality, and text-quality are only so so. I'm still waiting for the book that compares how the different games are designed strategically and how they play. This one's aimed more at collectors.



2. Baseball Games is a very basic effort: the captions give minimal information, the pictures are just satisfactory, and there's no narrative to put the games in any context. And the price is outlandish !

No comments about The Official Beckett Price Guide to Football Cards 2005, Edition #24 (Official Price Guide to Football Cards).

No comments about Mr. Mint's Insider's Guide to Investing in Baseball Cards and Collectibles.

No comments about 2009 Baseball Card Price Guide.

No comments about The Official Beckett Price Guide to Baseball Cards 2009, Edition #29 (Official Price Guide to Baseball Cards).

4 comments about Official Beckett Price Guide to Baseball Cards 2004.

1. Okay, here is the situation. Beckett's monthly price guides can barely keep up with the baseball cards that are produced each year, let alone all those surplus sets and special collectible cards that are flooding the market on a monthly basis. However, as a collector I am not concerned with the current deluge and am working on sets of older cards from those long forgotten days before Fleer and Donruss opened the floodgates. Those monthly price guides will certainly give you prices, but they are not going to be any help if you are trying to figure out which cards you need to complete a particular set that you are working on. I finally finished my 1966 Topps set, have six rather expensive cards left to complete a 1953 Topps set and a couple of dozen for both the 1962 and 1967 Topps sets. That means I need to know ALL of the cards so that when I hit the card shops and shows that I am prepared for dealers who have their cards organized by numbers, players, or random piles.
   
   With the "Official Beckett Price Guide to Baseball Cards 2004" you have your best shot at finding out exactly what is out there for any sets that you are working on at the moment. If you need to know about the prices and you are not going the monthly guide route then the prices quoted here are going to be more valid the farther back in time you go. But the key thing here is that these guides list all the cards, including all the extras, inserts, special sets and the like from Bowman, Diamond Stars, Donruss, Fleer, Goudey, Play Ball, Score, Sportsflics, Topps. Upper Deck and whatever other companies have sprung up that I cannot remember off the top of my head (hopefully there will not be a test anytime soon).
   
   Beckett remains the price guide I use to put together my want list for the next card show or for checking out on line auctions. This is especially important when a set has numbers missing (it happens), so that you can avoid desperately searching for cards that are not there (e.g., the 1953 Topps set has 274 cards from #1 Jackie Robinson to #280 Milt Bolling, so there are some numbers that just do not exist). As always, there is also a concise and informative introductory section that will be of use to anyone who considers collecting baseball cards a serious hobby (is there any other kind?). There are over 290,000 prices listed, but more importantly there are those boxes to check off your cards as you add them to your collection. Plus the portable size makes it easy to use on the road.



2. I think Beckett gets worse and worse every year. I am so upset with their magazines and their books. This books skips so many years. For example there is no Donruss 1991-2000 cards listed at all. Majority of my cards are those ones. So this book become very useless to me. It's just like their magazine they skip everything. I haven't been able to find a book yet that will tell me what the price of all my cards are. If you have any special insert cards, this book will not list them.



3. It's a huge book, over 600 pages but there are a few problems.
   
   1. A lot of years are skipped. For instance Upper Deck '92 is missing as well as '96 through '98. Every manufacturer seems to be missing years whether it be Donruss, Fleer, Ultra, Score, Stadium Club. You name it. A lot of traded series are also missing.
   
   2. Don't plan on using this as a reference guide for any length of time because the pages start falling out practically the moment it first opened.
   
   The solution for Beckett is simple. Don't include every card. Over half of the 1991 Score series is 2 cent cards. Just state that unlisted cards are 2 cents and you'd save yourself a couple of pages. The book would literally be half the size or less and then Beckett could include more sets.



4. Aside from being around $10 cheaper, there is absolutely no reason for this book to exist anymore. It's like Beckett is just trying to sum up the cards that moved during a given year, rather than producing a comprehensive price guide. If you want a comprehensive guide, you have to go with the much more complete Beckett Almanac, that is also produced every year, or the Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards from Krause Publications.
   
   Don't waste money on the Beckett Price Guide.

No comments about Classic Baseball Cards: 98 Collector's Cards Authentically Reproduced in Full Color.

5 comments about Beckett Almanac of Baseball Cards and Collectibles.

1. This almanac continues to expand -- and become better. Each year, it has added more sets, more details and more areas of collectibles. It is about to ``outgrow'' its covers. But that will be a long-range bonus for collectors. Beckett and able company will be forced to split the book, probably taking out minor league cards. The editors have become particularly adept at adding team-issued sets. A complete checklist of McCarthy baseball cards -- rumored for No. 6 -- would be a great addition. The only improvement I would like to see would be for more details on some sets and certain variations in a set (how to tell them apart). If you are a serious collector of baseball items, this is one of the few MUST books for your book shelf. And it's getting better and better with each edition.



2. If you collect baseball cards you absolutely must have this book. It catalogs virtually every baseball card ever made, including variations and errors.

   Why only four stars and not five? Subtle reasons, mostly. The main reason is that this book, despite being released recently, does not do a very good job of covering the professionally graded baseball card market. This is even more surprising as Beckett does have a grading service of their own. As such, the sections covering the history of baseball cards and how to grade cards is lacking and is pretty much a reprint of what's been appearing in Beckett books like this one for over fifteen years. They really could have done a better job of modernizing those sections.

   However, as a reference book to help identity cards and give approximate values, this book cannot be beat. Buy it now!




3. An absolute must for the advanced collector.

   This comprehensive volume combined with Krause's Annual Standard Catalog Of Baseball Cards, are the two most important tools for anyone serious about baseball card collecting.

   My only gripe is Beckett simultaneously publishing their inferior 'Baseball Annual' at the same time. It's clearly inferior to their Almanac and borders on customer abuse offering a "lite" version for the ignorant just to make more money.

   Still, that problem issue aside, the Almanac is a must-have if you're going take your collection to the next level.




4. the 2005 edition of Beckett Almanac Of Baseball Cards And Collectibles, which even includes Canadian cards from 1912 to modern times - and coins, pins, stickers, team yearbooks and more. There are thousands of photos which lend to easy identification even in black and white, there are card grading tips and guides for beginners, and each section is introduced with a specific set of notes or collector's tips. Conclude with a glossary of hobby terms and series indexes and you have a top pick which represents a virtual 'bible' - and a must for any serious baseball card collector.



5. this book has it all. It has very concise lists of baseball cards. My husband uses it every day when cataloging his cards. It was worth the price.