ive only ever tried to put together full sets. i tried and failed putting together a T206 520 set. im working on a T205 set with the toughest back (sans Drums/Hindus) for each front as well as the M101-2 set.
most people will tell you to try and buy the most expensive/toughest cards first, because those are the cards that will likely to continue to go up in value or be harder to locate, while commons will generally stay at similar costs or go up slightly and are much more readily available.
ive always been a big proponent of binders for cards, because i like flipping through my cards and looking at them, and they look fantastic when in a binder page, lined up right next to each other. my focus has always been on lower grade cards for the binders, but ive never had any issue damaging a card just using basic common sense (taking care when adding/removing cards from the page, and using a stamp tong to add/remove them from the pockets, using a binder with a slip cover). ive cracked out 100+ cards from PSA/SGC/Beckett slabs for my binder and never had any issues.
your mileage may vary, as always.
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My T206 research thread
My T205 Census thread
Want list: M101-2, T205s (American Beauties)
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