How long have you been working on your set ?

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Posted By: JohnnyH

I started working on my 1934 Goudey set in 1998 and just finished it, it took me 10 years and 5 months. Of course with upgrades I don't know I will ever be completely finished. I have upgraded about 50 and can't seem to part with the doubles, I guess I consider them part of the set. Overall its a vg-ex set some better some worse. There were many breaks of 9 months up to 2 years where I didn't purchase any cards, but I always came back and kept plugging away. I cracked every graded card I picked up except the Gehrigs. Even though it's only 96 cards many times I thought I would never finish it, but happy I didn't give up.


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Posted By: Paul Carek

That's a great accomplishment, Johnny. Congratulations! (And nice Gehrigs.)

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Posted By: John S

Congrats on completing your '34 Goudey set. I have been working on the E254 Colgan's set since 1995.

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Posted By: Paul

I've been working on the N28 set for a couple hours now. I've been trying to narrow my focus to a couple sets, but I'm not very good at it. The set I've been working on the longest are the Novelty Cutlery postcards. It's been about 2.5 years since I started on that set.

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Posted By: JohnnyH

Thanks Paul and John !! It's been quite the fun mission. After I got married in '98 I got back into cards. My favorite grandparents were married in '34 so I started picking them up, I loved the fact that Gehrigs face was on them. The high numbers are really cool, I wish instead of 'Chuck Klein says' it was 'Babe Ruth says'. I have heard that Ruth didn't want to be in the set and also heard that Gehrig didn't want him in it, not sure what happened with that, maybe Ruth thought having 4 in the 33 set was enough.

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Posted By: Frank Wakefield

Congratulations, Johnny.

I lack 40 of those Goudeys, and have been picking up a few at a time for about 25 years. What were they doing to us collectors of the future sticking 2 Gehrig cards in a set?? And aren't those last 24 cards a bit more difficult to chase down!!

Perseverance. You maintained that.

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Posted By: Jim Thierfelder

This is probably going to ramble a bit...

I received my first 4 T206 cards about ten years ago as a Christmas present and decided 4 years ago to work on a set. Since then I have accumulated 118 cards including many HOFers.

I keep having this urge to sell them and work on a more attainable set, or maybe just do the T206 HOFer action poses or put together a 25 card collection like others on the board have mentioned. But then I look at the cards I have and the poses, artwork, colors, and player selection are incomparable

For what it is worth I have to work toward completion of something, so it may be 15 more years but I will complete this set (minus the big 4). Lets just say its on my bucket list.

Congrats on completing your Goudey set. What did if feel like to put the last card in place?

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Posted By: JDRUM

I have been working on a '23-'24 Exhibit set for over 10 years. Sure wish I would have bid on one of Lipset's many sets (missing the Ruth) that I had a chance to. Mostly likely it will complete me bf I do it.

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Posted By: Marty Ogelvie

The 34 Goudeys are wonderful looking cards, I think I have one in my collection.



I am currently working on the T206, have been for almost 2 years now. Slow going but i will get there eventually.



It's hard to keep my focus when board members show off their fancy cards from other sets. I end up spending my T206 budget on some other cards that happened to catch my eye.. argh

marty

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Posted By: JohnnyH

Good luck Frank, yeah the last 24 are a lot tougher to find. Two Lou's in the set is tough but they are so so nice and completely different unlike the 33's.
It feels really good to complete a set, putting the last card in was kind of shocking, not sure what to do next after such a long ride kind of feeling. I just love looking at the Gehrigs, the scans don't do them justice. I can't imagine trying to put together a 33 with 4 Ruths and the impossible Lajoie.

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Posted By: JohnnyH

I really like these two, great cards with a classic look !!

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Posted By: Dave Hornish

Nice job on the 34's.

I bought my first T206 about 27 years ago, then another about eight years after that. I bought a bunch of first tier HOF'ers and tougher cards in 2007 and especially 2008 and have about 15% of the set (less big 6) done. I figure in 7 or 8 more years I'll be finished so it could be 35 years (but really 10 actively collecting it)! I get sidetracked but come back to it.

