Help me Pick my next set
 

I posted this in the post-war forum, but would appreciate some pre war options to consider as well. I am one of those collectors who needs to always have a set in progress. I just finished my 1950 Bowman set, and am having trouble figuring out what I should target next. I have a few ground rules I try to follow when building a set:

1. In need to be able to get every card in the set. If there's a huge stopper (1949 Leaf Paige, 1933 Goudey Lajoie, 1952 Topps Mantle), I don't want the sent. My collector OCD won't allow me to have holes in my set.


2. I like all of my cards to be in similar condition. I don't mind spending a significant portion of my budget on a single card, as long as I can keep the grades consitent. A set of NM-MT cards with the key card in VG would bother me.

3. I want a set where most of the cards are readily available. I like to build a set in 6-12 months. If there are cards in the set that are only seen once every few years, I don't have the patience to wait.

4. Set size doesn't matter much - I'm equally happy with a tough set of 16 cards as I am with a set of 300 cards.

5. The card images need to actually resemble the players. Early 20th century caramel cards and strip cards bother me.

6. Budget matters. I am looking for something with an overall cost somewhere in the $10k-$15k range. As much as I'd like a 1933 Goudey or t206 set, that's not realistic.

Thanks in advance for your input.

take a look at www.oldcardboard.com and browse the sets that they have listed there.

Putting the set together, you need to be intrinsically motivated to do it. Don't do it because other people think it's cool to do.

I'd find a set that is somewhat rare, but not impossible to do. If a set is super rare, then whenever the card you need becomes available you will have to go after it.

You just have to be patient. Find cards with flaws that present well which will help keep the cost somewhat down.

If you're comfortable with lower grade, the Philadelphia Caramel E95 set is doable and only has 25 cards with a few HOFers. The artwork tends to be really good on those compared to some other Caramel issues or even the T206s. I've been working on it slowly around other sets and the cards are always circulating on auction.

I like the 1941 Play Ball set too. I think it is one of the easiest to put together and if you are condition conscious, easier to find on the EX to NM grades than other prewar sets.

I concur. Possibly a Yuenglings set, although it might push your budget (Ruth & Gehrig) and your completion time limits.

Thanks for the suggestions. I happen to be lucky enough to have the 1941 Play Ball DiMaggio, and an E95 Wagner, so the biggest obstacles to those sets would be in the rear-view mirror. I'll give them both a strong look.

Please don't build the 1941 play ball set. Another person to compete with.:D

E95 it is then. Let me know when you finish the 1941 so I can get started. :D

I think those should be your next 2 sets. I would do them before any post war sets. Play Ball is the easier set, but if you are ok with low grade E95 isn't bad.

haha, that is very good natured of you even if you don't intend to carry out on this promise.

I will agree with the venerable "rats60" that this is a fantastic set. I have been building a fairly modest version of it with raw cards and PSA/SGC cards graded from 2 to 6. The card stock is fantastic and the colors and design of the set seem ahead of its time. I don't think it has been particularly easy to build. Even as most vintage peaked in February and has since been correcting, the competition for cards in this set remains quite strong and has shown no signs of a correction from what I can tell. The relatively low pop counts no doubt factor into that.

Anyway there are art-deco qualities to this set that were ahead of their time.
Some of the cards such as the Vince D are straight up Warholesque. With only 72 cards it is approachable and having the Joe D in your back pocket is obviously a massive advantage. I'm 63 cards in and I still don't have the Joltin' Joe and that sucker has not declined a penny even as a lot of stuff has come down since February. I prefer his '39 which is much cheaper -- but the market is what it is.

I strongly endorse it.

I've been enjoying building my 1934 Goudey set. 96 cards, with only a few unobtainable for under a couple hundred bucks (the Gehrigs and Greenberg). Loaded with HoFers too (albeit no Ruth or Hornsby), at least in the first 1/4th of the set. I started around 8 months ago, and am up to 93% complete.

Don't sleep on Diamond Stars. One of the coolest, ever, IMO.

This is absolutely no knock on the poster recommending the Yuengling set, I personally think it is a great (and extremely underappreciated) set. However, based on your own admission of being a bit OCD, the Ruth card doesn't come up for sale very often and is going to be super expensive when/if it does. And there is also one, unbelievably rare common card in the set that apparently was super short printed so people couldn't easily collect the entire set and then turn it in for free ice cream. And I'm guessing that many of the few that did get printed were likely turned in for the free ice cream and were subsequently destroyed so they couldn't be used again. This is exactly what you said you did not want to have to deal with for your next set.

The E95 Philadephia caramel set suggestion is a good one, as were additional suggestions of one of the Playball sets, or even the Diamond Stars set. Let me also add in the '34-'36 Batter-Up set as another you may find interesting to look into. Good luck with whatever you decide.

It's been a while since I did the set so I don't know about the current priceing, but what about a G-VGish Delong set? The old giants in the stadium is a fantastic set.