[the 'stache]

Originally Posted by icollectDCsports

Bill -- I won't be taking on the Monster, but I really enjoyed reading that post which will no doubt be very helpful to those who go for it.

Well, thank you!

Originally Posted by Cmount76

I cannot thank everyone enough for all of your advice. I have been collecting for many years and have finished everything I set out for and always wanted to tackle this set (the challenge), but knew I didn't know enough to get going. I am taking it all in and will certainly begin this beast as soon as I polish off a few others and get all of my ducks (and cash) in a row.

To those of you who offered future advice, I will reach out when the situation arises.

I look forward to joining all of those great threads about "my monster number" -

'Stache - I have already been working on the backs for some time now and think I am going to deal mostly with the fronts for this. I'll be in touch!

Thanks to all!!!

Excellent. If you've been working on the backs already, you know most of what I said already. But my first post will still help others, I hope.

I look forward to seeing your set as it grows. Taking on the whole set is quite a daunting challenge, but it will be a fun one nonetheless. Good luck!

Originally Posted by freakhappy

All good advice here and I don't believe I have too much to add, but will just let you know what I have learned in the three plus years that I've been tackling the Monster.

The very best thing you can do at first is learn the basics about the set, which means the backs, differentiating the value between commons, HOFers, SLers, tough variations (tough commons, horizontals, freaks, etc.,), and different grade pricing. I'm sure there are a few others to research, but this is most of the basic that you will need to know about before jumping on the Monster's back

When I first started the set, I didn't know much at all about it and just jumped right in and luckily I didn't get burned or anything of the sort. After a short while you will learn what you prefer and things will start to go in different directions....like if you want to collect certain backs, team sets or just certain conditions. The beauty of it is that it's up to you...no one tells you what and how to collect but yourself

If you are like me, you cannot simply jump in and buy huge lots of T206's to jump start your set and spend 1-2k or more doing so. If you can, that's great, but most people aren't so lucky. I've just pieced my set together over three and a half years and I'm close to the 200 mark. I'm hoping to add around 40 a year, but I don't pressure myself to do so for reasons that Bill Gregory has already mentioned. Make this journey fun and enjoyable, not like a job that forces you to have deadlines and such.

Quite often the journey is the fun part of collecting, not the end point. Can't tell you how many people zipped through sets just so they could finish and then they turn around and sell them...what's the point of that?

Anyway...good luck on your journey!

Mike, I agree completely. I've never understood buying a big chunk of the set. A collector is free to do whatever they want, but I would think someone buying 40-50% of the set right off the bat will miss out on a lot of fun. I've been working on the set for a year. I have only 40 cards thus far, and some of them I will definitely be replacing. But I've had a chance to meet and talk to a lot of new people. I've made a couple of new friends, and I've had some fun talks about the hobby while buying. I'm taking my time, and squeezing every ounce of enjoyment out of the hobby that I can.

Originally Posted by BicycleSpokes

I definitely agree with all the great advice above.

I started collecting T206 cards quite randomly, but have enjoyed it a much more once I started dividing it into fun sub-sets that were more attainable over shorter terms. Going "Full Monster" is just too daunting for me, though I will eventually piece my way there!

Regarding books, you may already have found it, but Scot Reader's Inside T206 is free and excellent:
http://www.oldcardboard.com/t/t206/i...al-edition.pdf

Also, "The T206 Collection: The Players and Their Stories" is a nice coffee table book focused on short player bios by Tom and Ellan Zappala. (My only complaint is on the choice to use reprints for the card images within, rather than true T206s; Did anybody else have a problem with that??).

Best,
David

David, YES! That bothered me, too. The last chapter, where Joe Orlando is talking about the set, and pimping PSA, all the cards pictured in his chapter are the real deal. I don't understand why the rest of the book didn't follow suit.

I don't mean to knock the book, because I love it. But I think it would have been so much nicer if real cards had been pictured. Even if some of the cards used hadn't been in perfect shape, who cares? They are T206 cars.

Nobody would write a book about classic cars, and then take pictures of matchbox cars to replace the real thing, right? So why use reproductions in place of the real thing, when at least one of each card is readily available. Hell, they could have taken pictures of the cards I had, and used them for free so long as I got a simple acknowledgement somewhere in the book. But that would have made the book so much better. The reprints they included just don't look like the real cards to me.

Originally Posted by T206Collector

I understand why people say "buy rarity," but I never loved my Eddie Plank more than my Matty portrait. Some cards speak to you, regardless of value or rarity. If a card speaks to you, get the nicest, prettiest one you can find. That's the one never to let go of. Because if you do, you may never find that one again. I still miss a PSA 6 Chase Pink Portrait that I sold when SGC noticed a hairline crease that prevented it from being crossed over. I now have an SGC 60 that is really nice with no creases, but still doesn't present as well.

I also agree that buying in bulk to get a head start is worth it. Nothing quite like flipping through a stack of tobacco cards.

Enjoy the hunt.

I agree with your point about some cards speaking to you. The Walter Johnson portrait speaks to me. It's absolutely my favorite pre-war card, and I've already upgraded once, from a SGC 2 to a PSA 4. And I'll upgrade it one more time yet, but after I've built my collection up. The Dutch Revelle also speaks to me. I was fortunate enough to get a PSA 4 that was magnificent looking. It's one of my favorite cards to look at.

I agree with you, too, that having a stack of T206 cards is really nice, but I can stack the cards I've bought over time, and probably enjoy them a little more because of the connections I've made when buying them one by one.