Where is your collection heading in 2024?
 

As many of us do, I use the end of the year to reflect on the past year's additions to my PC, take stock of where it's been and where it is currently and most importantly, what do I want to focus on in coming year.

Tell us where you see your collection heading in 2024?

Is it a continuation of previous chases, or will do you see yourself shifting in any way?

I, for one, see myself diving deeper into T206, rare backs and perhaps even upgrading my Cobb run.

Didn't you just say in another post you are going to consign the majority of your collection?

I hope you aren't selling the papa Dalrymple run!

"Good chunk" is not a majority my good sir! :)

Abner's aren't going anywhere. I've got bounties on any outstanding you know, lol

Phew well that makes me feel better LOL!

Now to answer your question. I'm going to keep chugging along on my 19th Century quest. There are a handful of players I'm looking for specifically with a focus on the best image I can find.

My top 2 targets are:

1. N173 King Kelly w Bat
2. N173 or Gypsy Queen Roger Connor

(Offering finders fee if anyone can point me in the right direction)

I've decided to take the All the Cubs things serious and acquire a baseball card for every Cub/Orphan/Colt/White Stocking that's ever played, 1870-present. I know 100% is impossible. There are some 19th century guys I already know have nothing to collect, and possibly many others throughout Cubs history. I'm starting with completing the entire Topps run. I'm 100% from 1976-2023 but still some work to do 1952-1975. Then I'll complete the Cubs sets from all the major pre-war releases and see where I'm at.

This year I decided to focus my collection from acquiring random cool stuff to a player PC of Hooks Wiltse, given my hometown connection to him. It's made collecting much more enjoyable trying to hunt down cool pieces for a single player. Next year, I've decided to expand my player PC to another central NYer, "Silent" George Burns, and the goal will be to continue finding cards for him.

And because every thread needs a card:

Each year I try to fill at least one spot from my collections of A) Louisiana types, B) bakery types, & C) rare backs, so those will continue to be priorities. Otherwise, I'll keep plugging away at a few sets and at my multisport rookie card collection. I don't anticipate my focus will change much over the next year.

I see myself adding to my Mantle's. Going to explore more alternative issues of his, and potentially try to see if I can add a 1953 Topps. While not a card, I'm going to shoot to add a nice signed Baseball of his as well.

I've been wanting to dip more into prewar as well. Maybe Ted Williams or Jimmie Foxx, or Eddie Collins. Not quite sure just yet. Have to figure out some collecting goals.

Stagnation for the most part. I may wind up downsizing some of my ‘near’ sets that I have 0% chance of completing. Any additions will probably be the occasional 19th century piece or some missing type cards

Stagnation for me as well. The stuff I want to buy is too expensive and the stuff I have that's worth a lot I don't want to sell.

Continue working on my T205/T206(T213/T214/T215)/T207 WaJo back runs. Would love to add another Pop Lloyd and/or either a Dobie Moore or Oliver Marcell card to my collection.

Thanks
Chad

My focus will be to continue to expand my Joe Jackson and Babe Ruth Collection.
I am consolidating the focus and trying to have fewer cards(I now have 16 Ruth and 12 Joe Jackson Cards/PostCards and 1 of each non Card/postcard) for a total of 30 items in my collection.
Then I want the quality to go up. which means less cards being bought/traded in the upcoming year

I have rejoined the hobby after selling out several years ago. I’m beginning to collect the E105 set yet again. Merry Christmas and good luck to everyone in the New Year.


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Im going to try and finish off the t206 VA SLers sub set, T210 Rva Colts team set and T206 Senators Team sets that im 90% of the way done with. I want to also try and finish off my 56 Topps set as it's just commons left now. The big collection change that I've made is diving head first in to pre war cards of guys who played in DC. Any and all players from all sets. I'm gonna stay away from the 1800s stuff for now as I don't wanna get spread too thin.

Definitely looking forward to what comes in the new year for sure

Keep grinding!!!

That and keep praying for the crash, which never seems to come, so that I can upgrade some of my mainline pieces without having to spend well into 6 figures for each one.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaany day now.

Delete
 

Wrong thread... sorry

Always excited to see what you pick up!

