t206 Besides the Biggies - What are you buying?
 

Not all of us have the pockets for Cobb, Wajo, Christy, Wags, you know, the big names in the set.

So, what are you buying or do you look for?

Mid-level HoF's, tougher backed cards ( mid-range, not ultra tough), or commons that you pick up at good price.

What are your thoughts?

Centering is a must for me. I can live with a well loved card that I get for what I feel is a good price.

I just want to tap the intelligence of the forum and get your thoughts.

I'm actually not buying T206s right now. Not that I've been a T206 hound historically.

Prices just seem too ludicrous to be loading up right now. I figure I'll get more aggressive after the correction (any day now!!!), so I'm keeping my powder dry for now.

But that's my approach with not just T206s, but most all cardboard right now, with the one exception being for some oddball issues where pricing remains somewhat closer to pre-pandemic levels, and some junk-era pieces of my childhood/early adulthood heroes, which can be had for basically nothing.

I will confess that seeing all of the T206 hounds on this site has given me a thirst to more meaningfully get into the T206 game though. Just not yet.

Anything I don't have and costs $20 or less for a vaguely complete card. I've got like 10 cards this year as a result, so don't do what I do.

I'm not a T206 guy but I am having fun doing a piedmont portrait run. Keeping the cards in the 3-4 condition range, centered with good reg. Still need Brown, Chance, and a couple of mid levels so keeping an eye out for those at decent prices.

Always the hall residents for me.
I find them fun and very liquid if need be.

Agreed…. With the focus of them exhibiting the best possible eye appeal that you can afford, regardless of grade.

Definitely agree with you on your point about some of the oddball stuff staying reasonably priced, if not going for outright bargains in a few cases. I think it is primarily a function of the newer type of collectors entering the hobby since the pandemic started. They seem especially driven by flipping/investing more so than collecting. And since the oddball stuff tends to have much less interest among collectors overall, it isn't commoditized enough to really interest those newer flipper/investor types. And with everybody so seemingly focused on the surging prices that have occurred with a lot of the mainstream cards and items this past year or two, less interest seems to have been placed on the oddball stuff, keeping those prices down a lot in what has otherwise been a surging market. I can still find some of those obscure, oddball items for what I think are great prices, every now and then. Keeps the collecting part of the hobby fun. Thrill of the hunt and all.

I'm at 518 of 520. Pretty much given up hope of getting a PSA 2 Demmit or O'Hara. But, I'm upgrading some 4's to 5's currently. Prices for 5's are still strong. I also just consigned 10 T206's to REA in hope of taking that $$ & upgrading a HOF.

So many auctions right now. The cards are there, and prices remain strong for the most part.

I've been collecting T206 for 30+ years...here's what I would say...


Depending on one's budget, this is how I would prioritize buying T206:


1. HOF Rare Backs [A]- the biggest HOFers you can afford, with the rarest backs you can afford

2. Common players with the rarest backs you can afford

3. HOF Rare Backs [B]- mid-tier HOFers, with mid-tier rare backs

4. HOFers with common backs

5. Southern Leaguers

6. Common players

Good stuff! Through trial & error, and a great talk with Scot Reader on here and email, I learned ALOT. He definitely was the right person to talk to directly. For me, I have always loved portraits. So, rare backs or Piedmont 150 is the route, ALWAYS. I stay away from SC or Piedmont outside of the 150’s. Just bought a Ty Cobb Old Mill, and seems there is no interest in buyers so I am hanging on to that for a year. Lesson learned missing out on a flawless Cy Young portrait graded A. So, just snagged a Walter Johnson portrait, graded A that looks absolutely flawless and is a Piedmont 150.

It all really depends, but I have learned to not just buy to buy, but buy to build upon. It took me two years to figure this out. There are some great guys on the message boards, and boy do they know a lot!!!!! Always listen, understand, observe, and don’t be afraid to spend a little on the nice sought after ones.

Right now it Southern Leaguers and my favorite players from the set (Beaumont, Cicotte, Gandil, & Dahlen). Still need a handful of hall of famers but with the remaining cards that I need, a price correction would be welcomed.

i was partners with my ex we had 318 copies ,,she took her half and i kept mine .i now own 158 copies .im in no rush .its a pretty set

518 is the new 520. I firmly believe Demmitt and O'Hara belong with the Magee/Magie, and aren't required for a "complete" set.

I got to 520, but my Demmit and Ohara are pretty ugly. I way overpaid for the Ohara at the time, but time has probably taken me out of it.

Just started my T206 journey...
 

I just began my T206 journey this Spring. I began buying everything I could get my hands on, learned my lesson and then began focusing my collection on what I wanted to collect/own; portraits and HOFers.

So far, I am at 125 of approximately 157 non southern leaguer portraits.

Speaking of, I would love some help with a master portrait checklist. The portrait checklist from T206 Resource has a few missing from it (Jack Hayden & Davy Jones).

Really enjoying and appreciating this great community here.

cuz every thread needs a card...
 

and here's my WAJO, cuz every thread needs a card...

I’ve been kinda focusing on SC non factory 30 backs, I think some of those are a bit underrated. My number is around 200, so just picking up what I can in the 1-2 range….

But Wagner and Plank are. I never understood why every error and variation is needed for a complete t206 set, but not for any other set, only for a master set.

While I get the sentiment of 518 being the new 520, I disagree as the Magee/Magie is a much tougher card than the other two. I'm hoping for my all PSA 2 set that the Demmitt and O'Hara come back from what's happened in the past several months to reality. I may be waiting awhile or forever but no matter what, I still think a 520 is the right answer for what can be considered complete.

I just starting to collect it again after a 8 year gap. Wow the prices are insane. I’m only at 47/520 so I am mainly picking up cards with good eye appeal and working on Polar Bear and Sovereign backs.

I know its sacrilege to say it in this forum, but I don't collect backs. I buy nice looking SGC 2- 4.5 graded cards of interesting players or cards that have compelling images, irrespective of the back. For me that means about 2/3 of the set is what I am interested in.

That's a beauty, Brian!

T206
 

On a buying freeze right now because I just ponied up for a Matty Portrait

Might be a bit before I get back into it, but t206 SGC graded A-2 HOF’ers would probably be my aim. I think I want to get a collection of HOF’ers now. The binder of commons will fill slowly, but my aim will be HOF in low grade, as long as they aren’t too banged up.

Thanks! My most prized t206. ;)

I like this strategy! I only have one 206 currently and it's mostly because I wanted a Cy Young card. I liked his glove pic the best (not a fan of portraits) and Old Mill is my 2nd favorite back (1st is Polar Bear), so I snagged a Young in a 1.5.

Jeremy, if you only have one card...that's a fantastic one to have! I'm a stickler for dark ink/boldly printed backs...this card has it!

Ever since Ted Z pointed it out (thanks, Ted), I never contemplated the difficulty of certain Piedmont 350 Series Factory 25 players. Just got my first 2, including a beautiful Mullin, and on the hunt for others. They are not easy nor cheap.