When you inherit a collection
Most collections outlive the one person who understood them. Before anything is sold, appraised or moved, read what to do first — who to call, what the different prices mean, and the mistakes that cost the most.
What to do first →For the collector who has everything
You cannot buy a card for someone who collects cards. So give them the one they already own — printed just over life size, ready to frame, with room beneath it for the part only they can write.
See a finished one →The cards everyone knows
Mantle, Jordan, Griffey. The attention in this hobby gathers around a smaller circle than anyone expects — so we drew it, and now we price those twenty-five cards every morning, at every grade, against sales the auction houses gave us permission to show.
See the twenty-five →
Who writes this
The Heirloom Index is written by Gregory S. Ostrowski, who has collected cards since he was a kid. By profession he is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional, which is part of why the site pays attention to what happens when a collection changes hands. The Heirloom Index is a separate venture: it does not offer financial planning, investment, tax or legal advice, and it is not affiliated with his advisory firm.
Judge the work first
The research is free to read, and the index has no paywall. It is the same research that goes into everything we make, done in public.
The same card sold twice in one September weekend, for prices that don't seem like they belong to the same object. Two totally unrelated cards landed on the exact same price by accident. And a rookie card from 1989 just quietly broke a record nobody was watching for. Here's what I found interesting about all three.
Read this week’s edition →
MJ1986
Michael Jordan
The card the modern hobby was built on. Jordan rising to the rim in his Fleer rookie — the most important basketball card of the last forty years, and the one every serious collection is still measured against.
Read the card’s story →The Heirloom 25
Headline index 1,090.39 updates twice dailyA curated benchmark of the finest.
MM1952
BR1933
LJ2003
WC1961
NR1968
KB1996
WM1951
twenty-five →
Three Indices
Keeping an eye on any of them? Put them on one board — at any house or marketplace — sorted by what closes first. Open the Radar →
Thirty-nine cards
The Heirloom 25, and fourteen more worth building a collection around. 1,671 graded copies for sale this morning, every grade Walk the Market →
TheMarket
The Vault
Some cards transcend the market entirely — the ones that are not for sale.
Step inside →What kind of collector are you?
Six questions. Twelve collector alter-egos — from The Icon to The Future. Find the legend whose collecting spirit is unmistakably yours.
Find your collector →