Staying the course
 

Still T207, still front/back master... no telling how many years its really been now, but consciously maybe 15-20. So still grinding.

On the plus side, 2023 was the best year in the last 5 or so, as I knocked off about 10 cards, but there are still 30 to go, and confirmation still outstanding on 12 cards.... so not expecting to finish in 2024 unless there is an outpouring of finds.

Thats an awesome project. Do you have a pic or link to the master? I would love to see it (and I am sure I am not alone).

I am not sure what 2024 will bring for me. I expect I will continue to go for rare stuff. I expect I will sell off some stuff and take profits. My business is real estate, which is very interest-rate sensitive. If rates start to go down, I may feel more comfortable investing in cardboard. If rates remain at this level (or go up), I will probably increase my selling and buy less cardboard, hoarding cash and buying high-yield, short-term bonds earning a good return and ensuring liquidity in the event its needed to preserve/assist with certain real estate investments. For me, its all kind of connected -- money into cards is money not invested/to be used in assets elsewhere and vice versa.

Hope to finish up the subset of T206 that I have been working on. Just about 15 cards left I believe.

Matt

T205 Mathewson Gold Border
 

Want this before I’m too old to enjoy it. Love the card. May sell 60s or 70s sets to acquire the card in nice shape, since my heirs would not be interested in shelf-filling sets.

Same old same old for baseball. Try to add Ruth Robinson Pele when it makes sense, oddball Hank Aaron items too.

Candidly, I am transitioning into retirement from law and my destination is ... cards. I have run a side hustle in old cardboard for years and I plan to make a lot more of it. Just having a blast so far. I can see I am going to be very busy with it. In addition to the finding and selling, there is my blog and eventual podcast and whatever the next tech wave allows me to build.

But I digress.

I have gotten to a point where i favor non-traditional collectible areas, so I am focusing on vintage racing, pin-ups, entertainment and pop culture stuff more than the traditional four sports. Plus anything that I find interesting, beautiful or underappreciated. I expect I will add to all of these categories in 2024. One thing I will say for it, girlies are a lot nicer to look at than dead men in uniforms

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...ize/img345.jpg

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...%20signed.jpeg

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...bsize/Rush.jpg

As to rock, my wife says I am going through my second adolescence. I say

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...tthead%202.gif

I am going to keep working on my 67T near-highs. I am 2 years away from being 2 years away.

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I am down to needing 3 T210s so hoping to get at least 2 of them next year. Also hoping to add another 3 or 4 different Wade Boggs bats to my growing collection.

This for me as well. I imagine I'll sell a few pieces in case something I really want pops up.

Gonna keep chase the 4 cards Im missing in the "set" I started running down 20 years ago. Will likely dip my toe back into a HOF set focusing more on 51 Bowmans and T206s to start.

2023 year in review
 

Here's the link to last year's 2022 "Year in Review" to see how well our personal goals were met or missed:

https://www.net54baseball.com/showth...Year+in+review

In short, 2023 was my best collecting year ever by a long shot!

Not only was I successful in adding my top goal of adding a Red Border George Yantz to go with the Orange Border T210 George Yantz I already owned, but I added a total of 12 new T210s to my collection this year!

Furthermore, my 18 year search for a presentable 1912 Claude Berry Zeenut ended in the summer when I won a lot on eBay that had a "cancelled" 1912 Berry zeenut. As luck would have it, 50 days later I received an "uncancelled" example.

Other top moments included adding a very tough Jimmy Archer E90-3 in April, and several cool PD1 Catcher Position Pins, and a J.J. Clarke Cabinet.

Goals for 2024:

Adding a few T210s, PD1s, and maybe a few T204s!

(P.S. I added my 2nd top goal of a Lafitte T210-8 Old Mill card the last week of December.)

Patrick

I only started collecting in 2021 and have taken it very slowly but my goals for 2024 are to keep buying a few t206 commons, graded 2 or above but also sticking to my rules of no major creases and nicely centred.

I would also like to skip a month or two of buying commons at some point and put the accumulated cash into buying a single HOF t206, which will be in my self set parameters mentioned above.

All this made slightly harder by the fact I am in the UK so I of course have added postage and fees on top and a smaller pool of cards to choose from. I try see it as part of the challenge though :)

Not for sale, as this Type 1 Gypsy Queen was really designed by a mad trimmer with a collector like myself in mind.

