2013, Year in Review

[HOF Auto Rookies]

Post about your year in review for 2013, and whether you exceeded, reached or fell just short or your goals!

For me, I thought 2012 was a year I wouldn't top for years...until 2013 came...

I somehow landed these two historic beauties. One, a Ruth signed batting pose Goudey that needs no explanation, and two, a Mantle signed rookie that May as we'll be the ONLY signed full name Mantle in existence.

Taking a huge break, and my next will hopefully be a Clemente signed rookie in a year or two.

[HOF Auto Rookies]

Mantle

[Jason]

Great cards Brent! Im glad to say I met my goals for the most part for 2013.I finished up Series 2 in the T210 set in March and managed to reach a little over the half way mark of the entire set.

[gregr2]

Awesome pickups!! I just recently jumped into autograph collecting so I had not 2013 goals, but thanks to everyone on here for providing such valuable information.

[insccollectibles]

My biggest goal was reached I completed the monster.

[timzcardz]

Well, after working on it for many years, I finally completed my master set of 1958 Topps baseball, in EXMT to NRMT condition, plus the complete set of felt emblem mail-ins.

It feels good, but now I'm kind of lost and trying to figure out what to do next.

[familytoad]

Not being a Monster collector, but knowing what a commitment that set is, congrats Cain!
Lets see what they look like all together!

My year was successful too. i didn't set specific goals, more like general ones.

I ended with three completed prewar sets all slabbed (or enroute to SGC)...E210 York type 1, E95 and E96. Significant strides in my other three other slab sets (E210 York type 2@ 80%, C46 Imperial@43%,T205 Master Set @87%)
No plans for new sets started, but often I am weak-kneed when I see other prewar opportunities

Also got up to 246 SGC HoFers for my registry. i have a lot more (maybe another 100 prewars) to slab or crossover, but these represent my collection pretty well. My goal is to hit 500 at this time next year, with a couple more 19th century players

My Topps run from 1953-80 sits at a meager 461 cards to go, a couple hundred knocked off just this past year! I have about a half set of 1952 Topps (no high numbers thank you) but haven't started the countdown to include them yet.
2014 goal here would be to get down to 300 or so for the more modern collection.

As is part of all colectors goals, I also want to de-clutter, organize and focus myself....Naw, that's part of the fun!

[Gradedcardman]

Great 2013 for me. Met a lot of good people via this board and reconnected with a couple from childhood on the board.

Have finished about 2/3 of the T206 subset I am working on.

Only one confrontation on the board the ENTIRE year !!! In my opinion that is great !!

2014 should be a "Year of the Sale" I highly doubt I will find more than a few of the remaining 1/3 needed for the subset. Quite honestly I need to just sell !!!

[paul]

My biggest goal was to pick up a card of new HOFer Deacon White. I actually got two - an Old Judge and a Scrapps. I also picked up a W517 Ruth portrait which I've wanted for years. Sorry, no time for scans today.

Paul

[DeanH3]

I found myself turning towards overall rarity and discovered I enjoy low end grades with really nice eye appeal. My goal in 2014 is to add an e92, e101 or e102 Cobb.

[Sean]

Nice going Cain.

I had a successful year. I picked up a T215 Merkle/ Pirates Cigarettes.
I can't call it reaching a goal however, because I didn't even know it existed before it went on sale. It still felt great getting it, though.

[MattyC]

That Mantle RC is awesome; gotta imagine that is a rarer form of his sig, with the middle name.

And I totally agree with the man who said, "Lower-end grades with eye appeal!"

[Tim Kindler]

Congrats to all who achieved their goals and best wishes to all in the New Year!
I accomplished a 13 year goal in completing the E98 Master Set. It was a long, yet rewarding journey. Thanks again to all the board members who helped me along the way. You can enjoy it currently on page 32 of our threads. Thanks. Here are the Cobbs and Wagners! Sorry the lines are on my lousy scanner!

[DeadBallEraCubs]

the biggest achievement was being at a place where I could come back to the hobby. Life forces us at times to abandon our "little boy" world of card collecting, roll up our sleeves and deal with "adult stuff". HaHa!!

I am happy to say that I am back (hopefully for good this time) and am excited to rekindle old friendships and start some new ones with many of the new faces I see around here on Net54. Hoping that 2014 is good to all of us and our collections

[Leon]

Originally Posted by DeadBallEraCubs

the biggest achievement was being at a place where I could come back to the hobby. Life forces us at times to abandon our "little boy" world of card collecting, roll up our sleeves and deal with "adult stuff". HaHa!!

I am happy to say that I am back (hopefully for good this time) and am excited to rekindle old friendships and start some new ones with many of the new faces I see around here on Net54. Hoping that 2014 is good to all of us and our collections

Welcome back Jeff. You are among friends. Good luck and Happy collecting!!

[DeadBallEraCubs]

Originally Posted by Leon

Welcome back Jeff. You are among friends. Good luck and Happy collecting!!

Thanks buddy

This site has brought me immense joy, priceless knowledge and great friendships since 2001. I appreciate all the work that you put in and taking over when Elliot stepped down way back when. It is important that our hobby has this site and I sir, am grateful for it!!

