Anyone seeing for a hobby or a way to supplement their revenue should think vintage postcards as their stock of choice. Why postcards, you ask? There is a huge contribute of postcards available in the secondary marketplace and, if you are going to be a collector, they do not take up much room so they are easy to store and, if you are going to be a dealer, they are easy to ship.
The majority of vintage postcards have a low to mid-range value. If you can buy large lots of them at uncostly prices, you should be able to make some decent behalf based on the volume. Unless each lot has been gone through by professional postcard dealers, you may come across one or two that are worth some pretty good money - perhaps sufficient to pay for the entire lot.
Postcards are similar to stamps and coins - they are graded as to condition. The various grades are M for mint, Nm for near mint, Ex for excellent, Vg for very good, G for good and Fr for fair. The grades of mint and near mint can de facto be subjective. The definition of each of these two grades can be very hard to live up to in reality. seeing vintage postcards in close to perfect condition is very difficult.
When it comes to determining age, all vintage postcards fall into what are called eras. There are seven of them in all. The very first is referred to as the pioneer era and covers postcards produced in the middle of 1870 and 1898. The second only covers a four-year period, 1898 to 1901, and is called the private mailing card era.
The others are the undivided back era (1901-1907), divided back era (1907-1915), the white border era (1915-1930), the linen era (1930-1945) and the photochrome era (1939 - today).
Not technically determined an era, because they were produced roughly from the very beginning, are the extremely beloved and collectible real photo postcards. Today they are referred to as Rppcs and many of them, depending on the scenes depicted, bring hundreds of dollars.
The familiar "golden age" of postcards ended nearby 1915. Prior to this time, most postcards were produced in Germany. With the start of World War I, yield shifted to the United States. Not only was the quality of these new cards not as good as those produced by Germany, many of them were just reprints of previously issued postcards.
The value of postcards is not just determined by condition and age but also by branch matter. Some topics are not very collectible at all but some are so extremely desirable that habitancy will pay outrageous sums of money for them. branch matter and themes can be complex when determining value so it is recommended that whatever curious in either collecting or selling postcards spend in a good reference book about them, one that includes a price guide.
The list of dissimilar branch matters and themes are quite extensive. Holiday themes are hugely popular, especially postcards that depict scenes of Halloween or Santa Claus. Within each theme or branch matter, any card that is artist signed is automatically worth more than those that are unsigned. There were a number of very talented artists that created postcards back then and today their work is in much request by serious collectors.
In the early days of postcard production, sets of postcards and postcard series were very popular. This was de facto a very victorious marketing tool that was used by some of the postcard manufacturers. Once person had a postcard that was de facto part of a set or a series, they most simply wanted the other installments. Today, collectors will pay a gargantuan excellent to regain the one card they might need to perfect a set or series.
There are some other unique types of postcards that were quite beloved back then that have added value today. The first is called a hold to light postcard. These cards have cutouts in the top layer with colored paper located below. An example would be absorbing yellow paper showing through cutouts shaped like candle flames. Upon retention the postcard up to the light, the candles appear to be lit.
The other type is what is called a mechanical postcard. In this case, a card will have at least one absorbing part such as a wheel that is private beneath the top layer of the card. The wheel might comprise the 12 months of the year allowing for a particular month to show through a small window. Mechanical postcards like this in case,granted the chance for person to de facto personalize a postcard to celebrate a special chance such as a birthday or an anniversary.
When dealing with vintage postcards, there is one more important thing to remember. Many earlier postcards were filled out and mailed. Used versus never used does have an result on value but when it comes to a used card, the value may not lie with the actual postcard, but with the postage stamp affixed to it. Many old postage stamps are quite valuable. No one should get rid of what appears to be a worthless postcard without checking the stamp first.
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