T206 Top Ten most Collectible? And, is a Back just a Back?
 

Hello experts, I would like to learn more about T206's. In your opinions, what are the top ten most collectible/tradeable/sellable cards in this series? Also, any information about how much back variations matter would be helpful. Of course, this subject has probably already been discussed. If so, could anyone unearth the thread for me?
Thanks, Jim

Search is your friend. You will find answers to these questions and a whole lot more if you search this site.

there is a really good book entitled inside T 206 I don't have the link to the PDF handy but I'm sure someone does

As far as the most collectible, look no further than the top tier HOF'ers...

Cobb
Johnson
Mathewson
Young
Speaker
Lajoie
etc.

Tyler and Sandmountainslim, that's just what I'm looking for, thanks!
Update: Just found Inside T206 on the Worldwide. That just topped my required reading list!
http://www.oldcardboard.com/t/t206/i...al-edition.pdf

Key to the Monster
 

if only..............

Agree with any Cobb, Johnson, Mathewson, Young, Lajoie and Speaker. I think the portraits are a little more in demand but any pose is desirable.

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps22073589.jpghttp://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m...psc61c3450.jpghttp://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps2507733e.jpghttp://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m...psc9d2422e.jpg

I love that book. You should find it very informative

what T206's...
 

Top tier HOF'ers with big fat boarders, centering near 55/45 both directions, no annoying print defects, no tilt cut. PSA or SGC graded EX 5 is a nice choice - not too spendy, but none of the creases, scuffs, etc.

More than 10, but I had a lot of fun completing a Southern Leaguers set. The 6 Horizontal cards are also a cool sub-set.


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I started with horizontal backs and have now moved on to SLers. The subsets make going after the set easier.

Hi Jim,

If all the cards were available to me at the same condition level, say a strong PSA 5, well centered with nice, white borders, deep, rich colors, no tobacco staining, I'd probably go with these ten:

Honus Wagner, portrait
Eddie Plank, portrait
Sherry Magee, portrait (Magie misspelling)
Joe Doyle, pitching, (N.Y. Nat'l)
Ray Demmitt, St. Louis Amer.
Bill O'Hara, St. Louis
Ty Cobb, portrait (green background)
Ty Cobb, portrait (red background)
Ty Cobb, bat on shoulder
Ty Cobb, bat off shoulder

The first six are "the big six". Originally, there were four super cards, the Wagner, Plank, Magee misspelling and the Joe Doyle New York variant. The Demitt and O'Hara were later added. From the other cards in the set, the four Cobbs are probably the safest bet. Many think he's the greatest player to ever play the game. In this condition, the Cobbs would go for a bundle, and their upside is pretty much unlimited.

If you didn't want four Cobbs, I'd take the Cobb with the green background, or the bat off shoulder. The other three cards, then, I'd take the Cy Young portrait, the Napolean Lajoie portrait, the Christy Mathewson dark cap, and the Walter Johnson portrait.

Obviously, this assumes that there are no rarer backs involved. If these four are all Piedmont, Sweet Caporal and Polar Bear level backs, they're not a consideration. When you get comparable cards with rarer backs, then that has to be factored in.

Back scarcity rankings are provided here. There may be some variance, but this is a pretty good reference. This will give you an idea of which card backs start commanding more money. At some point, the backs start becoming more of a consideration that the card fronts themselves, at least on commons, some lesser Hall of Famers, and the minor leaguers.

Then you can start looking at Southern Leaguers. They weren't printed as long as the other cards, and they were printed in smaller runs (short printed).

This will all be discussed in detail throughout the forum's history. There are two different ways to go about searching. One is to use Google. The other is the forum search function. I always used the advanced search here. I think Google, in my experience, usually lays out the articles.

You want to ask yourself why you're buying. Are you doing it as a collector only? Are you considering the cards as an investment? Or, maybe a little of both, as I do. I am a collector first, but I am cognizant of the upside potential of these cards. That being said, for the more expensive cards, I will almost always buy graded. PSA cards will command more than SGC cards because of the popularity of their registry. Both PSA and SGC, in my experiences browsing eBay and buying, exceed Beckett in what they will command on the open market.

If you are seriously considering collecting the monster, Jim, my advice to you would be to learn absolutely everything you can about the set. Look how other people are doing it. Familiarize yourself with the resources. Identify a list of good, trustworthy dealers. Buy from the BST here whenever possible. I would also have a plan heading into the collection. Understand that if you do go all in, it will be a time and money investment, and it's not easy. But it's fun, and you will learn a lot as you go.

When buying graded cards, buy the card itself, and not the grade. Know that centered cards can command a premium. Ultimately, just have fun. That's the most important thing.

Good luck!

Bill

http://t206resource.com/

Check out the above site, super informative.

The great thing about T206 is you can collect it so many different ways: HOFers, SLers, portraits, by team, rare backs, printing errors, etc. you make your own collecting rules.

Good luck.

This is a great post. I would say the "green" Cobb is the one to get. Also, you named 4 instead of 3. I would say Young, Johnson and Mathewson are the 3 others to get. I'd have a slightly different list. I would exclude the big 4 as those are probably out of most people's price range. My list would be

O'Hara St. L.
Demmitt St. L.
Elberfeld portrait
Cobb green background
Johnson portrait
Young portrait
Mathewson portrait
Speaker
Lajoie portrait
Eddie Collins

That gives you the 3 rare but realistic to find cards and the 7 main HOFers from the set.

Wow, great information, advice and scans! This gives me my winter project. Half the fun will be gaining the proper knowledge and formulating a plan. Thanks again!

you are
 

collecting the right set:) T206 rulez:D

Rats,

Can I take a mulligan? I guess my mind couldn't narrow it down to just three in addition to the Green Cobb. Really, any four of them would be great. All five would be better :)

Edit: I love the Eddie Collins, one of my favorite cards in the set. I chased one in the REA auction (iirc, it was a PSA 6 with an Old Mill back), but I could only bid up to $1,000, and it obviously went for a good chunk more. I will be adding that one very early in 2015.

Cheers!

Bill

I am in the same boat as you. Just starting to collect them. I'm personal starting with the HOF's in a low grade (2-3) due to price. But I have been spending a lot of time learning about the set. The pdf of the t206 book is very helpful.

This page on the t206 resource really helps a lot. It's the checklists page and it breaks the set down into lists in about every way imaginable. Say for example you were looking for chief bender and wanted a certain back and picture. You'd find that if you wanted a polar bear back your options would be the no trees picture, because the portrait and with trees background are not available in a polar bear back according to the checklist. Just an example but Things like that have really helped me narrow down my searches and decide what direction I wanted to go with my collection.

http://www.t206resource.com/Checklist%20Main.html