The vast majority of old postcards have little or no value. Those that have significant value fall into specific types and categories. It is a very unusual postcard that fetches $100 on the market today. Many antique, pre-1920 postcards on eBay sell for less than $1 or do not sell at all. The fact that an old postcard has a green 1-cent Benjamin Franklin stamp on it means nothing (an Internet scam has newbies thinking green 1c stamps are priceless but in truth they are among the most common stamps on the planet). There are millions of cards with green Benjamin Franklin stamps on them. They are not rare.

That being said, some postcards can be valuable. Some can even bring thousands or hundreds of dollars, but again, they are EXTREMELY rare. It is highly unlikely you will have one of them in your stack of old postcards. Most postcards are worthless. Most antique postcards from the early 1900s are worth $1 or less.

This list is NOT complete by any means.

We are buying:
PRE-1945 only

Most postcards printed after 1950 are worth a dime or less. (if not sure of dates, look at the postmarks, or ask us for guidance)

REAL PHOTO POSTCARDS (abbreviated RPPC)

This is our MOST WANTED category. In this category, we will buy cards dated 1940 or earlier) - these are black and white or brownish tint postcards with a photo scene. The surface of the photo side is usually a bit shiny - but not always. Black and white cards that have tiny dots in the photo are not REAL photo cards and are NOT wanted.

In the RPPC category, we are only looking for specific types of scenes - so check with us before buying a load of Real Photo cards unless you can get them cheap.

GOOD scenes are small town, street views, roadside views, storefront views, barbershop views, views with old automobiles, African American scenes, Native American scenes (especially of Chiefs), anything Lake Tahoe, Mormon scenes --- this is the tip of the iceberg but gives you an idea

If the RPPC has WHITE HANDWRITTEN TEXT on the front - it is probably a card we would buy.

If the RPPC DOES NOT have a white border all the way around the card, but instead has the image printed edge to edge, it is probably pre-1920.

NOT ALL RPPC CARDS ARE GOOD! UNWANTED RPPC cards have boring scenes. Examples of unwanted RPPC cards: photos of a random, unnamed person or child, or several persons, unless they are engaged in an interesting event or playing music or some such thing; photos of nature, photos of trees, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone etc.

HALLOWEEN​ (1930s or earlier only)

These should be full color, pre-1930 cards with good scenes, especially with witches, ghosts and jack-o-lanterns in the scene.

COLOR TINTED PHOTO CARDS (1930 or earlier only)

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These are similar to real photo postcards but are hand-tinted to make them full color. These often have the text PRINTED IN GERMANY on the back side of the card (but not always). We are looking for the same type cards as in the RPPC category.

​ There are so many millions of Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Best Wishes and other generic cards that we prefer not to buy them unless cheap.

DEFINITELY NOT WANTED

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Shiny glossy CHROM full color postcards are not wanted (these are all from about 1945 or later so they would not qualify because of the age requirement.​