The Value of That Box of Hockey Cards Your Mom Tossed? If You're a Child of the '60s,
Try $15,065, According to Beckett Media
Opening of Hockey Season Gets Fans Focused on Ice and Collectibles
As the NHL prepares to drop pucks for the first time in more than a year, hockey collectors
are certain to drop their jaws when they discover that Mom's annual spring-cleaning binges
likely cost them the equivalent of three season tickets against the glass.
According to a recent study by Beckett Media, the acknowledged authority on the trading card
hobby for more than 20 years, the value of the hockey cards found in a typical shoebox in the
mid-'60s would equal about $15,065 today.
"If you take a typical hockey-crazy kid who grew up in Canada back in the mid-60s as an
example, we figured he'd have kept roughly 500 cards, or roughly three seasons' worth, in a
shoebox," says Beckett Hockey editor Al Muir.
"That assumption is based on the size of a youth shoebox and the varying dimensions of
the cards from that era.
"We estimate that the average shoebox in the winter of 1967 had a 65/35 mix of common
cards and stars. That latter group would have included names like Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull
and Jean Beliveau, along with the Rookie Cards of Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Yvan Cournoyer
and Paul Henderson.
"With those parameters in mind, that collection would have fetched about $33.75 back then.
Today, in good condition, it would go for about $15,065.
So next time you're scrimping to save for vacation or a new car, you can call your Mom and
remind her what a great idea it was to ensure your room remained tidy by throwing away all
your cards."
Earlier this year, a similar study conducted by Beckett Media showed that a shoebox full of
baseball cards from the 1950s would have been worth approximately $6,500.
Beth Grimsley, Director of Web Commerce for Beckett.com, the web's leading retailer of trading
cards, noted an increase of interest in other sports from similar time periods as collectors try
to reconnect with their hidden treasures.
"We received a lot of attention after the findings of our baseball research were released,"
Grimsley says. "We decided to take a look at other sports and, in the case of hockey, we found
a significant group of customers who began trying to track down the value of their collections.
"The recent hockey lockout actually led many collectors to focus on the stars of the past. Now
that the hockey season is about to get started again, we are seeing a second spike in interest from
returning hockey fans as well as new collectors."
To coincide with the start of hockey season, Beckett Hockey will begin to feature various hockey
cards and collectibles for the first month of the season at http://www.beckett.com. Beckett Hockey
editors and contributors will feature some of their personal favorites as well as some of the hottest
cards of the season.
ABOUT BECKETT MEDIA
Based in Dallas, Beckett Media LP, an Apprise Media company, is the leading publisher of sports and
specialty market collectible products in the U.S. Beckett operates Beckett.com (http://www.beckett.com)
and is the premier publisher of monthly sports collectibles magazines. Beckett, considered the world's
most trusted source in collecting, currently publishes 14 magazines.
Source: Beckett Media LP
Date: October 4, 2005
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