Sets v. Singles
I have a theory as to why. The earlier generation of baseball card collectors were mostly the older baby-boomers and they were taught by their parents (WWII vets and Depression kids) to finish things and that the satisfaction was in the work of completing the task. For generations the finishing of a set was the key. When I grew up in the 1980's I remember having this conversation with my father about why one card was worth more (84 Topps Mattingly) when it was just as common as the other cards. He could not get it no matter how much we talked it over. He was born in 1934 and it did not make sense and never would.
Almost nobody completes sets anymore and I think the trend will continue to get worse as older collectors pass away.
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