1954 Topps...214 To Go
 

But. And it's a big but, I have all the big name, valuable cards:

Aaron
Banks
Williams, 1 and 250
Mays
Robinson
Kaline
Berra
Rizzuto
Snider, etc., etc.

These are raw, and while not beaters, they aren't going to set the world on fire, either. So, how hard, monetarily, to acquire the remaining 214 cards in like, low grade condition, for an entire set?

James, take it from someone that has completed most of the 50s sets, chasing the commons is the absolute hardest! The stars are always easy to find, but command the big bucks - it takes forever to round up all the commons. I normally don't sell my vintage dups at all, I squirrel them away and use them for trading with a couple of collectors. I have completed the 54 set, and I've got about 50 or 60 dups, probably around 3s or 4s, some better a couple worse. I'm not interested in selling them but would like to trade for some 56 commons I'm missing or some of my 60s sets. I've completed the 54, 55, 57, 58, 59, 60, and 61 sets, and don't collect 70 and later (I had all the 70s complete but gave them to my daughter). PM me if your interested in trading. Jim

Thanks Jim. Unfortunately I have traded away basically everything duplicates of building the sets I now have.

Commons are broadly available for ~$2.

Sounds as though this might be doable.

This is like deja Vu all over again. That's how I started the 1953 Bowman set; got the heavies out of the way right off the bat. Only, I've had these heavies quite a while.

Definitely doable - if you’ve got the big names you’ve got 90% of the value - the big rookies are the bulk of the value this year. There’s no tough series in 1954 to escalate the commons. A few odd things like the O’Brien brothers card carrying a bit of a premium but otherwise all common names are pretty cheap in low grade. Fun set to build the commons from, with the low prices and the fun cartoon backs. I only wish all the backs were printed in the same orientation…

There was a gallery thread on this set earlier in which several folks posted the whole set in order in various conditions, including variants. People wanting a “master” set face a daunting task because of the 1-50 gray backs.

I've got three low grade cards from the set if it helps you out. Card #s 11, 33, and 169.

If you need them, I can take front/back scans and shoot them to you in PM sometime today.