It is almost hard to believe that 1990 was 31 years ago. The antiques and collectibles trade was in a much different place at this time due to the fact that the internet, or more specifically e-commerce, had not arrived on the scene as of yet. In 1990, eBay was still five years away from being the envy of most dot-com start-ups. It was at this time that the collectibles side of the trade was fixated mostly on mass-produced collectibles that went through periods of peaks and valleys. The baseball card collector boom of the 1980s was starting to wear thin, while comic books and related collectibles were starting to come into their own due to the successful premier of Tim Burtons 1989 blockbuster movie Batman that had just arrived on the scene. Contemporary comic books were the new kid on the proverbial block, and a lot of wannabe entrepreneurs were opening up comic book stores across the country to capitalize on the trend. This was a time when slick, well-financed companies knew how to play on the naivete of the average collector-turned-speculator. After seeing the massively successful sports card manufacturers sell millions upon millions of overproduced cards, most of which are worthless to this very day, these same companies needed something else to peddle. Enter the comic book boom of the late 1980s. At that time, Marvel Comics was not owned by the Walt Disney Corporation. That merger would not take place for several more decades. Marvel Comics was targeted by billionaire Wall Street financiers in an attempt to control the fledging publisher and its roster of comic book characters that could be licensed to the highest bidder. This fascinating tale was told in all its glory in the incredible book Comic Wars written by Dan Raviv. Marvel Comics was betting that the recent massive speculative boom transpiring in comic books would translate to other products, one of them being trading cards based on Marvel comic characters. Manufactured by Impel Corporation in 1990, the first series of Marvel trading cards was officially named Marvel Universe Trading Cards and were quickly put into production. A lot of retailers and small comic book shops across the country sold these cards upon their release. Depending on where they were sold, they either sold very well or not at all. There are no reliable manufacturing numbers that I can find at present time to assess just how many of these series one cards were put into production, but one thing is clear: the manufacturing process for the cards was hit or miss. You can find some near perfect to perfect cards, but others are notorious for being off-centered or miscut. The cards were cheaply made and were flea market fodder for almost the last 30 years, but then came the pandemic and with it massive prices for both mainstream and niche collectibles. Collectors who had some of these cards started to notice the uptick in prices being paid for them within the past year. Along with the popularity of third-party grading for sports and non-sports cards alike, Marvel Universe trading cards were sent in to third-party grading companies like PSA to get graded. Once these graded cards started to hit eBay, collectors instantly became nostalgic. This sent prices for some of the scarcest high-grade cards rising across the board. Today, collectors are paying, in some instances, $4,000 for PSA 10 copies of some of these cards. Just a few years ago you could have bought a factory-sealed box of these cards on eBay for only a few hundred dollars or less. No one really wanted them. This all begs the question as to what is really behind the uptick in demand? Is it really only nostalgia at play here? One of my wisest mentors in antiques and collectibles used to tell me that over the long term the antiques and collectibles trade is akin to a casino. However, the short term is very easy to predict overall. Marvel Universe trading cards are something of an outlier, but then again, so are other esoteric trading cards from the 1980s and 1990s that are selling for tidy sums now. If you want proof just research what PSA-graded Garbage Pail Kids from the coveted first series that debuted in 1985 are currently selling for. Are we really on the cusp of having Marvel Universe Trading cards and Garbage Pail Kids being equivalent to the value of key vintage comic books? In order to answer these questions, we need to understand that the collectibles market has vastly changed over the course of the last year. The pandemic caused wealth inequality to be compounded due to most people either not being affected at all or some being affected to the brink of bankruptcy. A lot of the stimulus money that was paid to individuals and to corporations in some instances ended up in both traditional and non-traditional assets. This is one of the explanations that is causing everything from Bitcoin to real estate to stocks and even collectibles to increase exponentially in value. As a result, just due to the sordid history of Marvel Universe Trading Cards and how many seem to survive to this day, I would not be paying a significant premium for PSA 10 graded cards at present time. Perhaps in another 10 years I may end up regretting that advice, but for right now a nice S&P 500 Index Fund seems quite relaxing in a world where everything is oversold and overpriced. And if you dont think collectors can put a price on nostalgia, I suggest you check out eBay and other high-profile auction sites like Heritage Auctions, Hakes Auctions, and even Comic Link. Its happening each and every day. Spend with your head, not over it, the current pandemic will one day end. You can be more sure of that than the long-term price of some of these niche collectibles. Until next time. Shawn Surmick has been an avid collector since the age of 12. He currently resides in his hometown of Boyertown, Pa., and is a passionate collector of antiques and collectibles. His articles focus on various topics affecting the marketplace.