Brian

hope to finish my 1916-20 UNC Big Heads set (only need 4--in my signature below)
It may take several more years to come still.

Meanwhile- i may sell off some items in order to add some T206s i been wanting for years.
The Monster can be addictive!!!!

I’ll be primarily focused on adding more cards to my Des Moines Old Judge set. I decided to get my favorite Topps cards from 1952-1975 to add a little modern to my collection, so hoping to add a 1955 Topps Roberto Clemente too. Here’s my favorite pickup from this past year.

If I can add a playing days non-strip Ruth card, it will be a good year

2024 will be an interesting year.

It certainly depends on how my finances play out the rest of the year, as I may enter the year holding off on purchasing cards for a few months.

I am thinking at the beginning of the year selling off my T206 commons to get a nice 1.5 or 2 Matty white cap.

I think if I can do that, it would help give me the satisfaction of cards next year without spending much additionally.

That and add a couple of 56 topps HOF’ers. And add a 1910 national national licorice track athlete, to start that collection!

Most of all, enjoy some new friendships within the hobby and the n54 community!

I’m thinking of buying 300 T206 Steve Evans cards.

Ole-time Collector in my town Gold Mine
 

Been trying to to get a ole time collector to let loose of a few pieces of Gold--Red Heart Dog food set, Dan-Dee set, etc.--his hoard of 60 years is so intensive his whole house in down to little single file paths--yep little paths--he probably wont sell but might trade me for a Win Wilfong or a few other tough Hawks autos on index cards he needs--Ill keep trying in 2024--

Hope to add the last few cards to finish my Mays Topps master set.

Just be grateful that PSA moved the dice game to the optional category a couple of years ago. Up until then, it was a real beast to complete.

This made me laugh out loud. Invest now!

I assume that his reprint card will also start to garner interest, for various legit and nefarious reasons.

Brian

I love hearing about our international friends collecting the same items, as I can only imagine challenges associated as you mentioned. Patience is key and glad to see you here.

Looking to finish off my T205 cubs front/ revers subset(missing 2 Hindus)
Work on T207 Cubs front reverse subset ( looking for Ward Miller anonymous factory 25 and T207 with Napoleon backs)
Finding e91A Orval Overall
And T206 Jacksonville players with Hindu back and Viola with Peidmont back
W575 WM Piercy
And whatever else suits my fancy

1. Complete my 1956 Topps Baseball set. I've got everything more expensive than Ernie Banks and the checklists. So, I'm getting close (value-wise) to finishing this project. I want the basic 342-card set, nothing fancy.
2. Add some more T206 cards to my collection. I keep chipping away and (thankfully) I've already got Steve Evans. I'm about 1/4 of the way there, including about 1/4 of the HOFers. I'm going for 520 and I'm not in a rush to get there. Maybe a Matty and a couple other less expensive cards in 2024.
3. Sell off (or, even better...trade) the parts of my collection that no longer fit my goals. I like hockey. I can tolerate footbal and basketball. But I love vintage baseball cards. So, I'll start moving the Gretzky rookie, etc. to help things along. Maybe I'll put them on the BST, along with a want list. Good, old-fashinoed trading. :) With the right trade partners, it is much more rewarding (to me) than selling and buying.

Happy holidays, everyone. Here's hoping you have a peaceful, joyous, and prosperous 2024.

Going hard on everything Ruth!

I am hoping to find a T206 Tolstoi Stanage on a budget

Hopefully sold or auctioned off.

Same continued goals for next year - add a couple of cards to my T206 Providence set. Would especially love to add another Tolstoi and/or the Lavender Cycle to finish that back.

Agree100%, I have a poor man’s Mays collection compared to your registry but keep plugging away. Good luck with your last couple of cards.