2013 was a very interesting year. Research occupied a substantial amount of time, for an exhibit on the history of black baseball in Washington state to be presented at the Northwest African American Museum beginning February 1 - September 2014: "Pitch Black". I provided info for the Jimmy Claxton, Roslyn and Franklin town teams (1890-1931) portions of the exhibit, with substantial assistance from board members (hello Marc & Dave). Here's the exhibit info:

http://015ada3.netsolhost.com/FutureExhibits.html

Hopefully 2014 will be more of the same. Need to frame most of the collection I have accumulated over the past few years for proper display. Probably will have very few pick-ups outside local history next year. Thanks to all, and Happy New Year!

[Paul S]

Near the end of 2013 I finally convinced myself that I could sell any part, or all of, my collection. It was really tough to come to that conclusion. Some circumstances, like money for instance, helped push me over. It's a double-edged sword. Sometimes I do miss certain items and other times it is really quite liberating!

[baker85]

i started to collect vintage cards in January 2013. one year later, I managed to collect 26 cards for the monster including 3 hof'ers.

Not sure where 2014 will take me but I am still searching for that red portrait cobb.

[skelly]

I think one thing that I will take away from 2013 is the dying show scene. Even just three - four years ago I would be excited to go to White Plains, the Philly Show, etc... Just don't have it anymore. I used to find stuff, maybe an off center Gordie Howe with a tack hole for 20 bucks, a stack of sharp 65's for $100 whatever. Now I just feel like the shows are the same people with the same stuff, etc... On a positive note, I feel that the Stratford Ct. Show is an excellent one day show that is well promoted. So hopefully I'm wrong, but It just seems that the larger show scene just gets more and more depressing. Maybe the solution is to try to make these bigger shows one day extravaganza's with cheaper tables for the dealers... who knows.

[baker85]

Originally Posted by skelly

I think one thing that I will take away from 2013 is the dying show scene. Even just three - four years ago I would be excited to go to White Plains, the Philly Show, etc... Just don't have it anymore. I used to find stuff, maybe an off center Gordie Howe with a tack hole for 20 bucks, a stack of sharp 65's for $100 whatever. Now I just feel like the shows are the same people with the same stuff, etc... On a positive note, I feel that the Stratford Ct. Show is an excellent one day show that is well promoted. So hopefully I'm wrong, but It just seems that the larger show scene just gets more and more depressing. Maybe the solution is to try to make these bigger shows one day extravaganza's with cheaper tables for the dealers... who knows.

I noticed that the prices at these shows were really at a premium.

[bcbgcbrcb]

At the start of 2013, if someone would have told me that more than 75% of my BB HOF RC collection would be sold before the end of the year, I would have told them that they were absolutely crazy. That is what has happened though as I have decided to shift gears and focus primarily on Negro League material. Much of this decision has to do with the amount of research that I did for my Negro League Baseball Collectibles Guide published in July of this year. I have held on to and also picked up a few other select items that relate more to my old HOF Rookies collection. Going forward, I plan on sticking with this idea for a while and see how it goes.

[tbob]

2013 was the year I jumped with both feet in to the T210 red border set, having just completed several sets in 2012. The T210 will likely be a life long project so I have something to do while I wait for the last handful of E94 color variation cards to appear, the last 4 D311s I need and the last group of Home Run Kisses to make an appearance, all seemingly in hiding...

[E93]

Awesome collecting accomplishment! Congrats!
JimB

Originally Posted by Tim Kindler

Congrats to all who achieved their goals and best wishes to all in the New Year!
I accomplished a 13 year goal in completing the E98 Master Set. It was a long, yet rewarding journey. Thanks again to all the board members who helped me along the way. You can enjoy it currently on page 32 of our threads. Thanks. Here are the Cobbs and Wagners! Sorry the lines are on my lousy scanner!

[Tim Kindler]

Jim,
Thanks for the compliment and I'm glad you enjoyed looking at all of them on display currently on page 32 of the threads. Of course, my E98 Master Set will be nothing in comparison once Bob is able to complete his E94 Master Set and put that on display for us all to view. Hopefully in the next few years, we will all get to enjoy that eye-popping display of E94s
Take Care, Tim

[CW]

Originally Posted by Tim Kindler

Jim,
Thanks for the compliment and I'm glad you enjoyed looking at all of them on display currently on page 32 of the threads. Of course, my E98 Master Set will be nothing in comparison once Bob is able to complete his E94 Master Set and put that on display for us all to view. Hopefully in the next few years, we will all get to enjoy that eye-popping display of E94s
Take Care, Tim

Quite the collecting achievement, Tim -- congrats!

BTW, I wasn't sure at first what you meant by "page 32 of the threads", but I figured it out and found the thread.

E98 master set in all of its glory

[EvilKing00]

Far exceeded my expectations. Started off pretty focused on t205, im at about 70 or so. But got distracted with ruth cards the last few months, and picked up 4 or 5 and workin on one more. Hope this year works out the same!

[Tim Kindler]

Chuck,
Thanks for the compliments on my E98 Master Set and thanks for helping a technological idiot out. Your link to my thread sure beats trying to find page 32 in our threads. I wish I was knowledgable at all the things that can be done on this board, but I'm not. Thanks for helping others find it easier.
Take Care, Tim

[CW]

No problem at all, Tim, happy to help, and you did all the work by posting all the scans and creating that thread.

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

Originally Posted by ins02

My biggest goal was reached I completed the monster.

Awesome. Do you have a gallery or photos?

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

2013 - The year I decided to re-start my attack on the monster. Only 442 more cards to go!!!