The "Golden Age"

Bill Barilko
1991-92 Pro Set #340

Some people say the Golden Age of hockey was back in the time of the Original Six.

But the "Golden Age" of hockey card collecting absolutely has to be that huge boom in the 1990s...
(Although I'd certainly snatch up some of the 60s, 70s and 80s sets I could)

The nineties saw an explosion in the number of companies and sets, and it became virtually impossible to collect everything.





 

Dominik Hasek
1992-93 Upper Deck #506

Amazing card designs in an incredibly fierce and competitive marketplace...
Everything from the high quality Upper Deck cards to lower end (and affordable!) Pro Set cards.

Most of the cards we collected in the 1990s aren't worth anything today.
The market really crashed following a couple of lockouts, while sets were over-produced.

We all tucked our 1990s rookie cards away in pristine condition, with the belief that some day they would be worth a small fortune...

Nicklas Lidstrom
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Premier #117

Some of us even entertained the thought of retiring early - Because we knew hockey, and which players were going to be Stanley Cup champions and Hall of Famers... The irony is, because so many of us put this stuff away and kept it in such good condition, now the market is absolutely flooded with it.

Teemu Selanne
1992-93 Ultra Import #12 of 15

But it's like telling someone that their favorite books, movies and music aren't worth anything... So what. I still enjoy the stuff, and it still entertains me... Anything that does that can't possibly be worthless.