I collect Joe DiMaggio and Joe Torre. I have been at it for years; but maybe in the last 5 years, I have really been trying to pick up the pace. For Joe D., I think I have maybe 75% of his cards; for Joe T., I think I have maybe just over 25% of his checklist.
For no particular reason, I am trying to get all of my DiMaggio stuff into SGC holders, and Torre into PSA. Not trying to flip them, but if I do have to make a trade, it does make it easier (lots of traders don't like raw cards anymore). Plus they look much neater all lined up, and less chance of damage, especially for the rare cards.
Hmmmmm...the coolest pickup. For Joe D., the coolest card pickup is maybe a tie; the 1947 Propagandas Montiel card, or my 1943 Camp Cooke RPPC. I also have one of those 1970's Topps original cartoons of Joe D. (the ones you find on the backs of the regular issue cards); I LOVE that piece and don't think I would part with it. I found it at the bottom of some dealer's bin at the National, along with Ted Williams, so my buddy grabbed Ted, and I picked up the Joe.
For Torre, I have the '62 Jello, and a cool Ashland Oil card that was pretty scarce.
I also have a Joe D. used bat from an Old Timer's game and a couple of his coach's bats from Oakland. For Torre, I have a game used bat from ~1965.
I thought I would collect the low priced stuff first, but really for me it is all about opportunity. Sometimes you are going to see things pop up that you KNOW you will not likely get another shot at (or, at least you can convince yourself); so for me I "normally" collect in reverse year order, which is sort of cheapest to most expensive, but if I see a "must have", I go for it. I also could care less about grades, so long as the card looks decent. For me, the most economical way to go was to collect stuff that comes in ~PSA/SGC 6. Anything higher than that, and I end up competing with the big money boys.
As far as the whales go, be patient. For me, when I am constantly looking for something impossible, I can never find it. Then, when I forget about it for a while, it pops up!
Happy collecting!!!
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