The Trading Card industry has experienced a revival of late with a renewed interest in collecting rookie cards, big inserts and lots more fueling its bid for Comeback Hobby of the Year status. But for many collectors, such as Nat Turner, collecting sports cards never went out of fashion or took a halftime or seventh-inning stretch break from the industry. These are the fans who never lost that passion and have amassed collections worthy of the hall of fame.

Card enthusiasts know Nat as the CEO of Collectors Universe, a parent company of popular grading companies such as PSA (cards and autographs), PCGS (coins) and several others.

Nat has been following our company since making his first small investment in our second crowdfunding round. After talking with Christian and seeing our progress, he decided that it was time to up the ante and just invested $50,000. Nat says “There are good databases out there for trading cards and sneakers but hobbyDB is the first approach that I saw that can do this for any type of collectible – and that is not only extremely powerful, but a potential game changer for the industry.”

hobbyDB Co-founder Christian is enthusiastic about the introductions Nat has already made and plans to make and says “it is just so much fun to work with extremely talented folks that are also collectors at heart and understand what we are building here at hobbyDB. I’m especially excited that Nat will also offer his advice. And who better to call upon for trading card advice?”

Turner’s collection proudly boasts 13,000 PSA and 8,000 Beckett slabs as well as more than 1,000 unopened boxes and packs. “Slabs” are cards that have been graded by a third-party company and placed in protective casings.

You’ll find Turner’s collection dominated by the likes of Ken Griffey Jr., Kobe Bryant and other superstars who came of age around the same time as Turner began collecting cards with his father in the early 90s.

Unlike many of today’s collectors, Turner is also a throwback to the days set building, a practice often eschewed by modern collectors who seek individual players and big pulls. These days you’ll find Turner targeting vintage baseball cards (1951-1975) and “metal” and refractor cards from Topps, Fleer and Skybox.

In the end, it’s up to you to collect what you love, says Turner, who suggests finding a favorite player, team or whatever interests you and looking for rare and scarce items of them.

We’re excited to have Nat onboard along with more than 1,000 other investors that help make hobbyDB possible. Interested in learning more about investing? You can visit our Wefunder profile here.

Watch Nat talk up his collection and offer advice to new collectors via a recent podcast episode of Today’s Collector with Jeremy Lee.

Join thousands of fellow collectors in owning a piece of hobbyDB via our latest round of Crowdfunding. With hobbyDB Crowdfunding, investing is affordable and easy. Full details are available here.