How Do I Split Up My Baseball Cards

[CoachK]

Thought I'd let knowledgeable people weigh in here on a problem of mine.

I'm 40 with two sons (four years old and a newborn). Five years ago I bought my first house, and my mom took the opportunity to go into her garage, get out all of my boxes of baseball cards, and mail them to me. It was a ton of boxes. When I got them, I was like a kid again: Sorting, putting the stars in sheets, etc. That process took a few months, but everything is now organized as I want it in new boxes and the original boxes that were mailed to me were all thrown away.

Meanwhile, months down the road, it was determined (not by me) that the cards of my younger brother, who also has two kids (six-year-old daughter, four- year-old son) were mixed in with the ones my mom sent. I have no way of knowing which cards were mine, and which were his, and now they're all mixed together.

He's been unhappy about it ever since it was discovered, and yesterday he mentioned how his son really wants some cards. It was a sweet story, and I owed him big for a favor he recently did for me, so we both agreed that I should give him a boatload of cards. I'm ok with this, he's ok with this. Whatever animosity we had toward each other over the situation is now water under the bridge. Now we're just mad at Mom.

So the question is: how do we split up the cards? It can't be 50-50 (I had a much bigger collection when we started). I can't just give him a box, because it would just be a bunch of common players, rather than the stars (who are all under plastic). Just weeding out all of the duplicates to give to him seems cheap. We don't live in the same city, so having some kind of "draft" probably wouldn't work. I honestly don't know.

At this point, the cards are not around to help pay for college or me to gaze at longingly. They're basically just there to give to my sons someday. My brother feels the same way.

Anyone have any opinions here?

Thanks.

[Hammer]

have you agreed on the type of split it should be? Find common ground and be prepared to give a bit because while it may not have been 50/50, you have no way of knowing the correct split. Something like this should not be allowed to become a problem in your relationship.


good luck

[heyelander]

i'd go the duplicates route and then review at the end to see what he got. if it really is inequitable, maybe I'd try the draft or something then, but I think I would start with duplicates.

[joncarlos]

What does his kid like? Try to give him stuff the kid will like regardless of value, unless we're talking about thousands of dollars, that's more important.

[CoachK]

Thanks for the quick replies. We haven't decided anything yet about the split, and I don't think he's looking for a big (or immediate) payday - just for me to toss him a bone. I just don't want to come across as cheap or greedy. I mean if it's say 10,000 cards and probably 8,000 were originally mine, he probably wouldn't be happy if I gave him just 20 cards. Complicating matters is with a newborn at home, I don't exactly have time (not to mention the space) to go through all the cards and take out the dupes. Still, I think that's a good first step.

[Boone]

If you agree the split is 80/20 then split the cards into five groups and let him pick whichgroup he wants. Just a thought.

[revo]

Flip for them!

[In the Corn]

Let's get a little more context and information. Are we talking cards from the late 70's-early '80's or are we talking about the overly produced pieces of cardboard circa 1987 and beyond?

If the later, unless you attached sentimentally to certain cards, just send him any as they are relatively worthless. I hate to be rain on the parade, but it's the truth.

My brother and I have the same type of thing. I put a lot of time and money into the collection as a kid. When it came time to split the cards up, I asked my brother what he wanted. He knew if there was something he was overreaching on, I was going to say something. In reality, he took only a few cards. I have the cards that I have sentimental value with, as well as, some of the more valuable cards sitting in the closet. The bulk of the collection sits in my parents house. At some point, I'll need to get them. My dad and brother would be fine if they hit the garbage can.

[Judge Jude]

How about by age somewhat?
Unless you have a twin (and I do), the oldest cards presumably must be yours, no?
Try to honestly recall what years you both collected, and if there was a collecting point at which you got distracted by girls while he still was focused on cardboard. If so, maybe most of them that year are his? Hey, it happens!

Whatever you do, don't let this be a rift. It's probably just as well that the value of most cards has declined to where this doesn't sound like a major financial issue.

