In the 1950s and 60s, football cards collecting was a popular hobby, and kids would in fact hide their favourite cards in the spokes of the bicycle wheels. But as their value rose in the early 1980s, mothers would no more throw them out the door, and kids would keep them more carefully in their packs.

Today, though the love for collecting them has more or less died, there are a number of collecting enthusiasts who still like to collect them, and may be even sell them for profit. If you share the same thought, here are few things to consider before you expand or part with the collection:

1. Learn the brand of the card, its number, and the player on it. It is easy to check the number of the card. Simply look at the back of the card to find it. You can then research the Internet to learn the exact year of issue and title of your card.

2. Condition of the card. Needless to say, the better the condition of the card, the more is its worth. A mint card free of stains, cuts, and scratches, with sharp and clean edges, looking like it has just been pulled out of a pack is worth more than a near-mint, excellent, or very good card. The image is centered on the mint card, and its colours are bright and clear, with an intact gloss.

3. Refer to a price guide. You can learn the "book values" of every card that has been printed till date in the price guides. They give a high and low book value (BV) for any particular card. You can subscribe to online price guides to stay updated with the changing prices. However, an important thing to remember is that the real value of the card may vary. In fact it will depend on what someone else is willing to pay for it.

4. Check the online blogs and Web site. You can get yourself registered for free on eBay and get basic access to the auction data. A quick search will give you a listing of all the auctions-including the completed and incomplete sales-that happened during the last 90 days. You can also search your particular card by typing in the year, the name, and the grade of the card. You may also like to check the "search by completed items" box on the left side of the page. Check out the results to know how the value of the card has changed over the recent days or months.