New to Pre-War. Need advice.

[Vintagevault13]

I have always collected Post-War cards (50's - 70's). Over the past year I have been working on completing a Hank Aaron Topps master set. While I am not going after the Venezuela cards, I should have the set pretty much complete in a couple of months.

This leads me to my question. After reading posts on this forum, I have decided to next begin collecting Pre-War. I will probably steer clear of "The Monster" as I don't have that kind of money. I have thought about 1933 or 34 Goudey in G - VG condition to keep the price reasonable. What advice can you give me? Any other suggestions I may not be aware of?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[EvilKing00]

Take a look at t205's real great set

[ullmandds]

take a look at the less publicized set thread ...and the BST...it'll give you an idea of what you're attracted to esthetically...then determine if that jives with your affordability...then start researching those sets and if necessary ask questions.

[christopher.herman]

It's gonna sound simple but sometimes we all lose sight of the reasons ourselves: "Collect what you like".

Recently, I've been thinking of venturing into the T210's for no other reason than I like the blood orange border color. I have no particular attachment to any player or team and I think I will enjoy learning more in depth about the Southern League overall.

Collect what you like.

If you like a specific player or team, go with that. If it's a specific era or subject, i.e. Hall of Fame left handed pitchers, so be it.

Set short and long term goals and stay focused. If it doesn't work out then subconsciously it wasn't really what you wanted to accomplish anyway. Abandon it and move onto something else... that you like.

The greatest part of this hobby is that there are no rules and an infinite number of ways to collect what you like.

Or you could just be a type card collector, like our moderator Leon, who likes everything and collects it all.

[steve B]

What they said.

A basic set of T205 without the expensive varieties wouldn't be too bad, and there are a lot of sets that aren't as popular or well known.

Goudeys should be doable if you ignore Lajoie in the 33 set.

The 35 and 36 Goudeys are interesting, and smaller sets. Although If you're into HOF players there's not much in 36.

Delongs are a small set that's pretty cool. Not common, but not all that tough either.

Picking up a basic type set could be a good start, you'll get an idea of what they look like in hand, and that will help pick a set you really like. It will also give you a good feel for what they're like so reprints will seem a bit more obvious.

Whatever you choose figure on building a set taking more than a year. Maybe the smaller sets with a solid budget, but the bigger sets will take longer.

Steve B

[Bpm0014]

Go with t206s. Actually, listen to all of the advice above and then make an informed decision. BUT, the T206 set is relatively inexpensive and rather ubiquitous. Cards can be found on here everyday for less than $20. Good luck.

[x2drich2000]

take a look at the less publicized set thread ...and the BST...it'll give you an idea of what you're attracted to esthetically...then determine if that jives with your affordability...then start researching those sets and if necessary ask questions.

This is great advice. I would also look at most of the early caramel sets if you want something similar in appearance to T206's with most of the same major players. If you don't find anything in the less publicized set thread, I'd also look through the old cardboard set as they have galleries of a lot of the sets they have listed.

DJ

[Vintagevault13]

Wow, great advice and lots to think about. I am looking forward to starting. Thanks for all of the responses.

[MattyC]

I was in the same boat as you a ways back. Completed my post war dreams, and began to appreciate the breadth of collecting choices in the PreWar space. It allows one's personal taste to really distinguish a collection, as opposed to everyone having the exact same few cards.

As someone above said, go with what you like-- be it favorite players, design, a set, etc. A question with no wrong answer is a rare and beautiful thing!

[t206blogcom]

Go with t206s. Actually, listen to all of the advice above and then make an informed decision. BUT, the T206 set is relatively inexpensive and rather ubiquitous. Cards can be found on here everyday for less than $20. Good luck.

+1

[Fred]

Ed,

The T201 set is a good set to complete. There's only 50 cards (100 players) and no difficult cards to cough up a lung for. The cards are always on ebay.

Good luck and happy collecting in pre-war.

