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Set: Sweet Rides 3/5 (2026)

Collection No: 082/250

Designer: Craig Callum

Produced: 2024-Present

1967: Eddie Mathews hits 500th HR
1968: Hank Aaron hits 500th HR

A really nice card 🏀

Very happy to find a Skubal auto with no pen-lift.

2006 Topps Triple Threads, #11/18 ⭐ Steve Garvey - MVP
Let me start by saying that I'm not a Dodgers fan, per se.
However, after Roberto Clemente gave his life on New Year's Eve 1972, Steve Garvey became one of my favorite players.
I remember watching him win two All-Star Game MVP Awards, in 1974 & 1978.
Back then, I got a thrill watching the All-Star game.

These are 5 cards in my collection that capture Skenes' history-making appearance as the N.L. Starting Pitcher.
Skenes' selection as the N.L. starting pitcher as a rookie, in 2024, was historical.
The All-Star Game debuted in 1933.
In nearly a century of play, Skenes became just the fifth rookie pitcher in MLB history to earn the starting nod. He was the first to do so in 29 years.

My vintage card of the week: The 1987 Topps Traded Tiffany Greg Maddux. It’s not technically “vintage” by most standards, but the Professor is my favorite player of all time, so I figured I’d squeeze him in here. I watched every Mad Dog start I could on TBS and WGN back in the ‘90s and ‘00s. Saw him pitch a couple times at Wrigley when I was in grad school. He absolutely dominated the steroid era with a fastball that might touch 90 mph, because he changed speeds with movement and precise location. His advantage was outsmarting the hitters, so their chemically enlarged muscles couldn’t really help them. Four Cy Young awards (first ever to win four in a row); 355 wins; 3371 Ks; and a career WHIP of 1.143 over 23 years. Oh yeah, and 18 gold gloves. Baseball Egg has him ranked as the second-best starting pitcher of all time behind Walter Johnson, and I won’t argue against their statistical process. He was certainly the best I ever witnessed.

Don't miss Murray Henderson Art & Collector Creative Live at the 46th National Sports Collectors Convention, July 29–August 2, 2026, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL. 🔥

Plan your visit by checking out the Interactive Map through the link in our bio, where you can find Murray Henderson Art & Collector Creative and hundreds of other exhibitors.

General admission tickets still remain— see you in Rosemont! #thenational

The question everyone is asking is whether the sports card market is headed for a crash. The honest answer is that the question itself is the problem.

The global sports trading card market was valued at $13.5 billion in 2025 according to Grand View Research. Projections range from $23 billion to $271 billion by the early 2030s depending on which firm you ask. When analysts cannot agree on size within an order of magnitude, the market deserves a complicated answer.

The Case for Caution

Overproduction at the base level is documented. Athlon Sports reported in February 2026 that base cards and parallels are losing value as supply overwhelms demand. Topps Chrome went from 18 parallels in 2020 to 46 last year. The 2025-26 Fanatics Topps NBA releases produced 429 million cards with 1.26 million copies of every base card. Multiple analysts are calling it Junk Wax 2.0.

Card Ladder data shows modern and ultra-modern dropped over 30% from peak when speculative demand exited after COVID. That correction cost real collectors real money.

The Case Against a Crash

The market did not collapse. It split. Capital moved to where fundamentals supported it.

Athlon Sports reports high-end graded rookies and vintage are generating most gains in 2026. A dual signed Jordan and Kobe broke the all-time record for most expensive card ever sold in 2025. A 1954 Hank Aaron PSA 9 hit $780,000 in January. The Babe Ruth 1933 Goudey PSA 3 never dropped below $12,500 at the correction's bottom per Sports Illustrated. Vintage held. Real scarcity held.

Cardboard Connection's April 2026 analysis shows auction activity up 52% and graded transactions now at 38% of all secondary market activity. Verified Market Research projects $23.08 billion by 2032 at a 7.80% CAGR. Those are not crash numbers.

The Two-Tier Reality

The market has split into two tiers with completely different risk profiles.

Tier one is base cards and mass retail. With 1.26 million copies of a base card in circulation, scarcity is not a feature. It is a liability.

Tier two is graded, scarce, vintage, and iconic cards. Real scarcity holds through every correction this market has seen.

The relevant question is not bubble or no bubble. It is which tier a given card belongs to and what kind of scarcity is supporting the price.

The doom crowd is not entirely wrong. The hype crowd is not entirely wrong. Both are looking at different parts of the same market. Collectors who understand that distinction will make very different decisions than those treating this as one market with one answer.

Hobby IQ is co-produced by Hobbycomp and the CTCA, built around giving every collector the data literacy to operate in this market as it actually exists.

Know More. Collect Smarter. Stay Ahead.

#HobbyIQ #TradingCards #SportsCards #AlternativeInvestments #CollectiblesMarket #MarketIntelligence #CTCA #HobbyComp

Hello All

As you can see the my England shirt is well worn and still just about fits me. What a match coming up and what a player, Jude Bellingham is. This is pulled from Panini 2026 FIFA Adrenalyn XL - #573. Bought a few packs to rip whilst tournament going on. Have you been enjoying the World Cup? What players have caught your eye? Have you been ripping Football? (Soccer).

Positive comments please. As we all know about FIFA and corruption etc (that plentiful on the internet to find out about).

Want to shine a light on the amazing diversity, culture, humanity, joy on show. The impact is undeniable across the world a precious reach that can be used for so much good. Keep the ripples going and maybe pick up some Jude Bellingham. He is a generational talent. World Class in my opinion.

Come on England.

Cheers Alan