Home Money I have 22 albums of complete soccer tournament cards. Does my collection have value? DAN HATFIELD responds

I have 22 albums of complete soccer tournament cards. Does my collection have value? DAN HATFIELD responds

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Behind the net? Chris has sent his collection of Panini sticker albums, including those from every World Cup since Mexico '86.

I have a collection of sticker albums, mainly ‘Panini’, from football tournaments (World Cup and Euro) dating back to Euro 88 in West Germany.

I would love to know the current estimated value and if it is worth selling now or waiting for a price increase in the next 20 years.

They are generally in “good/very good condition” and all are complete. Plus, I have a few thousand “spare” stickers peeled off.

I’ve enjoyed collecting them, but after collecting them they just sit in storage and I don’t know if it’s time to sell them, make a little money, and let someone else enjoy them. Chris, Swindon.

Behind the net? Chris has sent his collection of Panini sticker albums, including those from every World Cup since Mexico ’86.

Dan Hatfield, This is Money’s resident expert appraiser, responds: Happy new year everyone. I’ve dusted off my trusty appraiser’s magnifying glass and am looking forward to discovering more of your modern treasures in 2025. (read the box at the bottom on how to value your items…)

My new resolution for 2025 is to play more sports and this week I have decided to tackle a different type of sporting activity: appreciating football card albums.

With the volume of football albums you sent, I’m sure the physical effort of reading them all will be exactly the same as being on the field for 90 minutes.

The heritage of the sticker albums can be comfortably associated with the well-known Panini company, but looking at their collection, I can also see a UEFA album from 2024, which is when controversy hit the sticker market and sticker rights. were awarded to American rivals. Topps.

Before we delve into that, let’s delve into the origins of the football card book. In 1961, brothers Benito and Giuseppe Panini stumbled into the sticker business, almost by accident, because they bought a huge batch of football stickers that no one else could sell, so they decided to try to sell the product themselves.

Sixty years later, Panini is a name that is as much a part of football culture as muddy boots and chants in the stands.

With some entrepreneurial flair, the brothers grouped the stickers into sets and sold them at a kiosk in Modena, Italy.

To his surprise, the stickers flew off the shelves. Feeling that they were onto something big, they began to produce their own stickers, featuring the football stars of the moment.

But it was his idea to combine the stickers with an album, a sort of trophy case for fans, that really hit the nail on the head.

In 1970, Panini went global and launched its first international sticker collection for the FIFA World Cup in Mexico. It was a masterstroke.

Sticker mania spread to playgrounds, offices and even drinking establishments around the world, where adults and children alike got involved.

By the 1980s, trading duplicates and chasing that elusive final sticker had become as much a part of the game as the goals themselves.

So could your collection of this Italian phenomenon buy you your football club?

His collection is certainly impressive, although it’s hard not to wish it included my favorite, the 1970 Panini World Cup edition.

Recently, a complete copy of this historic album sold for £2,400 at auction due to its rarity and the fact that it was the first international football card album to be sold.

While you don’t have this, you do have plenty of other albums that should give you a decent end result.

Starting with their World Cup albums, the most recent editions from 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022 are holding steady at £30 to £40 each.

These albums were produced in large quantities, so while they are a great reminder of exciting tournaments, they have not yet acquired significant value, but who knows what the future holds for them as they age.

Germany 2006 is a small improvement at £40-£50, but things get a lot more interesting with Korea/Japan 2002, which is worth £90-£100.

France 1998 and USA 1994 also offer solid valuations of £100 each, while Italia 1990 goes a step further, between £100 and £120.

As for its UEFA albums, the 2024 tournament marks the first time since 1977 that Panini has not produced the official album, with the rights passing to rival company Topps.

American sports merchandise giant Fanatics owns Topps and had the financial muscle to topple Panini as it aggressively sought to expand into the European soccer sticker market.

This led to a rather tense and awkward showdown, with Panini releasing their own unofficial version.

Panini could still compete and publish a sticker book titled ‘England 2024’, using the rights to England, Italy, Germany and France that were not part of the UEFA deal, available only through M&S.

Regardless of any dispute, both albums are currently valued at the same price of £40 to £50 each complete.

Looking at their previous UEFA editions from 2020, 2016, 2012 and 2008, they are consistently worth around £30 each.

The 2004 Portugal album rises slightly to £50, but it is the 2000 Belgium/Netherlands and 1996 England editions that stand out, each valued between £100 and £150.

Closely behind are albums from Sweden from 1992 and West Germany from 1988, priced between £120 and £150.

These older albums, with their classic designs and rarer stickers, are the highlight of your collection.

For your collection as a whole, I would value it at between £1,200 and £1,500, which is perfectly respectable and I’m sure has given you years of pleasure.

You also have a huge collection of individual stickers. It’s hard to put a price on them, but on a rainy afternoon, it will be worth examining them individually in case any of them are rare or sought after.

Euros: In the collection there are complete albums of Euro stickers from Euro 88.

Euros: In the collection there are complete albums of Euro stickers from Euro 88.

If you want to sell them, it might be worth visiting a trade show and striking a deal with a sports card dealer.

And without wanting to burst the bubble, let’s take a second look at what it costs to complete one of these sticker books.

In the past, a single sticker cost the equivalent of five pence in today’s money.

Now, each sticker costs you a whopping 18p. In 2022, it was estimated that completing a modern album would cost £120.60 if you were lucky enough not to get any duplicates.

But in reality, it could cost you almost a thousand dollars to insure each individual sticker. So it’s not a great return on your investment if you’re doing it for monetary purposes, but I know that most people who collect them do it for enjoyment, especially with their children.

I really love your collection; It is a fragment of football history and a commemorative piece of this beautiful game.

With the digital age taking firm hold, the value of these albums may increase significantly in the coming decades, so take care of them, but for now I hope you enjoy the years of passion you’ve put into collecting them.

Send your modern treasures

Dan Hatfield: Our columnist is ready to value your modern treasure

Dan Hatfield: Our columnist is ready to value your modern treasure

Dan Hatfield is This Morning’s money-making expert and resident lender. It is an international specialist in antiques, jewelry, diamonds and collectibles.

Dan’s first non-fiction book, Money Maker: Unlock Your Money-Making Potential (£16.99, published by Hodder Catalyst) is available now.

This is Money’s Modern Treasures column seeking appraisals of its items and collections.

Please send as much information as possible, including photographs, to: editor@thisismoney.co.uk with the email subject: Modern treasures

We are only looking for post war items and may contact you for more information.

Dan will do his best to respond to your message in his biweekly column, but will not be able to respond to everyone or correspond privately with readers.

Nothing in your answers constitutes regulated financial advice. Posted questions are sometimes edited for brevity or other reasons.

As with everything, if you are looking to sell items and collections, it is wise to get a second and third opinion, not rely solely on Dan’s suggestions.

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