[kmac32]

Strip cards from the 20's are nice and fairly affordable

[Republicaninmass]

type cards seem to be a bargain these days

[Pythonfactory]

My favorite set is T202, as it combines art and real-life photos.

http://www.oldcardboard.com/t/t202/t202gal1.asp

[smtjoy]

I would say follow what you like to get your feet wet, there are so many cool types. I was a Clemente Master set collector and when my set needs got slow like yours I made a strong switch to pre war and have not looked back. Good luck and you are going to have some fun for sure.

[the 'stache]

Lots of good advice here, Ed. I think you're going to have fun once you decide what you want to do.

Collect what you want. It's not a race, nor is it a competition. If you decide to go after something like the Monster, it's ok to realize that it could take many years to accomplish. Just keep chipping away, and enjoy the journey.

The best advice I could give you is to educate yourself about the cards you are going to be buying. Get a few commons from whatever set(s) you will be buying from, and look at them closely. Feel them, smell them, look at them under a loupe. Learn how to identify the difference between authentic cards, and forgeries or reprints. Get familiar with the printing technology used back then. I just purchased a book written by one of our forum members, David Rudd Cycleback, that will really help you. His Judging the Authenticity of Early Baseball Cards is $15 on Amazon should you want to buy it. He also makes the information available on his website (I just wanted a hard copy to take with me as a reference guide):

http://www.cycleback.com/baseballcards/

Good luck with your collection. I look forward to seeing it!

Bill

[dabigyankeeman]

What TEAM do you root for? I collect YANKEES, all Yankee cards. This is a fantastic way to collect as it gives you incredible latitude to have a really varied collection, but with a common theme.

You can get Goudeys, Play Balls, T205's, Turkey Reds, Caramels, Strip cards, Exhibits, and hundreds of other types of cards of the team you like!!! It really is an awesome way to put together a fantastic collection to look thru.

[drcy]

It sounds as if you're one who wants to complete sets. If so, the Goudeys are good choices. Nice set, lots of stars, and many cards will be very affordable in that grade.

There are lots and lots of other interesting Pre-War sets, including small and relatively affordable ones. But Gd to Vg 33 and 34 Goudey sounds a fine choice to me.

The only issue is, if you buy raw (which is a great way to get save money), is to make sure you're buying authentic ones. There are fakes and reprints. Obviously most of the forgeries will be of the big stars, especially Ruth.

You can start a Goudey set by buying a group lot of raw low grade commons for cheap.

[joeadcock]

T206's in lower condition are reasonable as said before. Other E cards lower grade are also reasonable. Reasonable being less than $15 to $20.

[ethicsprof]

welcome aboard!
I 2nd the comments of Joeadcock.
Hi Frank!

best,
barry

[nebboy]

1934-36 Diamond Star low number is a nice looking set (108). Prices seem to have been low for some time.

[mrvster]

trust me...a no brainer:D

[Cooper12]

If raw T206 commons are often under $20, am I correct to think that similar Cracker Jacks are over $75?

[Leon]

If raw T206 commons are often under $20, am I correct to think that similar Cracker Jacks are over $75?

That's pretty close on the Cracker Jacks....1915s,......1914s would be more.

[Cooper12]

Probably a dumb questions, but what does 'POP' or 'low Pop' mean? (guessing few known examples, therefore limited avaialbility, therefore likely priced higher than one would expect?). Thx.

[Paul S]

Probably a dumb questions, but what does 'POP' or 'low Pop' mean? (guessing few known examples, therefore limited avaialbility, therefore likely priced higher than one would expect?). Thx.

Graded cards only. Not ALL that are known. Collectors/Buyers go to a TPG website not only to see how many are graded but often to see what grades they received. e.g. 15 graded of which only two received a grade of 7.

[ullmandds]

pop=population...typically known/graded examples...although the "pop" reports are skewed due to cracking and re-submitting....and should be taken with a grain of salt as many...many cards are not graded/known.