Sidney Crosby Cards: Information For Buyers

Sidney Crosby has emerged as one of the top players in the NHL. He's led his Pittsburgh Penguins to the Stanley Cup Finals two years in a row (2008 and 2009), ultimately winning the latter in seven games against the Detroit Red Wings. Crosby further established himself as one of the game's premier players by netting the gold medal game-winning goal in overtime against the United States at the 2010 Olympics. As such, Sidney Crosby cards have become some of the most sought after cards around.

As Crosby continues to rack up the personal and team achievements the demand for his cards, as well as their value, consistently rises. This is especially true for his rookie cards. Collectors and fans alike recognize this and consider them a commodity worth paying good money for.

As I mentioned, rookie cards have historically been in higher demand than cards from a player's subsequent seasons. For a card to be considered a hockey player's rookie card, the following must apply:

• The hockey card must be issued by a major trading card manufacturer. Examples, include Upper Deck, Topps, In The Game, and Pacific Trading Cards. Note: Upper Deck is the only NHL/NHLPA licensed company so far for the 2005 2006 NHL season.
• Both the league and players' union must both agree to issue a license. The NHLPA licenses player images and the NHL licenses use of team logos/names.
• A true rookie card must be issued in a product after the player completes at least one regular season NHL game. For goalies I believe they can be a back up for 3-5 games.
• 4. A true rookie must be widely distributed to the public as part of the base set or an update to the original base set. Redemption cards only count if they are redeemable for cards that are numbered as part of the base set.
• From what most have agreed on, there must be more than 99 copies of the hockey card issued.
• Any redemption card that is not numbered into the base set, is in a subset, is an insert like a numbered parallel to the base set, or issued before the player actually plays an NHL game will not be considered a true rookie card.

Following those guidelines, here is a comprehensive list of all of Crosby's rookie cards available on the market:

• Beehive #101
• Black Diamond #193
• Hot Prospects #276 - autographed jersey card numbered to 999
• Parkhurst #657
• SP Authentic #181 - autographed, numbered to 999
• SP Game Used #101 - numbered to 999
• SPx #191 - autographed jersey card numbered to 499
• The Cup #180 - autographed jersey card numbered to 99
• UD Artifacts #224 - numbered to 750
• UD PowerPlay #133
• Ultimate Collection #91 - autographed, numbered to 299
• Ultra #251
• Upper Deck #201
• Upper Deck Ice #106 - numbered to 99
• Upper Deck MVP #393
• Upper Deck Rookie Update #276 - numbered to 199
• Upper Deck Trilogy #211 - numbered to 999
• Upper Deck Victory #285

Though factors such as autographed editions affect the collectibility and value of a card, the following set of criteria is generally used to determine value:

• Rarity: How hard is it to track down a particular card? For example, a baseball card from 1909 featuring Honus Wagner is the rarest card of all time, with only 50 cards ever made available to the public. Only a few remain to this day, resulting in a market value of approximately $1.2 million.

• Condition: Cards are “graded” by condition. Mint is the highest rating, meaning that there are no flaws, defects or damage present. The scale steps down to near mint, very good, good, fair and poor. Each level has specific criteria for wear/damage on which it is graded.

• Performance: Simply put: the better a player performs, the more valuable and sought after his card usually is. There are exceptions to this rule, particularly in older cards that are harder to come by.

Before buying anything, you want to make sure you are aware of what the market value is for the card you're looking at. A good place to start is either Tuff Stuff Magazine's website, which has portions of its price guides available for free online or at Beckett's website, which charges a subscription fee for access to its price guides. Though these guides are helpful in determining a baseline, they typically only list the value of a card in “mint” or “near mint” condition. So, if you come across a card that doesn't fall into one of these two grades, be sure that the price has been adjusted accordingly!

There are many options available for buying the Sidney Crosby cards you're looking for, ranging from your local card shop to marketplace sites like Ebay and Amazon, and also auction sites that specialize in the exchange of sports memorabilia such as SportsBuy. Though you don't have the option of physically inspecting a card before you buy from an online source, the selection of cards available is much greater than that of a local card shop.

So, keep these things in mind when shopping around for Sidney Crosby cards so that you can make an informed decision and get the best deal possible!