The last card you needed for a set

[darkhorse9]

I have just finished my 1960 Topps set, securing a Maris AS card. It made me wonder what the last card folks needed from a set was? Is it always the hardest card to get or the most expensive? Not with me. I'm curious to know what others had as the last card to complete a set


1954 Topps - Hank Aaron RC
1955 Bowman - Mickey Mantle
1956 Topps - Brooklyn Dodgers team
1960 Topps - Maris AS
1961 Topps - Pirates team
1962 Topps - Stargell Rookie
1963 Topps - Rose Rookie
1964 Topps - Mickey Mantle
1965 Topps - Tug McGraw rookie
1966 Topps - Minnesota Twins team
1967 Topps - Manny Jimenez

[chris6net]

I still need the Pirates team card for my 1971 Topps set. I seemed to have had trouble finding the card in excellent condition and then I just put the set aside minus the Pirates Team. Will knock it off when I have the time and finish the set.

[39special]

I started a '77 topps set in '77 and just finished it about a month ago.The last card was G.Carter.That was just me being lazy.
I also finished my '68 topps game set 3 weeks ago.J.Torre was the last card for that set.For some reason I couldn't find it.
I just started the '71 set,hopefully it won't take as long as the '77 set.

[HaloFan]

There was a story on this subject in Beckett about 15 years' ago and I never get tired of reading it or hear other set collectors discuss this. I've built quite a few sets over the years and there are a few that are quite memorable.

1938- Jimmie Foxx #273
1954-55 HK - Edgar Laprade #56
1957- Ernie Johnson #333
1973- Checklist #588
1974- Pete Rose #300
1977- Thurman Munson #170
1994- Sean Berry #344
1996- #425

I included some recent sets only because those were the ones I built from packs and visits to card shops and for whatever reason had trouble locating those. In '94, I went through three vending boxes trying to find Berry with no luck. Halfway through the fourth and final box the shop had, I finally found him. Seems rather ridiculous but even with modern cards it can happen.

Most of the last cards involving stars, it just so happens they ended up last as they weren't hard to find. When it starts looking like a common might be my final card, I get nervous as sometimes they can be tough to locate. I have since bought more than one 1957 Ernie Johnson just because it ticked me off that one card was the final card I needed to finish the '57 set.

Craig H

[betafolio2]

My most recently completed set, 1971 Topps, actually came down to two missing cards: 649 and 650. Since I had already waited 28 years to finish the set in NM (yep, I started working on it in 1984), I figured I could be a little more patient until I found the cards I needed that met my tough standards. I ended up getting 649 a few times, but each one had been touched up (people are really getting good at doctoring the cards with a black marker so you can't tell -- but since I had become quite the expert in the '71s, I COULD tell, either with my naked eye or with a loupe). So I kept returning the touched up cards. Eventually I won both of my missing cards at the same time in two set break auctions, and they came from an eBay seller who I knew I could trust. And sure enough, when the cards came, they checked out OK. What a thrill to finally slip those cards into my two empty slots in my '71 binder!

[RobertGT]

I've had quite a few "last cards" over the past 10 years, but the one that sticks out for me was the 62 Topps Roger Maris #1 - because of my ordeal in obtaining it. I needed it in PSA 7, and it became a REAL pain to win on ebay. I waited, waited, lost at least three straight auctions in the final 6 seconds, and then waited another 6 months, during which there were none listed on the site at all.

Finally it popped up in a Buy-It-Now for way more than it was worth, of course. I saw it about a day after it was listed and I just grabbed it - overpriced as it was.

I was holding my nose as I sent the money through paypal, but at least I could exhale at having completed a 62T set in NM or better.

[HoofHearted]

Originally Posted by RobertGT

I've had quite a few "last cards" over the past 10 years, but the one that sticks out for me was the 62 Topps Roger Maris #1 - because of my ordeal in obtaining it. I needed it in PSA 7, and it became a REAL pain to win on ebay. I waited, waited, lost at least three straight auctions in the final 6 seconds, and then waited another 6 months, during which there were none listed on the site at all.

Finally it popped up in a Buy-It-Now for way more than it was worth, of course. I saw it about a day after it was listed and I just grabbed it - overpriced as it was.