[schlesinj]

Let's get a little more context and information. Are we talking cards from the late 70's-early '80's or are we talking about the overly produced pieces of cardboard circa 1987 and beyond?

If the later, unless you attached sentimentally to certain cards, just send him any as they are relatively worthless. I hate to be rain on the parade, but it's the truth.

My brother and I have the same type of thing. I put a lot of time and money into the collection as a kid. When it came time to split the cards up, I asked my brother what he wanted. He knew if there was something he was overreaching on, I was going to say something. In reality, he took only a few cards. I have the cards that I have sentimental value with, as well as, some of the more valuable cards sitting in the closet. The bulk of the collection sits in my parents house. At some point, I'll need to get them. My dad and brother would be fine if they hit the garbage can.

I was going to say the same thing. They were worth a lot more then vs today.

[CoachK]

He's a year younger than I am and we collected at the same time. I'd say the "glory years" of our collecting were probably about 1981 to 1987 or so. I was way more into it than he was, so I definitely had more, but he had plenty. And those that point out that the value at this point is only sentimental are correct. I definitely have some older cards that I managed to acquire over the years, like an old Hank Aaron or Mickey Mantle or something, but for the most part they're of the worthless 1980s cards variety. I also was a big Reggie Jackson fan as a kid and had a special notebook of only Reggie cards from like every season of his career. My brother would know better than to ask for those, as those are the real sentimental value cards. Other than that, we can probably just split 'em up however.

I appreciate all of the comments. Tomorrow if I have time, I'm going to go through the sheets and take out the duplicates. That should give him a nice little starter package before we figure out how else we'll split (if he even wants any more after that point).

[Gregg]

He is your brother. It is important to both of you but seemingly not too important. How about surprising him and do a 60/40 split. He will be delighted and your bond will grow stronger. Then, since you guys like cards. Set up a day the next time you get together for just the two of you to do some horse trading. It should be really fun and you can both get the cards you want.

[In the Corn]

He's a year younger than I am and we collected at the same time. I'd say the "glory years" of our collecting were probably about 1981 to 1987 or so. I was way more into it than he was, so I definitely had more, but he had plenty. And those that point out that the value at this point is only sentimental are correct. I definitely have some older cards that I managed to acquire over the years, like an old Hank Aaron or Mickey Mantle or something, but for the most part they're of the worthless 1980s cards variety. I also was a big Reggie Jackson fan as a kid and had a special notebook of only Reggie cards from like every season of his career. My brother would know better than to ask for those, as those are the real sentimental value cards. Other than that, we can probably just split 'em up however.

I appreciate all of the comments. Tomorrow if I have time, I'm going to go through the sheets and take out the duplicates. That should give him a nice little starter package before we figure out how else we'll split (if he even wants any more after that point).

I'd be willing to help you out, so there's no fighting. Just send me the old cards, you know the ones with value, then there won't be any bickering between the two of you.

Just trying to help you out.

I also like Gregg's idea as well. The trading part could be a lot of fun when you get together, and without the old valuable cards there's no risk of hard feelings.

[Judge Jude]

I mentioned in another post that the 2011 Topps cards are pretty amazing. Awesome digital photography, clean look, literally hundreds of non-traditional cards, like one iconic card representing each of 60 years of the product, and "lost cards" - many HOFers weren't on a Topps cards in certain years because they didn't sign with Topps and/or did sign with Bowman.

There's also a "classic" set that has today's ballplayers in the 1962 Topps format, front and back. Aaron Harang looks like a zombie he's so pale, while Brian Wilson looks about as nutty as you'd expect. These are expensive, though; I think it's $2.99 for nine cards. Worth buying a pack or two anyway.

I also agree on being generous. You're focused on what you're entitled to, and that's your right. But what's the benefit to you to saying, "I decided not to get caught up in percentages; we're brothers and we both collected, so I want you to have half." Pretty good, I'd imagine.

[swampdragon]

If you are curious about the value - check the completed sales of cards there. It will tell you how much somebody actually paid - not just an inflated percieved value.

I thinking the best way might be to ask him what he thinks and wants.