Posted By:
Ryan ChristoffJason,
Glad to hear about your interest in vintage cards. I think the most important part of your collection-building process is educating yourself, which it sounds like you are doing. This is more important than owning a single card for now.
When I was your age I had a fairly substantial collection, at least compared to anyone else I knew that was my age. In fact, I bought my first car when I was 16 by selling off some Don Mattingly rookies. Well, after the Mattingly rookies were gone, everything else followed within a couple of years as girls and cars became much more important than building a collection. I think this is a pretty common experience for many collectors.
I didn't care about cards at all for a few years, but eventually I came back to them and started to build a collection again. I had a better idea of what I wanted to collect because I had some knowledge about the history of the game from when I was younger. I was reading about Ed Delahanty, Josh Gibson and Oscar Charleston while my friends were buying hundreds of Pete Incaviglia rookies.
Most of the cards I've ever made money on were ones that I overpaid for at the time, but bought because I loved them and never even considered the idea that I might one day sell.
I guess what I'm saying is if you buy cards you really like, you'll do just fine. If it's trimmed T205 Cobbs, then go get 'em.
Also, I agree with Jay, it wouldn't hurt to re-think your role models. (insert smiley face)
-Ryan