"Steele Box" - Unused 1889 Baseball Postal Card W/Schedule

Hello all,

Please do not pay attention to the color, it appears darker/browner than it is. I am going to pick up a better bulb tonight for my light.

As some may know the "Steele Box" has a number of things in it including baseball related papers, etc. from the 1880's and 1890's. This is one of the items.

I am posting it here for two reasons. One of which I have not asked for from any other post that I have shared.

The first reason is to determine how collectable the subject matter improves the value of a postal card?

Second, can someone give me an honest assessment of this card and possible a comparison value of an unused blank card.. Again please know that the color is off.

Thanks,

---Mark

You can lookup US Postal Cards here https://stampsmarter.org/features/I...alCards.html , click on the 'Find It On ebay' to see 'Sold' values. The card shown above is considered 'Mint Face' or 'Preprinted'; it was not sent through mail. Postal Cards were sold to some folks (businesses, organizations, etc.) in full, uncut sheets for the purpose of printing the back of the card and were then cut apart after printing. Preprinted cards are typically worth less than mint cards.

BUT, much of your material has value beyond the usual postal collectable. For example, the card above might draw interest by baseball collectors and more demand = higher value. I am not aware of any resource that will tell you values for the historical or special interest values. I think that research is likely the best approach.
Don

Hi Don,

Thank you. I assumed it was kind of a normal card, nothing out to the ordinary BUT having the knowledge of knowing that the subject matter is important is great to know. That site you provided has a lot. I need to learn more about it. Still learning.

Thanks again, much appreciated.

---Mark

I agree fully with Don. Preprinted cards which never got mailed are fairly common in the philatelic world. The value/price and historic interest for your card will be driven by the baseball message. Many items overlap multiple collecting hobbies.

yes, the early baseball aspect is in this case the more important aspect