T206 Collecting Query for Old Timers

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Posted By: Jim

Hi- Very nice forum - obviously, some thoughtful and knowledgeable people here.

I was thinking of starting a T206 collection and have spent a fair amount of time punting around the internet the last week or so looking at available information, dealer sites, Ebay, forums, etc. I'm a novice - I've never collected anything other than ex-wives, but I was very much attracted to the set's colors and graphic simplicity as well as the range of cards available and the history of that particular era in the game. For what it's worth, I very much enjoyed the "Crazy 08" book discussed here a couple of days past.

My concern is that this all seems to have become so well studied and, more to the point, interconnected thanks to the internet, that the things I suppose would be interesting as a potential collector - the rare find, a good surprise, a "bargain" or at least a good deal, etc. - seem to be possibly absent. For example, in the waning moments of an ebay auction (at least for HOF, high condition, examples etc.), there seems to be a remarkable correlation between the winning bid and the value derived from the valuation metric at the T206.org website (I may have that reference wrong, but I don't want to navigate away from this page to check it). In some sense, it just doesn't quite seem the same as attending swap meets, garage sales looking for that... .

Here's a twist if you fit the bill. My greatest passion is flyfishing - to me there seem to be some very obvious comparisons. Anyone with direct experience on the subject?

In any event, any thoughts on the subject(s) would be greatly appreciated. Also, please forgive me if I've violated any taboos - as I said, I'm a novice.

Thanks, Jim