Post Card Articles

WHAT MAKES A POSTCARD VALUABLE

What Makes A Postcard Valuable?

There are many varying factors in what makes postcards valuable. Some of them are age and condition, subject matter, photo vs. printed, and even the postmark. Postcards are collected for thousands of reasons. Some are topical like Christmas cards, cards featuring Santa, Valentines, Halloween, Black related, alligators, etc... and others are topographical which are regional images, state views, buildings, your hometown, etc... There are plenty of cards out there to fit any interest varying in price from ten cents to thousands of dollars.

Obviously the older cards are make them more desirable to a lot of postcard collectors but even cards printed as recently as yesterday are collected. The first known postcard from what I have found was used in Austria in 1869. Postcards made in the USA before 1907 had an un-divided back and the only thing that could be written on the backside of the card was the address. The front of the card usually had a smaller image or design which didn't take up the entire card or left an end open for a short message. After 1907 the back of the card was divided into two sides, one for the address and the other side for the message. Real photo cards seem to be most common from around 1910 through the early 1950s. Linen postcards were introduced in the 1930s during the Depression and were still able to be used into the early 1950s. Chrome cards, sometimes called photochrome made their appearance in the late 1940s and are usually the type of card you would find today. A number of these somewhat "modern cards" showing diners, roadside attractions such as tourist camps, motels and tourist traps have become very popular in the last decade for collectors. If you live in a metropolitan area you might have the opportunity to pick up rack cards. These cards can also be purchased at a postcard show or from dealers and are usually, but not always, fairly inexpensive...

The better shape the card is in certainly affects its value. Creases, folds, tears, soiling dirt which is postmark bleed through and water damage can lower the value of a card. When dealing with a real photo postcard the sharpness, contrast, exposure under or over exposed can also effect the graded condition and overall value of the card.

Also certain types of subject matter are more desirable to many collectors. State Views ie Main Street Scenes, Interior Views, Occupational and Railroad images (trains, depots, etc..) are probably some of the more expensive to find and aquire. When it comes to the greetings postcards the most popular are Halloween, full sized Santas, July 4th and Art Nouveau. There are many others and of course everybody has different interest and likes. People collect all kinds of cards for all different reasons. Of course rarity always come into play with collectibles even postcards! Purchasing a postcard value book can come in very handy if you are serious about your collecting.