Sets
 

I will continue to focus my collection, trying to complete various sets i am close on. I need:

One card for T3 (there were a few set breaks 4-5 years ago and they have dried up since, the card isnt that difficult but need a consistent grade for set)
Three cards for 41 Playball (not hard, but commons not that valuable and not that easy to locate in my grade either because people dont bother)
Three cards for N162 (full set, not just baseball)
One card for T227 (and maybe a few upgrades here, nice ones are Tough)
Two cards (well, 1 but i checked one off i cant find again yet…been moving around) for Hockey C56 and 6 cards for a C57 set
Continue selling more random things i have collected to have more focus as some projects have just become more expensive than i care to do now
Find a nice 52T and 53T Mays now that they have seemingly calmed down somewhat..almost pulled the trigger recently
And a 1934 ACE jersey from the first NHL all star game (anyone have one?!)

Potential to build more of sets that i have a decent start on: E90-1, T213-2, 38 Goudey (not hard to find, just not sure what i want to do here yet), need a good starter lot on these perhaps

2024 Collection Plans
 

Had a bit of a detour this year into modern graded cards to get guys like Ichiro, Kershaw, Pujols, Scherzer, Verlander, etc while I still can. Turns out they are cheaper now than when I bought them earlier this year.

For 2024 I’ll be back to my various collections as follows.

- Bob Feller cards and collectibles - need mostly rare stuff, but still missing a few easier items but in nicer condition. Still finding stuff I’ve never seen before as well, just less often.

- First Cleveland Baseball Card or Collectible (earliest item of every player, coach, manager, GM, Owner, etc. to play for CLE, all eras). Still looking for nearly 1/3rd of the historic all time roster.

- Cleveland Baseball Type Cards - will continue chipping away at type cards depicting a CLE player. Priority for rare / unusual stuff when it comes up for sale

- Baseball Star & HOFer Magazines - added a handful of nice mags this year, looking to build on this next year

- Baseball Star & HOFer Pinbacks. - also expanded this collection in 2023; looking to target specific pins in 2024

- Baseball Team Postcards - new collection this year, really still dabbling. Picking up nice examples of team photo postcards and exhibits with team photos. Have a handful and looking to add some nice ones in 2024.

Maybe this will be the year when I finally get my T-206 Mordecai Brown, and either a '51 Mantle or Mays card. Maybe!

For sale

just leave some for the rest of us:D

In order of priority, I hope to acquire these:

O’Hara St Louis completes 520

T204 McIntyre and Donovan

E121 Harry Heilmann and Pep Young

T209 Brent

Into a Lighthouse VARIO G padded binder. Only thing I asked my wife for for Christmas, and a box suspiciously the size a binder that size would fit in for mailing appeared under the tree Saturday. Fingers crossed.

I just posted in another thread that I just completed my last post-war set with all Bowman, Topps (sans 52 Hi #), Fleer and others. So truthfully I have no idea where I go next. Maybe grab some short prints like the 1954 Bowman Williams or "Ted Signs" but those just feel like tail ends to a completed project.

Obviously pre-war is the next stop. I like building sets and there are a lot of sets to work on, but also a lot that would never be completed in my lifetime.
Maybe if I lower my definition of "complete" I could start a nice collection of T206. Maybe go after T205 instead. I've also thought about Hassan double folders that seems like a set with a reasonable shot at completing.

I guess I'll see where the card Gods lead me.

Pretty static, collection-wise, given prices for items I want, but still hoping to snag Mcgraw, glove-Cycle to complete back run.

is it too late to change my answer to "right into the crapper"? :D

Thanks, Ryan
 

Thank you, Ryan.

I'm still working on the presentation as I've tried a couple things that don't look quite right/aren't easy to digest ... like my current form which just has them all broken out by back and ordered alphabetically... meh.

That said, current progress is in albums at/on my ImageEvent site and linked in my sig. More commentary/info to come, but it is what it is for now. Thanks for the kind words.

For me 2024 will be a continuation of the endless quest to deepen my m113 / m114 collection, and knowledge.

I am also on the verge of actually starting to prune my "collection tree". I have ignored some of the branches for so long it feels like letting them move on to people who have more interest might be a good idea.

Or maybe a better analogy would be : I'm going to take collection that currently resembles an Einstein haircut, and clean it up a bit.

In 2023, I feel like my collection took on added focus. I sold a lot of graded superstars, Mays, Aaron, Clemente, etc., along with a few key graded rookies like Brooks Robinson, Bob Gibson. All great cards, but I decided I am happy with these guys in lower grades and raw only. They need to be a part of my collection, but maybe not primary objective.

