House Of Cards

Trading since 1976, this Silver Spring institution holds one of the DMV's deepest vintage sports single runs plus fast in-house PSA submissions.

Fifty years is a long time in this hobby. House of Cards has been buying and selling on the Maryland side of the DMV since 1976, and the Broadbirch Drive space reflects that tenure — this is a warehouse-scaled operation, not a mall storefront, with rows of single boxes, an expanded wax section, and shelves of the odd peripheral inventory that only accumulates over decades: helmets, pennants, comic longboxes, one-of-a-kind memorabilia.

The singles selection is the reason serious collectors make the drive. Vintage baseball and football runs deep here, and the shop's own description — one of the best selections of singles in the DMV — is one the reviews back up. Pokemon has been folded into the mix as the market shifted, so a visit does not have to be a sports-only trip.

Grading is the other draw. House of Cards is a listed PSA dealer and handles submissions in-house, and recent reviewers specifically praise the turnaround time and the communication along the way — one customer said he would keep using them for every future submission on that basis alone. If you have a stack sitting in a box at home, this is a reasonable place to start the conversation.

Getting there: Broadbirch Drive is in an office-and-flex park off Route 29 in the eastern part of Silver Spring, well away from the downtown core, so drive rather than take the Red Line. Hours run 11AM to 7PM Monday through Saturday and the shop is closed Sundays. If you are bringing a collection in to sell, call 301-321-2273 ahead — large buys go smoother when someone is expecting you.