Getting back into cards again...must be my 50+ plus sentimental stage

[goudey1933]

4 years ago I sold off my collection...most of it pre-war material.Lately I find myself looking at auction catalogs and this site with an eye towards the cards I grew up with.I'm looking of buying higher graded cards....players that I enjoyed watching back in the day.The 2 baseball sets I'm considering were the one I started out on 1971 and 1972.I'm not looking to complete the sets.The condition sensitive nature of 1971 and the high cost is a obvious negative but the nice examples with that black border just look fantastic.1972 is considerably less plus I love the "In Action" cards.Both are winners.
I'm also considering the same with 1971 football and 1971-72,1972-73 basketball.
Experiences with these sets?
Scott

[The-Cardfather]

Scott,

As you mentioned, the 1971 cards are difficult and expensive to find in high-grade condition, given how "fragile" the black borders are.

But the 1972 Topps has always been my favorite design. I was 10 years old when they came out and I was in awe of them. I really like the 3-D effect of the team names. 1972 is still expensive in the higher grades (and high numbers), but still less expensive than the 1971 cards.

[goudey1933]

Scott,

As you mentioned, the 1971 cards are difficult and expensive to find in high-grade condition, given how "fragile" the black borders are.

But the 1972 Topps has always been my favorite design. I was 10 years old when they came out and I was in awe of them. I really like the 3-D effect of the team names. 1972 is still expensive in the higher grades (and high numbers), but still less expensive than the 1971 cards.

I was 9 when they were released.I love the design...represents the funky 70's.Thats also the reason for the basketball sets...popping colors.Interesting note on the summer of 72 and buying cards for myself.I live in south central PA. and Hurricane Agnes hit the area in June.Between shops being flooded and transportation disrupted it was difficult to find cards.Actually I bought most of mine later in summer.Probably had boat loads of high numbers!

[ALR-bishop]

Welcome to the other side Scott. :)

I like both sets but 1972 is my favorite of the two. Love the color.

This thread should be familiar

http://net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=189122&highlight=Topps+1972

[JTysver]

1972 BB is harder to complete the high numbers than 1971. They just are not as plentiful. If you buy cards by lots, you will notice that there tends to be more 71 highs than 72 highs.

1971/72 Basketball is actually kind of tough. I just don't see as many of them out there. I have to think it was a down year for card sales in Basketball. There really are no tough cards in particular.

1972/73 Basketball is not particularly hard, although the Erving rookie, even in lower grades, is often held on to and not as plentiful.

1971 Football is pretty easy. The big cards being Bradshaw and Mean Joe Greene. If you need to have a graded example, they can cost a bit, but if not, you can find some real bargains. Nothing is rare on these.

1972 Football is very hard because of the high number series. They are very rare and hard to complete. The lower series is very easy to complete with the only big card being the Staubach rookie. This can be had fairly reasonably as its kind of plentiful.

There is a joy to completing these sets. I've got higher grade sets and am working on second, lower grade sets. Those are as much fun, if not moreso than the first set. There is a joy at finding a superstar hard card like a 71 Ryan for only $5.