Why collect T206?

[xplainer]

I'm new to the T206 set, but have collected baseball for 40 or so years now. One day, I purchased my first T206 card.
It was a PSA 1 Leach, Piedmont. I had no idea what the back meant at the time, it was just a card 100 years old. Of course, everyone knows about the Wagner card, but I started looking into "The Monster". Reading everything I could find on the internet.

Then it happened. I didn't care about the new Bowman Chrome, Upper Deck stuff or even the Topps issues. T206 was all I was thinking about.

Reading about it, learning about the backs and the possible combinations, the stories of the players, the fact these cards are still around after 100 years. The fact that these guys are the pioneers of the game I love.

I haven't made a card purchase in probably four months that wasn't T206. I am obsessed with them and can read about/look at them for hours on end.

I am currently trying sell all my "vintage" and current cards and moving all my assets to the Monster.

Collecting has never been more enjoyable.:)

OK, what's your story with the T206 set?

When, How and Why.

Thanks.

-Jimmy

[vthobby]

Jimmy,

Enjoyed your notes.

I was a youngster back in the late 70s/early 80s and I'll never forget my first T206 purchase. It was through the "Trader Speaks" magazine and I sent a check (my parent's check after I reimbursed them!) for around $15 or so. I waited for it seemed like forever and voila.....Sam Crawford T206!

The set is timeless like a good song or good wine. I can't say that I gave up everything else because I love collecting/dealing but if you have not collected T206 cards then you are missing out on the very history of the game.

Peace, Mike

[kamikidEFFL]

Well jimmy I have to say many people are like you on here. IN LOVE with the monster. I wish I could share my story but I don't have one. Maybe you can say I'm afraid the monster. I dabble in the T213 which are pretty close to the T206 set but maybe one day I'll get hooked like so many on here are. Beet of luck in your tackling of the monster.

Jesse

[coolshemp]

Great stories! When I was around 14, I ordered my first T206 from trade magazine (can't remember the name) and received the Bresnahan batting - a card I still have today- as a gift from my late mother. For sentimental reasons, I could never part with it.
I then became penpals with a collector in PA - he would send me 3 cards at time to look over, and if i liked then, send him back a money order. If not, return the cards. I cut grass at my church in the summer and shoveled in the winters to pay for his cards. Imagine a honor system with T206's like that today? 1990 was a great innocent year...

[xplainer]

Great stories guys. I know there are more. Post them so we can all enjoy.

-Jimmy

Edit: I wanted to say that I still am working on Aaron and Yaz runs. So, I guess I am not COMPLETELY sold out to T206. But that's all I do.
If you need/want a PSA 10 Josh Hamilton RC, let me know.

[Gobucsmagic74]

Three of the top five threads all dedicated to "The Monster", lol! I don't personally feel the same draw to it as many and actually have many more "E" cards than T206's but I appreciate that others do and that it represents the backbone of Pre-War collecting.

[Bpm0014]

Great pictures
Mixture of great poses
Great coloring
Fairly inexpensive
1909-1911 was a great time for baseball
Loaded with great HOFers and interesting characters

To name a few....

[xplainer]

Great stories! When I was around 14, I ordered my first T206 from trade magazine (can't remember the name) and received the Bresnahan batting - a card I still have today- as a gift from my late mother. For sentimental reasons, I could never part with it.
I then became penpals with a collector in PA - he would send me 3 cards at time to look over, and if i liked then, send him back a money order. If not, return the cards. I cut grass at my church in the summer and shoveled in the winters to pay for his cards. Imagine a honor system with T206's like that today? 1990 was a great innocent year...

That would never happen today. Thanks for sharing.

-Jimmy

[wonkaticket]

I've said before and I'll say it again....for the chicks no other reason.

http://photos.imageevent.com/piojohn3/net54shared/websize/article-1048004-02610CCC00000578-346_468x352.jpg

[GoldenAge50s]

I've been collecting cards since the late '40's but didn't own my 1st T206 until I was 69 yrs old!---& I bought 134 of them at one time!

If it wasn't so late in life I would have loved to try & put a set together, as I absolutely LOVE these little gems & the endless possibilities of collecting them.

However, after around 65 yrs or so of collecting I have amassed a backroom so full of cards from all sports & nonsport that it has become time to start liquidating the bulk of them, including my boyhood treasures as well as the late-acquired T206's.

