A piece of paper that can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars may seem undesirable to most, but senior Jacob Godfrey views it differently.  

From the age of 5, Godfrey developed a keen interest in building vast collections, his first of which being trading cards. “[When] I went to my first show, I saw so many people with such enthusiasm,” Godfrey said. “It motivated me to find out what the craze was about.”

Godfrey, along with his brother and father, have a company called GGG Cards and Collectibles. They go around card shows and trade with other collectors and businesses. “All shows really are collectors that show up and trade amongst each other, and every once in a while we get a few people come in and buy from us,” Godfrey said. “It’s mostly just us trying to complete the holes in our collection.”

Godfrey says his father started collecting cards when he moved to North Dakota. “He did a lot of trading with Canadians,” Godfrey said. “They loved bringing U.S. cards and trading them for extremely cheap for 10-cent hockey cards. You could get Jim Brown and Walter Peyton rookies for nothing.”

Godfrey and his company hold and attend many shows in the regional area. “We mostly set up in North Platte,” Godfrey said. “We do a lot of shows in Grand Island and Kearney, and we’re expanding into Lincoln and Omaha.”

His advice to start a sports card collection of any kind is simple: start now. “Certain stars you have to know why they’re so valuable,” Godfrey said. He also says that there are specific guides that provide articles about why some cards are more than others. “A T206 Honus Wagner card is so valuable because he was an anti-smoker, and the T206s were tobacco cards,” Godfrey said.

Godfrey is graduating early to start saving capital to expand his collection.  He hopes to build his business as his full-time career. “I enjoy doing this,” he said. “As long as I can keep a constant supply of stars to be able to pay the rent, I think it’d be pretty good.”