I then used those funds to substantially beef up my Red Sox collection. I expanded my pre war range quite a bit, with Tris Speaker, Joe Wood, and a bunch of cool examples, T206s, Tattoo Orbit, a nice Cicotte, etc. Not only that, but I added Red Sox modern cards. It made sense because there are a lot of cool cards after 1990 and they are mostly cheap. Plus, the team won 4 World Championships this century and I want those guys represented in my collection. I'm particularly fond of 2011 Topps. 2008 and 2014 are nice as well. I ended the year with a much more impressive Red Sox collection if I say so myself, and intend to keep this snowballing in 2024.

I also transformed my 75 Topps mini set from NMTish to NMT/MT. I added Yount and Ryan in PSA 8 and a suwwwwweeeet Brett in SGC 9. The problem with this is that my standards continue to go up, and cards that were previously more than good enough are now in need of upgrade. What a boondoggle Lol.

I also beefed up my Boston non baseball collection a bit, getting all those Celtic, Pats and Bruins cards of guys I grew up watching. This is definitely a secondary project.

Lastly, I improved my Brooklyn Dodgers graded collection, mostly 1939 to 1957 It all fits nicely in a BCW super vault. Most of it is mid grade and quite affordable. The highlights were a '53 Jackie PSA 1.5 and a PeeWee RC in PSA 1.5.

I feel these projects are all in better alignment with my emotional attachment to the specific players and the game(s).

I bought a 3200 count box of '79 '80 and '81 Topps baseball cards for $50 (1.5c each) and have been enjoying putting these sets together again. And once you complete your Topps hockey sets what else but move into the OPC cards?

https://i.imgur.com/jMUqmEvl.jpg

Vintage
 

More and more vintage rookies! Selling most modern to go after Ruth, Mantle, Mays, Cobb, Rose, Bench, Young, Matty, etc....I love T206 and 50's Topps/Bowman. Still need 1951 Bowman dream cards of Mantle and Mays.

Sell it all.

In 2024 I'll continue with the "less is more" approach. If I can add at least 3 or 4 significant (to me) items I'll be happy.

Is this just a rant/fake sale announcement? Or are you really selling it all?

If you're really selling, do you care to share why you've decided it's time to get out?

I decided to do something slightly different with my collection. I have decided to smell it all.


Brian

Just goofing around mostly. I have recently become unemployed so it has entered my mind as kind of a fallback if things go south. So no, as of now I'm holding and still adding lower cost items to satisfy my need for mail.

Good luck with the job hunt. Hopefully you find something even better!

I can't afford to buy cards these days, and I wouldn't get crap for the ones I have if I sold them. And I like the ones I have, so no more trades. What does it all mean? I guess I will just sit tight and keep what I have and be happy with them.

Kind of like how it was in the chow line on USS Midway CV-41, cruising in circles off the Philippines back in 1983. The chow line was backed up into the hangar bay with airedales between launch and recovery events. I asked a Chief coming up the ladder from the main deck below, "Did you see what's for chow, Chief?" "No, but whatever it is, you'll have it and like it."

As I have stated in other posts, buying a mid grade prewar HOFer is key for me. I still those prices will decline or flatten, so there will be an oppurtunity in the near future. Stay tuned.

I feel as if I am at a crossroads with my collection. In order to add any significant cards I want I would want to sell some to fund it. And that would require getting rid of cards that I love. So I am kind of in a holding pattern. Still quite active looking on a daily basis, but not buying much.

Still on the hunt for an E107 Yankee and will continue to build my HOF type set. I get a kick out of finding a HOFers from a sets like E95 that does not have any Yankees or a unique image of the HOFer or Yankee. May also chase the HOFers in the 1954 Bowman set. Just picked up a nice Mays from a fellow board member to go with the few I already have.

Darby choclate complete box ,,,ok ok im sorry 😳😳

always enjoy these threads, so I'll add my two cents.

Summary: Most likely answer is standing pat. Although I woudn't be surprised if I took the plunge and continued paring down my collection.