I was holding my nose as I sent the money through paypal, but at least I could exhale at having completed a 62T set in NM or better.

Replace "Roger Maris" with "Elston Howard" (#400) and you have my story in completing my '62T Master set! My goal for 2010 was to complete the set and it wasn't looking like I'd be able to do that after losing out on a couple auctions. But then, a PSA 8 came up from 707 and (foolishly??) I made a counter-offer and was able to bring the price down a bit. I was ecstatic to complete the set by EOY 2010, Christmas Eve to be exact. A nice gift to myself!

If anyone would like to see the set with pics included, here's a link: 1962 Topps Master Set

[scottpt99]

My last card for the only vintage set I have completed Topps 1954 was #174 Tom Qualters

[mintacular]

I was 1 card short of finishing my 57 BB set (BRob) and then had the bright idea of upgrading and now I'm 50+ cards short of completing it...

[doug.goodman]

April D. Bole is killing me...

[Griffins]

these are the ones that were toughest and last for me, post war

'49 Leaf- Billy Goodman
'53 Bowman- Chuck Dressen. Most of the ones from about 112-131 were tough, 112-119 tougher than the rest for some reason.
'55 Bowman Kueen variations and Bolling variations
'54 Red Heart Snider in PSA 8, always seems to be OC
'54 Wilson Jablonski, easily the toughest
'51 RedBack Holmes Hartford variation
'54 Topps Johnny Sain
'56 Topps Neal and Valdivieso
'58 All of the alphabetical checklists
'59 All of the "no option" or "no trade" variations
'63 Fleer Dalrymple. No idea why, but it killed me.
'64 Topps Giants Romano. Skowron wasn't far behind.
'66 Topps Denny McLain
'67 Topps Colavito of the regular set, the Maris proof took a while longer.

[Jim65]

I started putting my 1965 OPC set together in the late 80's and still need Warren Spahn to complete it. Someday I will coem across a nice Spahn and I'll be finished.

[betafolio2]

Originally Posted by HoofHearted

If anyone would like to see the set with pics included, here's a link: 1962 Topps Master Set

Hi, Mike! Nice set! You say on your PSA registry page that this was the first set you built pack-by-pack. That got me to wondering: How many of the cards in your PSA set actually came from your childhood collection?

[HoofHearted]

Originally Posted by betafolio2

Hi, Mike! Nice set! You say on your PSA registry page that this was the first set you built pack-by-pack. That got me to wondering: How many of the cards in your PSA set actually came from your childhood collection?

Thanks! Would you believe only one card was subbed from my raw set? As I mentioned in another thread about the Card Collectors Company (see Post #7), I completed the Babe Ruth and World Series subsets through the mail. Those are the only high-grade cards in my raw set that were submission-worthy. Card #139 ("Babe Hits 60" with green tint) is the only card that made the grade of PSA 7 or better. The rest of the graded set was bought through purchases with other collectors (with a lot of thanks to Bosox76 -- a very knowledgeable '62T collector) and eBay.

[betafolio2]

Originally Posted by HoofHearted

Card #139 ("Babe Hits 60" with green tint) is the only card that made the grade of PSA 7 or better.

Wow, that one card must be really special to you then! By the way, not to sound ignorant, but I never heard about the green tint issue in the '62s. Can you tell me more about it? I'm always looking to learn something! (And it should be obvious that I'm not working on a '62 set -- YET.)

[brett 75]

When I was collecting the 1978 set I opened pack after pack trying to find Dell Alston , Dennis Lamp and Mickey Klutts . After about 2 months of this I finally figured out that all they last cards I was looking for came on the rookie cards that I actually already had in my card box. Anyone working on the 1978 set ? I have plenty of doubles, Lol ! Brett

[DHogan]

1967 Cookie Rojas. I cannot find one that's nicely centered in EX or better condition.
1985 Topps #536 Kirby Puckett
1993 Topps #276 Paul O'Neill
1994 Topps #214 George Bell

[Rich Klein]

I know we have had discussions about 67 high numbers on the board but I truly think the PG's have the distribution correctly especially when it comes to the double/printed cards

That was always an easy sell iln my dealing days

Rich