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Posted By: john/z28jd

Just this Saturday I received my winnings from 19thcenturyonly's last auction, 4 Old Judge cards that officially put me over the halfway point to a player set. Since I can't afford 1 Cal Lg card(forget 18 of them) I am going for what seems like the unattainable goal of 503 different players. I've basically been collecting the set for 7 years and on a budget,but its good to see other people who have the patience to set a goal and reach it.

I got my first Old Judge card about 14 years ago,a Joe Mulvey from the Larry Fritsch catalogue. I added a few here and there for the first 7 years but I was collecting the T206 set at the time. For those going for that set,stick with it,its worth the time put into when you do finish. Took me about 13 years to get every card from Magie on down and all the back brands(unless you think for some reason the Ty Cobb back is a t206 card).

When I finally did start collecting Old Judges only, I went for a Pirates team set of just the 1887 players. Then when I finished that I started buying all of the Pittsburgh players and some extra poses of a few players. As of right now I'm only missing Deacon White for the full team set. I've also tried to pick up as many team examples as I can,Im really only missing the toughest ones but do have a few of them teams with only one player that represents them. To people who need a Larry Corcoran card,Im really sorry,I have a problem and I know it...just completed my 25 man roster of Corcoran cards with the last one on ebay.

About 3 years ago I decided to go for a player set and thats where I am now.I'm not in any rush to finish the set,I might buy two a month and finish it in 10+ years,I might hit a wall and just not find a player for a long stretch that I need and try for all of the poses of Pirates players to hold me over.
Whatever happens,happens so as I sit here right now, 253 down and 250 to go,I encourage anyone who is collecting a set they like on a budget and thinks they've set a goal too lofty,keep going,the worst thing that can happen is you don't reach the goal because you just gave up and you wonder what could've been. Finishing a set over a long time is a great reward,when I finished that t206 set I basically felt like a kid again back in 1987 when I got a Teddy Higuera card to finish my 1987 Topps set I put together thru packs and trades.

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Posted By: Donavon Arabie

I finally finished my 1939 Goudey R303-B B/W set after starting with the 3 my grandfather left me in 1999. It was very difficult to finish the set in EX-MT to MINT condition to match the 3 I had. Now, I have started an even more difficult journey with the 1914 Coupon T213-2's. With only 20 so far, I imagine this one will take me until I'm playing with my own grandchildren.

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Posted By: Michael C

Ha! I remember the last card I needed to complete the 1987 Topps set as well....#71 Mike Aldrete. I bought it in a card shop in Ohio when I was visiting my Grandmother. It was as if it was a 52 Mantle!

I'm about 6 years in on the midgrade T-205 set(VG-Ex), which in comparison to some of you guys, seems like not long at all. I have been slowly chipping away with an annual card budget that would compare to many board members monthly budget. I quit for several years and just got back in the swing of it in the last month or two, now that the kids are less demanding. I'd guess I'm a little under 50% there. I picked up 2 HOFers over the weekend that puts me at 13 of the 29 HOFers (and variations). I haven't decided if I am going for the master or basic set (I do have one variation...the Wallace 2 lines).

It has been a hard but rewarding quest. I have, like others have posted, thought about putting them all up for sale and giving up...but I just can't seem to part with them.

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Posted By: Glenn

My most recent card-collecting hiatus ended in December 2006. I've been slowly plugging away at 3 sets since then -- E95, C46, and R327. I have most of the E95s now, but neither Wagner nor Cobb, so it would be a little misleading to say I'm most of the way through. I won a couple of C46s last night, but at my current pace I won't be finishing that one for at least another decade. I think I'm up to about 30% of the Diamond Stars base set now; I figure I can finish that off some time in the next decade and then decide if I want to make it a master set.

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Posted By: Tyler

Been working on a low grade, basic T205 set since June 1st, 2008. Currently need 20 cards (including Cobb, Joss and Wilhelm) but none the less, feel quite proud of the progress I've made, under a quite conservative budget.