T206 set advice for my 5 year old!
 

So my 5 year old son and I spend the 30 or so mins before bed flipping through my T206's and T205s and he is taking a very keen interest in them. It's hilarious to see him know the difference between the backs, the names of the players etc.

My question is: If I wanted to start him on a set, and wanted the cards to be raw so he could actually get an appreciation for the feel of the cards, whats the smartest way to do it? I couldn't really get him nice raw stuff because the probability of them getting bent etc is high.
Maybe just get him the cheapest examples possible to start? And what would I expect to pay for that if I wanted to buy, say, 20 cards in one shot.

Thanks!
Jonathan

Very cool! I hope my son takes a liking to the set when he's your son's age, as well.

I'd get a binder with clear plastic pocket sheets, I think it holds 15 cards per sheet. So he can flip thru and see both sides of the cards, he could then also take them out himself and organize them, etc...you can probably get some relatively clean cards (commons) for about $15-20 each (some more, some less), if you buy a decent size lot, will be more cost effective. At that price they'll have rounded corners, a crease or two here and there, maybe a little paper loss, but should still be presentable. I wouldn't be afraid to spend a little money here, as these first cards will forever be stamped in his memory...and yours too.

Keep us posted!

If there were a down vote button, I am sure I would get a lot of those at this point, but I might suggest just buying a reprint set...he could play with them, lose them, crease them, and flip them without any serious consequence. Your son is still very, very young.

I absolutely would recommend picking up a copy of The T206 Collection

http://www.amazon.com/The-T206-Colle.../dp/1931807949 or probably available directly from the author.

and reading about a couple of the players before bedtime each night.

He could find his favorites and then the two of you could, at a slightly later date, set out to purchase originals of the cards of players he finds most interesting.

I have been taking my son to shows since he was 6 (he's 21 now). As tempting as it is to just "do it for him" so far as buying him a lot of cards, the joy is in the personal journey, which is not to say you can't enjoy it together. It's fun to give them an allowance at shows and allow them to find what interests them most. And yes, I absolutely deviated from the allowance from time to time.

i actually agree that the reprint is the way to go. That way he sees all the cards and he can crease them etc no problem..


Incidentally, not saying this is the case here but when i hear things 'for my son/daughter ' i think the parent wants to do the collecting the same if not more than 'for the son/daughter' Not saying thats the case here but in general guys, keep telling yourself that! :)

Create a binder with a reprint set and replace them with authentic's as you go!

I am with Todd on the reprint set. He would get way more fun out of them if he could actually touch and play with them just like we done with cards as kids. Remember when having and playing with cards was actually fun.:)

It's not my auction so I think it's cool to mention here - the BST Auction page here has a 20 card T206 lot ending tonight that based on your description, might be perfect for your son. Good luck starting his collection!

I really like this idea - it would give him goals but also allow him to see every card in the set at the same time. He could get a good look at all of the cards and get an idea of which ones he wanted to acquire first.

You can get beaters and low-grade T206s in the $10-$12 range. I've even gotten some really bad ones under $10 on eBay when I first started collecting them. Have also had good success in buying from the B/S/T here. In terms of getting a bunch at one time, there are also a few dealers on eBay who will list many at a time and buying a bunch of individual cards from the same dealer is a good way to save on shipping costs.

Best of luck -

AGREED! I would HATE not being able to touch, play with, fold, spindle, mutilate, draw on, put in my bike spokes, etc. cards if I was just starting out! Isn't THAT what made us all collectors??? Isn't THAT what helped make this the hobby that we all LOVE???

I suspect that I would NOT be a collector now if the cards I had as a kid had to go from the pack into a plastic tomb never to be TOUCHED again...

Just my two cents!

maybe...
 

Dare i say maybe add a second set - a current this years set. Then, just like us when we were kids, can assemble his favorite current players and follow them as they go thru this coming season. Great way to learn about who is playing now, can watch them on TV, root for them in the All-Star game, and be a big fan when post-season play rolls around.

...AND your Little Guy can "update" the players cards who change teams during the year in "Ballpoint" or Sharpie...just like we did as kids...still have my 1969 T Mantle that I wrote "RETIRED" on in red ink in my 6 year-old hand writing...just saying...

right no need to update the T206s. Their status updates have not changed in a looong time

I really appreciate all the comments and I'm absolutely going to go the reprint route. The thought never crossed my mind but it's absolutely perfect for him.
A nice reprint set in the binder would be the right move. He plays with my collection all the time (and by plays I mean picks up a card and spends about 10-15 mins on each side looking at the corners and colours etc)

I'll post some pics once I get him set up. Won't be long.

And as for the second set idea, he has a full set of 2015 Topps and knows the players and teams. He's a blue jays fan (we're originally from Toronto) and we watch every game together. Plus, we go to Seattle for the 3 game set every year.
So fun to have a little baseball fan in the house.

Best,
Jonathan

But if you find a Doyle, N.Y. Nat'l with the wrong Doyle on it you might want to cross out the "Nat'l" for the sake of accuracy.