Okay, so today I decided to finally get around to sorting through some old boxes of sports cards I had in the attic. I wasn’t really expecting to find anything too crazy, just mostly junk wax era stuff from when I was a kid. I started flipping through, tossing most of them aside – you know, commons and players I barely remembered.
Then, I came across a section of cards that were in top-loaders and penny sleeves. Immediately, my heart rate went up a little. I carefully pulled one out and saw it was a Troy Aikman Pinnacle card. I remembered Pinnacle being a pretty decent brand back in the day, so I got a little excited.
The Condition Check
First thing I did was check the corners. They looked pretty sharp, which was a good start. Then I looked at the edges and surface for any scratches or wear. Honestly, it looked pretty clean! I held it up to the light to see if there was any hidden damage, but it seemed to be in great shape. I was starting to think I might actually have something here!
Looking it up
After careful examination of my card I decided to learn more about this card.
So I whipped out my phone and started searching.
Because I wanted to know what year it was, and how to get a good estimate of how much it was worth.
This search took me a while, and I looked at several different resources.
What next?
Now I’m at a crossroads. I’m not a professional card grader or anything, but it looks like it’s in good enough condition to maybe get it graded. I’m debating whether to send it in to one of the big grading companies. It’s a bit of an investment, but if it comes back with a high grade, it could really increase the value. I guess I need to do a little more research on that process. I’ll probably ask around on some online forums and see what other collectors think. It’s a cool feeling to rediscover a potentially valuable card after all these years!
