Lots of good advice here, Ed. I think you're going to have fun once you decide what you want to do.
Collect what you want. It's not a race, nor is it a competition. If you decide to go after something like the Monster, it's ok to realize that it could take many years to accomplish. Just keep chipping away, and enjoy the journey.
The best advice I could give you is to educate yourself about the cards you are going to be buying. Get a few commons from whatever set(s) you will be buying from, and look at them closely. Feel them, smell them, look at them under a loupe. Learn how to identify the difference between authentic cards, and forgeries or reprints. Get familiar with the printing technology used back then. I just purchased a book written by one of our forum members, David Rudd Cycleback, that will really help you. His Judging the Authenticity of Early Baseball Cards is $15 on Amazon should you want to buy it. He also makes the information available on his website (I just wanted a hard copy to take with me as a reference guide):
http://www.cycleback.com/baseballcards/
Good luck with your collection. I look forward to seeing it!
Bill
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Building these sets: T206, 1953 Bowman Color, 1975 Topps.
Great transactions with: piedmont150, Cardboard Junkie, z28jd, t206blogcom, tinkertoeverstochance, trobba, Texxxx, marcdelpercio, t206hound, zachs, tolstoi, IronHorse 2130, AndyG09, BBT206, jtschantz, lug-nut, leaflover, Abravefan11, mpemulis, btcarfagno, BlueSky, and Frankbmd.
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