Those of you that frequent the BST auction section are familiar w/ what I have put up for grabs over the last few months.

It's a very TOUGH thing to do after so many yrs & so many memories my cards bring back to me, but I am resigned to NOT leave my wife w/ the burden if something should happen to me, so I do it & try to make it just as much fun as collecting.

Seeing my cards go to the good folk here at Net 54 gives me the pleasure of knowing they are in the hands of collectors that will enjoy them as much as I have!

[7nohitter]

Fred-

Since the 40's??????

[GoldenAge50s]

Bought or was given my 1st cards in 1948--some little B& W Bowmans! (I was 8 yrs old)

[Fred]

Wonk comes through again!

[oldcardboard]

It was 1979,I was an 8 year old at a local card show. Dad and I always went to as many as we could. He collected t206 and some "E" series sets,and cracker jack. I bought my usual pack or 5 of the usual baseball/football issues(78-79).

The highlite of my collecting though was my dads cards. They were like little treasures, I loved sitting at the table looking at his cards. He always said the old tobacco and candy series were the most beautiful cards made. I agree. He loves misprints,miscuts,and printing anomalies. I started in the late 80s collecting the same cards. I collect only HoFers and anomalies. My dad started collecting coins in early 90s and I slowly started "liquidation" process of his cards into my collection.

I am hooked for life. Love collecting t206.

[iwantitiwinit]

I think there is something psychological about collecting t206's. If you think about it to complete the set in even say psa3 without the big four is still a fairly expensive endeavor. I would guess that when many start the process they are not in a position to spend what it would cost to finish it. I think however that making progress over time kind of mirrors becoming successful in your career. You work hard, hopefully advance and increase your earnings and disposable income. No use starting something you don't believe you can accomplish. To complete the set you have to have the means to do it.

[mrvster]

You picked the right set to collect......the list goes on about the positives of the set....the wagner will always keep the set in the spotlight and popular....with t206, it's tough to go wrong...

hello...I'm johnny and I'm a T206 addict:o....but it keeps me going...

I'm 43 , and have been collectingbb cards my whole life.....I missed a wagner as a kid.....and I have been wanting one ever since...:mad:..i started in the early 90's with the new shiny stuff, then abandoned them in the late 90's to collect T206 (mostly error T206)....

now I am a hardcore T206 scrap/ rarity collector:)

you will love collecting these cards sir....email me anytime with any questions:)

[Sportsguy20]

Is he holding a Ray Demmitt?

[frankbmd]

Why collect T206?

Simple, so you can have a Monster Number.;)

[BicycleSpokes]

I've said before and I'll say it again....for the chicks no other reason.

http://photos.imageevent.com/piojohn3/net54shared/websize/article-1048004-02610CCC00000578-346_468x352.jpg

"Is that a graded Demmitt St. Louis in your trunks, or are you just happy to see me?" (Asked just before the dude whipped out the PSA slab in the pic.)

[T206Collector]

Because they're beautiful; because they have the widest variety of awesome players from the dawn of Major League Baseball; and because they look amazing when signed by the player!

[Howe’s Hunter]

Just because I covet someone elses collection.

[ullmandds]

Because they are common...easy to find...relatively inexpensive...because of the many ways to collect them...and to make you feel like you belong!:p

[Cozumeleno]

I never collected vintage cards growing up. First pack of cards was a 1986 Topps rack pack I received at a birthday party and I collected up until the mid 1990s when I got to college. Jumped back in as an adult and had my first foray into vintage stuff starting to build a 1948 Bowman set - because, you know, that was the first set listed in Tuff Stuff at the time. Became fascinated with more vintage and jumped into 1951 Bowman and 1933 Goudey, and suddenly even hobby mainstays like a Griffey 1989 Upper Deck card seemed like heaping piles of garbage to me.

Began on T-206 this year and am up to about 75 cards. I'm utterly amazed that so many are still in existence to be honest. To last over 100 years, survive two World Wars, etc...it's pretty amazing to me that you can readily find Piedmonts and Sweet Caps of just about anybody on eBay.

Here are my top five reasons (in no particular order) why I'm becoming a T-206 junkie:

1. Back story - The Back story on how/why they were created by the tobacco companies, their demand by kids (who couldn't legally even buy the cigarettes), etc., is all fascinating stuff to me.

