[Ronnie73]

Wether your just getting started with collecting T206's or you've been collecting for many years, we can all agree that there are many ways to collect the Monster. Many collectors don't like T206's because they are not rare. Sorry but it's true. There are always many to choose from when making a purchase. There are probably between 100 and 200 complete 520 sets in collections. These are sets with any advertisement backs but usually Piedmont and Sweet Caporal which are most common.

So here's where it gets interesting. A 520 card set can go from common to difficult just by eliminating Piedmont and Sweet Caporal backs and chasing the more difficult backs. There may be a few of these specialty sets already completed and a small group of other collectors currently working on them.

Now, say you want to go from difficult to extremely rare. Lets say you eliminate Piedmont, Sweet Caporal, Polar Bear, Old Mill, and Sovereign. Well 520 cards is not possible. There are 36 cards that would be missing from your set according to T206resourse. There are also 88 cards where Hindu Brown is your only choice. Here is the list of the missing 36 cards. Maybe some of these cards can be found and removed from this list.

Southern League
Jack Bastian
Bill Hart
Jimmy Hart
Frank King
Harry Lentz
Molly Miller
Al Orth
Charles Seitz
Carlos Smith
Dolly Stark
Tony Thebo
Foley White

Polar Bear Only
Ray Demmitt St. Louis
Bill O'Hara St. Louis

EPDG Possible but not confirmed
George Brown Washington
Ty Cobb Bat On Shoulder
Ty Cobb Portrait - Green
Wid Conroy Fielding
Sam Crawford Throwing
Dode Criss
Bill Dahlen Brooklyn
Jiggs Donohue
Kid Elberfeld Portrait - Washington
Ed Hahn
Fred Jacklitsch
Red Kleinow NY With Bat
John McGraw Finger In Air
Danny Murphy Throwing
Simon Nicholls Hands On Knees
Harry Niles
Rube Oldring Fielding
Frank Smith Chicago - F. Smith
Jake Stahl No Glove Shows
Rube Waddell Throwing
Jimmy Williams

Tolstoi Possible but not confirmed
Bill O'Hara New York

So bottom line, the question is, how common are T206's? The answer: It all depends on how you collect them. For those who want to know my current numbers, here they are.

No Piedmont or Sweet Caporal 494/520
No Piedmont, Sweet Caporal, Polar Bear, Old Mill, or Sovereign 264/484