Great story and great post, Thanks for taking all the time to write and create it.
I can totally relate to now feeling like a bonehead for selling "modern" to acquire vintage. When I got back into collecting in 2015, I bought all the "modern" rookies and great cards. For me, modern is anything after 1925! So I had my 51 Bowman Mantle and Mays, my 55 Clemente, two 54 Aarons, a 48 Leaf Paige and Robinson, 49 Bowman Paige and Robinson, 1952 Topps Mays and Robinson, 1952 Bowman Mantle and Mays, etc. I even had a very pretty OPC Gretzky PSA 8 and the signed Brady and Manning Rookies in BVG 9.5s that now sell for $50k a piece.
But I really loved the old stuff, especially rare back T206s. So, I sold or traded all of those modern cards to acquire things like an E105 Wagner, a one of a kind Weil Baking Cobb, a T206 Magie, a PSA 8 1887 A&G Anson (I traded the Brady, Manning and cash for this). I love the cards I picked up, but in retrospect, I probably left $500k on table, as the cards I acquired have increased a fraction of the "modern" cards I disposed of.
Oh well. I love my collection of very old, rare, and dead guys. With a little luck, I will own and enjoy it for decades and I am confident I will one day sell the cards for far more than I acquired them for. But it is indeed very tough to see what is going on with modern and not kick yourself.... hard!
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