2. Back combos - While collecting an entire set (minus the big four) is my goal, I don't know that I'll stop there. To get players with different backs really makes this a project you can work on your entire life. Collecting every back combo isn't a realistic proposition, but the thrill of finding new combos later in life is something that makes it about more than just collecting a set.

3. The HOFs - So many great cards of unbelievable players that we've only ever read about. Cobb, W. Johnson, Mathewson, Keeler, etc. And the sheer number of HOFers that many people haven't even heard of gives you a history lesson if you're willing to dig for info on those guys.

4. The Sox - I didn't get my first real taste of the Black Sox until the incredible movie Eight Men Out. To get cards of guys like Cicotte and Gandil somehow makes that whole thing even more 'real' to me.

5. The artistry - Call me crazy but the players just look so lifelike. Pictures of these guys are out there, obviously, but seeing Christy Mathewson with a glove on this little piece of cardboard just makes him look cool as anything I've ever seen. That's maybe my favorite in the whole set.

(Bonus) The size(s) - Two final things. Just another cool feature that makes them stand out from today's cards and even larger cards like the Goudeys that came later. Again, these things are so tiny and frail that I remain surprised that there are still so many around. Also, the sheer volume of the set at over 500 cards makes it such a challenge, even in a lower grade.

[xplainer]

I never collected vintage cards growing up. First pack of cards was a 1986 Topps rack pack I received at a birthday party and I collected up until the mid 1990s when I got to college. Jumped back in as an adult and had my first foray into vintage stuff starting to build a 1948 Bowman set - because, you know, that was the first set listed in Tuff Stuff at the time. Became fascinated with more vintage and jumped into 1951 Bowman and 1933 Goudey, and suddenly even hobby mainstays like a Griffey 1989 Upper Deck card seemed like heaping piles of garbage to me.

Began on T-206 this year and am up to about 75 cards. I'm utterly amazed that so many are still in existence to be honest. To last over 100 years, survive two World Wars, etc...it's pretty amazing to me that you can readily find Piedmonts and Sweet Caps of just about anybody on eBay.

Here are my top five reasons (in no particular order) why I'm becoming a T-206 junkie:

1. Back story - The Back story on how/why they were created by the tobacco companies, their demand by kids (who couldn't legally even buy the cigarettes), etc., is all fascinating stuff to me.

2. Back combos - While collecting an entire set (minus the big four) is my goal, I don't know that I'll stop there. To get players with different backs really makes this a project you can work on your entire life. Collecting every back combo isn't a realistic proposition, but the thrill of finding new combos later in life is something that makes it about more than just collecting a set.

3. The HOFs - So many great cards of unbelievable players that we've only ever read about. Cobb, W. Johnson, Mathewson, Keeler, etc. And the sheer number of HOFers that many people haven't even heard of gives you a history lesson if you're willing to dig for info on those guys.

4. The Sox - I didn't get my first real taste of the Black Sox until the incredible movie Eight Men Out. To get cards of guys like Cicotte and Gandil somehow makes that whole thing even more 'real' to me.

5. The artistry - Call me crazy but the players just look so lifelike. Pictures of these guys are out there, obviously, but seeing Christy Mathewson with a glove on this little piece of cardboard just makes him look cool as anything I've ever seen. That's maybe my favorite in the whole set.

(Bonus) The size(s) - Two final things. Just another cool feature that makes them stand out from today's cards and even larger cards like the Goudeys that came later. Again, these things are so tiny and frail that I remain surprised that there are still so many around. Also, the sheer volume of the set at over 500 cards makes it such a challenge, even in a lower grade.

I like this post. Mirrors my own thoughts and feelings. Almost exactlly. Thank you for your input.

[Fred]

1. Back story - The Back story on how/why they were created by the tobacco companies, their demand by kids (who couldn't legally even buy the cigarettes), etc., is all fascinating stuff to me.

Did they have an age limit on purchasing smokes back then? I figure kids probably didn't have enough money to buy smokes back then. There's a cool Old Judge advertising piece with a dad spanking his kid for getting the wrong brand of cigarettes. I guess that means in the 1880s there was no age limit. Not sure about 1910 era.

