My uncle gave me his 50s collection while I was in high school and working at a card shop (1989ish). I began chipping away at a beautiful '59 set.
First graded card was a '50 Bowman Otto Graham PSA 7. Early days of eBay. Before PayPal etc. I remember writing a check for $200 and sending it cross country. Praying the seller (with virtually zero feedback) would be trustworthy... 2 weeks later, the card arrived. The holder/slab was so neat/different....
First pre-war was a T206 Bradley w/ bat PSA 2 (later crossed to a SGC 3
) Nice little white border card. Still part of my set.