[VintageBen]

I used to visit the local card shops weekly as a child. I loved the atmosphere of the shop. I loved just hanging out and talking sports. I'd spend approximately $50/week.

A few years ago, a guy named Orlando Rodriguez(he was a big time Cobb collector, Orly57) found me on Instagram and we formed a relationship. He helped me refocus my collection. I sold off a bunch of what I had to fund nicer things. I stopped going to the card shop. I stopped cold turkey. Orly told me that if you are looking for a certain card and the shop has whatever example that's what you have to settle for. I tried to be patient... So hard to do, because who doesn't want every nice card?

I had always wanted a Hank Aaron rookie. I was in the band from middle school all the way through college. I didn't really play much since graduating so I sold my trumpet to help fund that Hank Aaron rookie card. I got the best example I could afford.

After getting the Hank Aaron rookie, I noticed that I could find those all day, everyday. So I sold it.

I then got all 4 T206 Cobb's. Again you can find those all day, everyday. Sold them too.

A few weeks before the 2019 National in Chicago, I won the PC796 Honus Wagner PSA 2 in Heritage. I loved the image. My goal at the National was to improve my SGC 2.5 T206 Green Cobb. The card was superb for the grade. Orly helped me pick it out. I had no luck improving it at the National....

I sold it there.

I used those funds to get something nice at the Natty....

I go and visit Don Hontz (super duper nice guy). I see all of these nice looking/expensive cards. I had my eye on the Max Stein Cobb and the PC796 Cobb Wagner SGC 1.5... I was a few hundred $ short for the Max Stein Cobb but I got the PC796 Cobb/Wagner. It made sense since I had just purchased the Wagner a few weeks prior. Every time I passed his table another Cobb was gone.

A friend, who was at the show with me, said that I should complete the set. At the time, I didn't know much about the set. I looked into it and noticed it was only 25 cards. So it was something I thought could be achieved. I was in the mode to make that happen. If i hadn't purchased the Cobb/Wagner, I don't think I would have put the set together.

I bought almost every PC796 I saw at the show(Lajoie, Chance, Bridwell, and Cobb/Wagner). I was off to a great start.


Most of the cards in the PC796 set have a population of ~15 or less. So I like collecting something that is rare. I've always loved collecting vintage cards. I believe that value will increase and so will the demand. I like the images, especially the Speaker and the Cobb/Wagner(the best players of the dead-ball era shaking hands before the 1909 WS). Jim Van Brunt told me that maybe only 4 people that he knows have completed the set. In my pursuit, the hardest card to obtain was Tris Speaker. Most people who have completed the set state that Eddie Plank was the toughest.

I've made new connections while attempting the set: SeaBlaster Karthik Naidu, Mike Peich, Jeffrey Lichtman, DJ Richards, Jim Van Brunt, Taylor Hamilton, and Don Hontz. I hope I didn't leave anyone out.

This past April, my wife and I were planning to visit Boston for the Boston Marathon (we were going to spectate about 10 friends running the distance). My Eddie Plank was mailed to a Boston address and I was going to visit where it ended up back in 1910, but Covid-19 got in the way of that. Maybe next year I'll check that out.