ARTICLES

Prelude: Why This Set Changed The Game Remember football cards before 2017? They were fine-Topps, Donruss, Score-but they lacked something. Then Prizm Football exploded onto the hobby scene like a viral TikTok dunk. Glossy surfaces, refractors that caught your eye mid-rip, rainbow parallels, and rookies like Patrick Mahomes II (#269)-a future legend whose rookie card…

Introduction: When Panini Dropped the Hobby’s Mic Imagine being a collector in 2012. The NBA is stacked with talent. We’ve got LeBron deep in his Miami Heat reign, Kobe still putting on Mamba clinics, and a rookie class that looks like it was handpicked by the cardboard gods: Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie…

Introduction: The Hobby Before 1989 Let’s set the scene. In 1989, baseball card collecting was already booming. Kids were ripping wax packs of Topps, Fleer, and Donruss, building sets with gum-stained fingers, and trading “commons” on the playground like a second currency. The hobby was fun, affordable, and… a little stale. Topps, Fleer, and Donruss…

Intro: When Card Collecting Went Luxe If trading cards were luxury cars, 2003 Exquisite would be a blacked-out Rolls-Royce Phantom-sumptuous, rare, and leaving the rest of the hobby in its dust. Debuting in the 2003-04 season, Upper Deck went all-in on premium. These cards came in wooden boxes, just five cards each, with serial numbering,…

Introduction: When Football Card Collecting Got Its Cheer Chant If the card hobby were a stadium, 1989 Score Football is the roaring crowd that made it feel alive. It marks not just the set’s debut for Score, but a seismic shift in the late-80s football card scene-which had been dominated by Topps and the fledgling…

The Complete Guide to Mickey Mantle Cards – The Hobby King If Michael Jordan is the GOAT of basketball cards, then Mickey Mantle is the cardboard Babe Ruth of baseball cards. He’s the guy your dad, your grandpa, and probably your grandpa’s drinking buddy all said was “the one you wanted to pull.” Mantle isn’t…