1915 Cracker Jacks
 

I am going to attempt to build this set in low grade (3's,4's, and maybe some 5's). This will be as long-term project. Any advice/suggestions is greatly appreciated.

Would you go with PSA or SGC. I assume conventional wisdom would suggest PSA for resale and SGC if not planning on selling. Or perhaps SGC all the way? Will PSA graded cards be easier to find? Please give me any and all suggestions.

Thank you in advance.

If it were me I wouldn't concentrate on the plastic and would concentrate on the cards. Most of my cards are graded, but that has no bearing in how or what I collect. Just get the best cards you can, for the money, regardless of a holder, or whose holder they might be in. Personally, I find grades of 2-4 very nice...and if you are picky and patient you can get super eye appeal in that range.

Personally, I would purchase the commons raw from a seller with a good rep. But the stars I would buy graded. Just take your time and wait for the cards that meet your goal at a fair price. Good luck :)

I wouldn't worry about what the plastic says, look for eye appeal. CJs have their own set of defects with tilt, staining and varying levels color so decide what is important to you. For me its color and registration as I am about to finish my set in about Vg. CJs also go in waves, at the moment common prices seem to be quite high. #90 Smith is the most expensive common for some reason, and be prepared to shell out some cash for the Jax and Cobb...plus 35 additional HOFers and a few more star cards such as Gandil, Cicotte, Chase and Peckinpaugh. Good luck, I love mine but do not think Ill ever do something like this again.

Thanks everyone for the advice. I value all of it. Please keep it coming, as this board has an amazing amount of knowledge.

Staining
 

I suggest to collect the Caramel stained cards only...these were the cards that actually came from the box...the cards without stains are a factory version and never touched Caramel...I think these lose some appeal due to this.

Edited to add that PSA doesn't even designate these stained cards ST...they agree they should be stained.

Awesome point! Do they command a premium over the factory version?

Also, are there more low grade cards (2-4 range) in PSA slabs or SGC slabs?

Beautifull project. Good luck in the quest

For some reason I've encountered a disproportionate number of CJ's graded which look much better than the numbers they've been assigned. For example, I can find no issues on this Peckinpaugh, but it only received a PSA 2. I've got a few others very similar to this.

So maybe these are more susceptible to the tiniest of flaws, so be aware of that if buying raw.

I have bought and sold about 2 sets worth. I had an original find of 128 cards a few years back and chose SGC. There are a bit tougher but present well in the holders. Also I got more $$ for my SGC cards when I sold them. I had some SGC 50s look like PSA 5s and 6s. IMO

Jason

How can you possibly know this? Do you have a crystal ball?:o

I have built an almost complete 1915 set (2 missing) over the last 9 years. I personally prefer the PSA holders but I bought the best card I could find in the condition I was looking for/could afford in either PSA or SGC.

I find the best prices are usually paid here on this site in the BST section, finding a friend who is upgrading the set, or buying on eBay in auction format. I found that I paid the highest prices at the auction houses and I would advise only getting cards from them that you're having issues finding from the other areas (not to mention you usually find only the highest grades there). Of course just like anything else though an occasional bargain may show up in the auction houses.

I would also stay away from buying raw cards with the idea of having them graded until you think you've learned enough to be able to grade them accurately and can detect trimming, bleaching, etc...

I have a friend who is selling off his collection. Just pm me if you're interested and I'll provide an introduction.

Wow, that's a sharp looking 2. They also look great with the red flip.

Id say PSA is harder on staining than SGC...