[Joshchisox08]

I got my first t206 when I was about 20 that was 8 years ago. Something about hearing about the magical Honus Wagner card so many times and making annual trips to Cooperstown staring at a Wagner in one of their rooms full of other pre-war cards stuck with me. I know I'll never own a Wagner or probably ever complete the set. A few years ago I had to sell all the cards I owned to pay bills. I never owned any graded cards only raw cards and probably only had about 20 or so t206's mixed with t205's and a couple weird things I got from Cooperstown. I regret selling them to this day and especially the weird quilted Cy Young and Honus Wagner card or cloth whatever it was that I had. (I hope that nobody knows what that is and I didn't give away gold). I also have a greedy pathological lying sociopathical ex fiance who has taken everything she could possibly get off of me. Something to do with my love of the game, history, Cooperstown, the cards I sold, and the fact that these beautiful cards are mine and can't be taken away from me is part of the reason I'm in love with t206's. That and there's a lot of White Sox players to get !!!

[Cozumeleno]

1. Back story - The Back story on how/why they were created by the tobacco companies, their demand by kids (who couldn't legally even buy the cigarettes), etc., is all fascinating stuff to me.

Did they have an age limit on purchasing smokes back then? I figure kids probably didn't have enough money to buy smokes back then. There's a cool Old Judge advertising piece with a dad spanking his kid for getting the wrong brand of cigarettes. I guess that means in the 1880s there was no age limit. Not sure about 1910 era.

There was an age limit but not sure what it was. This PDF book on T206 cards at the Old Cardboard site talks about store owners that sold the packs to boys being arrested or fined.

http://www.oldcardboard.com/t/t206/InsideT206-Centennial-edition.pdf

[Reds Collector]

Great stories and some humor thrown in.

I bought my first T206, Hans Lobert - Piedmont Back for $20.00 in 2004 while visiting Houston, TX. I sent it to SGC and it came back slabbed VG 40/3. I didn't think I could afford a set, so I stuck with the cheaper cards until I reread the article "For Richer or Poorer" in the September 2003 Beckett Sports Collectibles magazine. The article compared the appeal of a Cobb portrait graded PSA 8 and a Cobb portrait graded SGC 40/3. The article also discussed collecting within your budget. A really good article. After some research, I found that with time, I could complete my favorite teams set. Since then, I have been working on a Cincinnati Nationals Team Set and still have the Lobert as part of my set. I need the Clark Griffith SGC 30 or 40 to complete my set.
http://http://www.net54baseball.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=183794&stc=1&d=1427052483

[bravesfan22]

Ive collected modern cards on and off since i was a kid. Mainly my favorite players from when i was growing up and currently. I have done some "prospecting" as well within the modern cards but there are a few things about modern card collecting I dont like outside of collecting my favorite players. One its become all about prospects on the baseball side of things and I feel like the companies abuse that fact and over produce product and the quality of product is lacking because of this. I also feel like the modern side is much more of a business and for profit then it is for the joy of collecting.

Therefore over the last year or so I started digging into vintage. I started with a few 1955 topps hof's and then I really got more involved on here and started researching the t206 cards. I had always heard about the honus wagner and seen pictures of the ty cobb red portrait and such but never really looked into them. Figured they were way too expensive. Once i researched them I learned theyre pretty affordable cards especially for the lower grade. I seen there was Indianapolis players in the set and being from around the area that caught my interest. Also around this same time I started watching Ken Burns Baseball series and hearing all these names from the t206 time period made me research the players and look them up. I decided to buy my first t206 card which was a Christy Mathewson dark cap here off the b/s/t and I now have 7 t206's. 6 hof's and 1 Indianapolis player. I have decided to collect the hof's and indy players first and then i may tackle the rest of the set.

-adam

[arc2q]

There was an age limit but not sure what it was. This PDF book on T206 cards at the Old Cardboard site talks about store owners that sold the packs to boys being arrested or fined.

http://www.oldcardboard.com/t/t206/InsideT206-Centennial-edition.pdf

Most states likely had limits but I dont think all did. I believe Virginia did not have a minimum age to purchase cigarettes until 1986! After 1986 it was 16.

[bnorth]

Because they are common...easy to find...relatively inexpensive...because of the many ways to collect them...and to make you feel like you belong!:p

I recently had a discussion with a collecting friend that was thinking about collecting the T206 set but thought they would be too rare or expensive for him.

He was amazed(happy) to find out that in lower grade they are fairly cheap and about as rare as a 1990 Donruss.

[Cozumeleno]

Most states likely had limits but I dont think all did. I believe Virginia did not have a minimum age to purchase cigarettes until 1986! After 1986 it was 16.

Interesting - thanks for sharing that.