Most underrated pre-war set?
 

My vote goes to the T202. I mean, what's not to like?? Lots of stars, 2+ players per card, nice portraits and center image on front, nicely designed backs with "story" on middle panel, etc.

Or maybe it's more appreciated than I realize?

What's your pick? (I know there are a million issues but pick one you think is underappreciated)

I know this sort of thread is not new, but I my opinion this is an "evergreen" sort of topic that can be dredged up now and again.

T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T2 05T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205 T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T2 05T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205 T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T2 05T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205 T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T2 05T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205 T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T2 05T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205 T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T2 05T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205 T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T2 05T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205 T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T2 05T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205 T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T205T2 05T205T205

Did I mention T205?

T205. I would also say t3 Turkey Red. They used to be a lot more popular than they are today, but seem to be largely forgotten.

Fan Craze

1933 Tattoo Orbit
1933 DeLong
1934-36 Diamond Stars

M116

T205 and T209 1st Series for me.

In terms of collecting, I agree 100% that M116's get surprisingly light attention. In terms of research, I am surprised that more collectors don't study the endless varieties and mysteries of the E-121's.

Almost all pre war sets are underrated when you have the Monster to deal with.
t206 is the most popular set by such leaps and bounds , but it seems pedestrian to some of us.

My favorite is t205 but it’s pretty widely collected and revered too.

T202, E90-1 and OBAK are certainly contenders for the title of this thread.

Diamond stars

T205
Diamond stars
And bowmans

Diamond Stars.

I wouldn't say t205s are underrated. They are fairly popular.

'41 Goudey

T204 is a very underrated prewar set

Of course i am going to say T210. It has everything. Former and future Major League players, a couple HOF'ers, interesting poses and stories and some players who arent represented in any other card issue.

T207 isn't getting much love these days.

Who loves brown except UPS? Underrated? Diamond Stars, T201, T202, and M116 are some.

To me the most under rated sets are T202, M116 and T`3s. Turkeys and 202 just for the beautiful cards and the 116 for all the variations and relative affordability of even the major stars of the day. Good topic......

Just for pure fun, I'm enjoying working on the 1933 Sport Kings set.

m116 for me
 

+1

Seems like there are quite a few based on the replies. Were any of these sets "hot" at anytime or have they always been out of favor? A few mentioned the T202s which I am not too excited about but nobody can deny the HOF presence. Based on the sheer size of the cards I would expect high grade examples to be far less common compared to some of the smaller T cards.

Let me approach this by decade for PreWW2 cards, and only considering widely distributed sets.

1910's - M116: A set strictly with portraits, more cards than either T205 or T207, great player selection, many levels of scarcity.

1920's - E121 Series of 80: Also as set for set collectors, amazing amount of variations in the various printing, new discoveries still be unearthed.

1930's - Diamond Stars: No other (baseball) set of cards has such distinctive artwork, and if it had included Ruth + Gehrig, and had new designs for card #'s 97 to 108, maybe it would be more widely appreciated.

1940's - 1941 Play Ball: This decade has a thin selection of sets due to the war, but I have always thought it deserves to be more highly regarded, and has both Joe and Teddy.

Brian

I think the portraits/artwork on them is very hit or miss, but the nice ones are beautiful cards IMO.

George C. Miller

W575-2...Beautiful "autograph on shoulder" set. Underappreciated.

Coupons and Obaks.

Coupons rarity and Obaks beauty are not fully appreciated.

I think the E94’s are really underrated. Quite rare condition sensitive caramel set, 6 different color backs, and have been way underpriced for far too long.


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S-74 Silks!

Don't you think all caramels are a bit underrated right now?

Outside of the CJ’s, I do think they are and have been for a long time.


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In the small set category....I'd say the T209 CONTENTNEA set is unappreciated. Only 16 colorful cards, which are not to difficult to find.


http://photos.imageevent.com/tedzan7...jects1bk_1.jpg




Large set category....the T212 OBAK set is worthy of more show-n-tell on Net54.

http://photos.imageevent.com/tedzan7...erObak1911.jpg . . http://photos.imageevent.com/tedzan7...TenMillion.jpg


TED Z

T206 Reference
.

Seconded.

E120, 121 & 122 - the most underrated sets from the most underrated decade.

followed by:

W573

M116

WG7

I agree on that one.

I also think a lot of black and white sets are. E121's , m101-4/5's (besides Ruth) etc...

It matters how you look at the question. Everyone seems to be answering as to what set to collect as a whole. I don't collect sets anymore, I just want certain cards from a set as a single(s). So with that said, Id say w600s, 101-6s and some PC issues.

E95- small, doable set that includes many HOFers
M116- Beautiful portraits and includes many notable HOFers. I nearly felt like I was holding a T206 Wagner when I had an M116 of him

E220
 

THe black and white sets get little love. E220

http://luckeycards.com/pe220wheat.jpg

crofts cocoa and candy:)

Tattoo Orbit and Diamond Stars

T205 hands down for me. Also love T207's as well. As for value, I'm shocked that the bi-folds and tri-folds go so cheap. Amazing to me what you can get T201's and T202's for. T201's are beautiful IMO and no one seems to give them any love. It's a real shame.

1910
 

E-103 Williams Caramel...key HOF cards...ultra rare commons...very delicate.

T202’s and B18 blankets.

M101-4/5's, terrific action poses, loaded with all the stars, and plenty of back variations. What's not to like?

A lot of collectors don't care for black and white cards.

http://luckeycards.com/pdunc1936krogerbreadriddle.jpg

I'm also going to throw 1933 World Wide Gum out there. They seem to be catching up, but grossly undervalued for their scarcity.

Underrated Sets
 

I know their round not square and their black and white but I have really enjoyed working on the E254 Colgan's Chip set. The first 80% of the set is pretty easy to find and really affordable I have picked commons up for less than $5.00. It's a real challenge after that and get's pricey but is exciting when one pops up on eBay.

Most underrated pre-war set - FAN CRAZE
 

The 1904-06 FAN CRAZE set is easily the most underrated pre-war set - compare the photography to any other set - look at the number of Hall of Famers - look at the age of the set - now look at the price and how many registered sets there are...

E107 hands down

M116, E254 and E121 Series of 80.

All 3 are large exhaustive sets that are really fun to collect with layers of rarity. Some people just can’t seem to bring themselves to collect things the masses don’t, I suppose it is less fun when you aren’t comparing progress or have an audience that appreciates your current pickups. There is nothing wrong with that but I think that factors into the decision to collect a particular set.

Honorable Mention:
N172 Old Judge

It seems like they were more popular a decade or two ago. Not as many people pick them up or are working on runs or player, team sets, etc. With these the price point per card scares people off but the rarities (after the tier 1 and 2 true rarities) really drops off and can sometimes be picked up for only a bit more than a truly common card.