My collecting year has been made. I doubt I'll get something as big to me as this pretty much ever. I started my T220 Silver set when I was 12 in Christmas 2003, when my Dad bought me my first 7 boxing cards because they looked cool with the silver borders and he thought I might like them even though they weren't baseball. Probably a mistake, I've been addicted to the T220 Silver's and from there the whole c. 1910 E/T/C card period of boxing ever since. 6,975 days later my favorite set is finally complete, and in spectacular fashion for I completed my first set, my second set, my third set, my fourth set, my fifth set, my sixth set, my seventh set, and my eighth set all at once. It was peak hobby enjoyment to take this box over and open it up with my Dad like we did with my first T220 silvers.
I don’t know how many Corbett’s are out there, I have not tracked them as religiously as I have the 4 Donovans (a lot easier to track, as they have all been discovered during my time in the hobby and in the scan era) but these 8 probably represent around 50-66% of the total population now. PSA has 4 graded, SGC’s registry produces 0 Corbett’s and 0 Donovan’s and just 1-3 of the commons so it is clearly useless still but I don't believe they've ever had one. I've heard of a couple raw ones out there, but rumors aren't photos.
I don't want to out anyone who might want to remain anonymously private but I got a call from the original buyer, who didn't have to do this at all as I have no entitlement to these whatsoever, and structured a deal specifically just to get the Corbett sheet into my silver-loving collection. Even after we discussed bids and valuations, that it might one day be a Graziano type item in an open and properly listed sale, and his original intent to quietly keep it, he offered it to me because reconstructing this sheet is my passion project at a generous price in one heck of a gesture. Not only did he do this great kindness, he then shipped me the sheet immediately before we had even finished the logistics of payment. I've arranged for certain unique items to end up in certain peoples collections because they really care about them, but this is a value range I don't typically even play in at all. Wow!
I will also insert a plug for the remaining 2 panels that have survived to the present. To whoever owns the Randall/Belasco, I will pay you stupid money for it. Same for the Choyinski if its owner ever gets bored of looking at it. And with the Corbett printing proofs, I still need a final production normal Corbett to go along with them. I’m going to keep building some side sets of 23 (One side set I’m doing is fully beaters, trying to find the worst condition examples of each of the 23 base cards I can) of it as it is my favorite release, but I’m almost wrapped up here with as complete a collection as can be made. I’m not aware of any extant oddities I don’t own, but who knows what is out there (hint hint
). Maybe a Jack Goodman really will crop up one day and give me a new white whale.