It’s finally safe for non-sports card enthusiasts to step up and be accepted into the ranks of advanced collectors! Based on the prices non-sports cards are achieving these days – and the battles being waged over the elusive low population gems – it’s clear that the category is here to stay.

Maybe it wasn’t that surprising recently when the #1 card from one of the most popular sets (1959 Fleer "Three Stooges") in PSA 9 MINT condition traded for over $5,000. What was startling is that, shortly thereafter, middle-number 1959 Stooges cards with populations of "2" or less have been selling for over $3,000 each. It’s clearly not just the first and last cards in a set that are achieving these extraordinary results in competitive bidding situations.

As an auction house that prides itself on dealing in high-value collectibles, we have had to react in a positive way to the budding popularity of these cardboard treasures. In the past, many non-sports card sets would have been tucked into the pages of a general Americana section of a sale, and, admittedly, the number of cards that reached value levels that would have made third-party grading cost-effective were few and far between. Now, the "Massive Card Attack" section of our catalogs forms a substantial portion of our Americana activity. (In our most recent event, we had 40 pages of non-sports cards! In addition to the cards, this section included unopened packs and original art.)

Over the past twelve months, more and more new records have been set through the sale of significant graded non-sports card sets. Some recent sales of sets that hold high positions on the PSA Set Registry include 1933 R136 "Sky Birds" Set ($39,550), 1935 R89 "Mickey Mouse" Set ($23,115), 1938 R69 "Horrors of War" Set ($33,140) and 1940 R145 "Superman" Set ($33,380). This phenomenon mirrors the momentum that sports card collecting experienced over a decade ago as collectors scrambled to assemble the best sets possible.

The "non-sports guys" used to be known as those quiet, unassuming folks who would sift through the tables at baseball card shows in order to seek out non-sports cards. You can picture the scene from those days … a guy would walk humbly to a table that may have had non-sports cards and whisper under his breath "Hey, do you have any Brady Bunch cards?" Admittedly, that recollection is a bit stereotypical, but, in recent times, a combination of aggressive sports card collectors embracing this new genre of card collecting teamed with the incredible allure of popular culture collectibles, in general, has made the hobby of collecting non-sports cards acceptable if not avant-garde.

When our firm launched its Americana Division years ago, it was to take advantage of this interesting phenomenon of "cross-over appeal." It started when a consignor gave us a Houdini signed book and a Geisel drawing of Dr Seuss’s "Cat in the Hat." We explained that we didn’t have clients who collected that sort of material, and thus couldn’t guarantee good results. We were surprised when both pieces sold for twice their supposed full retail prices. Next thing you know, we’re buried in Houdini signed books, and we’ve sold every Geisel sketch you can imagine!

The bottom line is, collectors are collectors: it’s simply in their blood. A hobbyist who purchases a signed Babe Ruth photograph for $10,000 will "cross over" to buy a document signed by a popular American President … amazingly, for less money. The same happens in non-sports cards. High-end sports card collectors are used to paying huge sums for top-quality Hall of Fame cards and low population cards from their favorite baseball or football card sets. They find that they can purchase non-sports cards at a fraction of the cost, and it is both a logical and simple transition.

When one analyzes the popularity of non-sports cards, a trend in favor of their acceptance is not that surprising. The subjects and characters represent images that define the periods during which they were produced. In the early years (1930s and 1940s) gum manufacturers started by creating issues related to historical events (e.g. "Indian Gum," "Horrors of War," "Freedom’s War," "Red Menace"). The popularity of early entertainment issues like "Mickey Mouse," "Lone Ranger" and "Superman," produced during the ‘30s and ‘40s, ushered in a subsequent era of character-themed depictions in non-sports card sets of the ‘50s through the ‘60s.

Without even knowing what sets were issued, one can easily guess the most popular themes. Just take a minute to think about which entertainment characters permeated lives of Americans during those times. In the 1950s it was the Three Stooges, Elvis Presley and Davy Crockett. In the 1960s, the number of issues grew significantly (along with situation comedy television) with Batman, the Munsters, Beverly Hillbillies and Gilligan’s Island standing as classic examples … and the list goes on.

As was the case in sports-card collecting, many of these issues were extremely condition-sensitive, or they were plagued by the distribution and production issues that were common to the period. What resulted are issues and specific cards that are nearly impossible to find in high grade.

The cards pictured with this article are some of toughest low-population, high-grade cards from a number of the most popular non-sports card sets that will be offered in our December Premier auction. Although non-sports cards have not yet reached the lofty levels of the top sports-card sets, it’s clear that the collector base in non-sports is broadening and that prices will continue to climb -- especially for high-grade examples.

Recently, hobbyists who want to get started in non-sports card collecting have asked me where to begin. The answer is simple: start with your favorite characters or your favorite television show! And that’s probably why the "Three Stooges" set from 1959 is so popular. This show seems to transcend any age or era … my 14-year-old son is still watching the re-runs!

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