T206 buying advice

[cliffyb]

Hi All, I’ve been a member for the past year and I love the site. It’s great to be “around” people who love baseball as much as you all do. I’m posting this because I’m interested in buying a T206 card and you guys seems to know the ropes. My dream budget is $2,500 but in reality it’s probably much lower than that. I’d like to ask the following questions and I’m interested in what you have to say in response.
- is it better to buy a HOFer at a lower grade or someone else at a higher grade? I do have some preferred players
- are certain card backs preferable to others? I’ve read some, like Polar Bear, are more rare than Caporal, for example
- I assume buying a graded card is smarter than buying a raw card
- I don’t expect anyone to predict the future but is it “safe” to assume that these cards will always be special, even if they don’t appreciate tremendously in value? I’d buy the card because I love having it and looking at it, not because I expect to flip it and buy a new car
- how do I display the card? I’d kind of hate to buy it and then keep it hidden and out of view

I’m open to any and all suggestions or pointers. Thanks again!

Cliffyb