Long version:
after collecting as a kid in the 70's thru my early 30's in the 1990s just "buying packs of what ever was in season", I re-entered the hobby in 2009 and discovered net54 shortly after. I spent 8 years building a very solid low grade collection including t206/520, 33 goudey minus 1 gehrig and lajoie, 52 bowman, 73 topps sets, an over 300 card prewar type collection with 100 types and at least one of each hof player in the majors, over 100 diff e-cards, 170 diff t205, 40 diff t207, a post war collection of all hof players 48 thru 89 topps, bowman, fleer, donruss, upper deck, score (minus 52 t Mathews and 67 seaver). Had a great time building that collection.

2017 saw some life changes and by 2018 i decided to start selling. Been at it since then. I chipped away slowly using the BST and eBay and recently facebook groups. At each stage I evaluated my collection and kept my favorites, selling those that didn't make the cut. Been thru several cycles like that. Of course each time it was harder to choose. I haven't had any fire sales, not thrown any away, and am always happy when my cards go to collectors.

When I decide to sell a batch of pre-war or vintage, they usually go pretty fast. In the meantime I've got a lot of 80's & 90's cards on ebay on their 8 week cycle and I lower them 25% everytime a new 8 weeks starts. It's been a steady trickle selling and there haven't been many weeks go by that I haven't placed some cards in PWE's and sent them to a new home. Still have a bunch of cards listed on ebay (about 4500, mostly in lots of 9), but that whole effort is on auto-pilot now.

I think I've enjoyed sorting and selling as much as I enjoyed collecting.

I'm currently at another point in the sell-off where, if I continue, I need to decide which cards are next. On the other hand I've met a few selling goals I set for myself back in 2018, one of which is: I'm running low on all the padded mailers I saved from purchases over the years, so I could very well be finished with the sales.

anyway, after a too-long background story, I'll answer the OP question: "Tell us where you see your collection heading in 2024?"

Most likely answer is standing pat. Although I woudn't be surprised if I took the plunge and continued paring down my collection.

Similar to Pete .. would like to add a few significant cards but may have to sell others … regardless - need to pair down and upgrade …. Otherwise
Anything Cleveland rare , upgrade t206 Cleveland team, Aaron , Doby , Joss ,,,, so you see the problem…

After cruising in circles hope you made port at Subic Bay. Little rough but plenty of action.

Yes sir. A couple of cold San Miguel beers on Magsaysay in Olongapo City before heading out to Gaines Beach in Barrio Barretto. The girls became a lot prettier after a few beers, and away from the Olongapo sailor traps. It was something like 47 pesos to the dollar, and a cold bottle of San Miguel was, what, 20 p's? Pretty reasonable for good beer. Add some lumpia and pancit noodles, naked girls, and...well, you know how it is.

Then we would go back out and go in circles, cyclic flight ops between the carrier and Cubi Point Naval Air Station, before heading up to Hong Kong, then Sasebo, Japan on the island of Kyushu, where we would offload missiles and bombs, then fly off the air wing to Atsugi Naval Air Station before we pulled into Yokosuka, our home port. These were 3 month cruises around the South China Sea. When we went to the Indian Ocean, we would hit these same places in reverse going out, and hit them again coming back, but also stopping in Singapore and Pattaya Beach, Thailand. We also went to Mombasa, Kenya.

When I was on USS Independence CV-62, after Desert Shield/Desert Storm, we traded places with the Midway, and Indy then became the forward-deployed carrier. Same liberty ports, but one cruise we went to Sydney, Australia. And that is a story in itself...

You really haven't lived until you've done 3 and 1/2 months on an aircraft carrier in the Indian Ocean, going in circles off the entrance to the Gulf of Oman, without seeing land of any kind.

And Wog Day (crossing the equator on a Navy ship, where, if you've never done it before, you get transformed from being a lowly pollywog to a trusty shellback) on an aircraft carrier is something to truly behold. Visiting the Royal Barber, before appearing in front of Davy Jones and Neptunus Rex, and getting a proper shellback haircut. The Royal Barber is usually something like a Chief Machinist's Mate. "Don't worry son, it'll grow back out by the time we reach Singapore."

All of that just to say I am sure I will more or less stand pat.

And to get back on topic, after perhaps the most egregious thread hijack ever, please accept my apologies.

what a dream!

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