A wealth of older more antique material lays tucked away in the homes of older friends and relatives who received cards in their heyday a generation or two ago. Many of the cards still have cherished sentiments attached to them. With some gentle nudging and the reassurance that the cards will be preserved and cared for, sometimes the owners are more than happy to give them away to a responsible collector.
Fr. Joseph Chinnici, a collector of holy cards, used them to illustrate his lectures on Church history at Franciscan Theology School in Berkeley, California. Fr. Chinnici came into his cards in a unique way. He regularly led retreats for women religious orders and rather than take payment he would ask the sisters if they would offer up their holy cards in order to build up his collection!
The most likely place to find large lots of older religious cards is at estate sales. You may have to sort through quite a bit of older paper and may need to buy a whole box of assorted paper material and books for just a few cards. You may have to wait hours for the auctioneer to get around to your prospects, but the wait may be well worth it. Often the other unwanted material you land with your winning bid, that is of no interest to you, can be sold to other auction goers.
Less frequently, religious cards will be found at garage sales, because these items are so often tucked away with other paper mementos that are kept by the family...that is if the cards don't get thrown away by unwitting relatives who don't recognize the value of paper ephemera such as religious cards. Some auction houses specialize in ephemera and will carry large lots of religious cards. When purchasing from dealers and auction houses, expect to pay retail value for the cards, a significantly higher price than you might pay for bargains at estate sales.
Antique shops, collectible stores and flea markets are good sources for cards. Although its not uncommon to find some real "bargains", again expect to pay higher prices for items at shops since the proprietors usually have little idea of how to price the cards and rarely tag or sell anything for less than a dollar. You can negotiate on the price if you feel comfortable and usually can get at least a 10% discount for large lots. At antique consignment malls where the owners of individual booth are not available to bargain with, be resigned to paying the full asking price.
The most convenient way to buy, sell or trade cards is through the mail. "Be sure to ask for a self addressed stamped envelope (SASE) from anyone asking for more information. Otherwise you end up paying postage for each letter to answer questions, which begins to add up. You may send your want list or a numbered list of the cards you want to sell with a full description of each, including size, marks, publisher and condition. Include every defect and set a fair price. If possible, take photocopies and attach to the list. Make photocopies of the list and send it with a letter of explanation. Include your name and address, zip code and phone number, including area code. Enclose a SASE for the return of your list and copies. Don't try to sell damaged items by mail unless they are very rare." (Mashburn, 1992)
If you are selling cards you may send items on approval at your own risk. (One would expect that with religious cards any collectors of this material would be honest and easy to deal with.) Carefully ship the cards to avoid damage. Insure packages of cards worth over $100. "Ordinarily you should ask for a check before you ship the cards and be sure the check is good (just in case). Get a return receipt to show the package arrived. It should be understood that there are full refund privileges and that the cards may be returned to you for a refund. The buyer pays the return postage." (Mashburn, 1992)
If you plan to dispose of your collection you may sell to other collectors or dealers. If the same principles of dealing with other paper ephemera, such as postcards, hold true for religious material then expect to get only wholesale price for your cards. "The wholesale price of a card is the price which a collector can expect from a dealer when selling cards. This price will be significantly lower than the retail price. Most dealers try to operate on a 100% markup and will normally pay around 50% of a card's retail value." (Mashburn, 1992)
Collectors with computer access may now purchase religious paper and other ephemera by way of the internet. Some paper dealers are online. Full color scanned images of their paper lots, which occasionally include religious items, may be viewed by accessing the auction web sites. Bids may be made by e-mail, "snail mail" or the phone.
The biggest online trading site is ebay. Small items like trading cards and religious cards are easy to scan and trade online. Ebay has a category for holy cards which can be accesed by moving through the following categories: > Collectibles > Cultures & Religions > Religions, Spirituality > Christianity > Holy Cards
The ebay auction site provides detailed instructions and tips for buyers
as well as sellers. The internet auction is fast becoming the most
popular way to purchase religious cards.
Copyright 2002 - Brent Devitt, Beavercreek, OH