nice sets for tough economic times

[Archive]

Posted By: leon

I feel the Exhibit series of cards are one of the really nice looking "period" cards that are still affordable to most....Other opinions on nice affordable sets....?

[Archive]

Posted By: Fred C

T201 has always been a reasonable set to complete. The prices for T201 have always been pretty low in comparison to the T206 set and other period sets. This is a set that can easily be collected on a budget.

[Archive]

Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

How about that Play Ball set that we had a thread on earlier in the month? Provided you're not condition sensitive, I would imagine that to be a fairly affordable larger set, and, if I recall correctly, the least valuable of the Play Ball sets.

[Archive]

Posted By: Phil Garry

I think the 1935 Goudey Color 4-in-1 set is a nice one but maybe too easy for some.

[Archive]

Posted By: leon

I think the 1940 PB set suffers from many of the cards being commemorative in nature. The other 2 sets would be ideal except for a few of the bigger cards...and even they are reasonable compared to HOF'ers in many other sets.

[Archive]

Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

My thoughts exactly. I was thinking of the '41 set. As you say, there are the commemorative cards such as Shoeless Joe, which have always been pricey and wholly ill-fitting in that otherwise gorgeous set. It's still my favorite set out of the three due to its size and depiction of several lesser-name players and the fact that I knew perhaps 12 of the players in that set. The '39's are less appealing to me due to their lack of player names on the front (and, of course the high dollar cards). I was never much for the '41 issue, either, but it would certainly be the cheapest to complete.

[Archive]

Posted By: Fred C

I like the 40 Play Ball set. It's one of my prewar favorites. Yes, it is partially commerative but there are two major stars of the era (Williams, DiMaggio) in that set. The Williams, DiMaggio (and Jackson) cards are the expensive keys to the set. Also, the 40PB has a high series which may take a while to complete. I've been working on and off to complete that set for over 20 years. I'm in no hurry. Most of what I need are the high numbers. For me it's a weird set to complete. It's not really on my radar all the time, every once in a while I get this itch to buy a couple cards.

[Archive]

Posted By: Jeff Mohler

Hi Leon

I agree about the exhibit sets. The whales are almost done feeding on the 1921 and 22 sets, so prices have come down on the higher grade material. Lower grade cards are available pretty cheap.

How about the Fine pens and Wide pens? A mid grade set is really cheap and higher grade is not too bad either.

[Archive]

Posted By: peter ullman

I agree with all of the sets aforementioned...additionally the t202's have always been underappreciated and underpriced relative to what they offer!

[Archive]

Posted By: Anthony N.

Along with the exhibits I think the '30's premiums represent a good value. Wide Pens, Fine Pens, etc

The Fan Craze sets are pretty reasonable as well, as long as you're not looking for super high condition, as are the Tom Barker/Polo Grounds/National Game sets.

[Archive]

Posted By: Bob

The 1938 Tattoo Orbit set is very underrated, nice looking and contains a lot of HOFers and stars of the day. Prices have been slowly coming down as many collectors have completed the set.

[Archive]

Posted By: Stephen Mitchell

I recommend the POST-war issues (of pre-war players) produced by various companies (The Sporting News, Marketcom, World Wide Sports and Megacards) under the banner "The Conlon Collection". Featuring the magnificent photography of Charles Martin Conlon the pictures date from turn of the 20th century to 1942 and (except for the early 1990's Conlons) were produced in quantities of the thousands - several at just 12,000 - which is very small for a modern, national issue.

The backs were well written, too, and worthy matches for Conlon's photos. The best, in my view, being those by TSN historian Paul MacFarlane; but all of them are excellent.

T205 and T206 cards are highly prized by collectors today but there was a time (not so long ago) when they were relatively plentiful and financially reachable by nearly any adult and many teenagers. Consider that those classic cards could be obtained in team sets at auction (through the hobby's only regular auction house of the era - Card Collectors Bulletin) for 10 to 15 cents per card in the mid 1960's. Accordingly, the Conlons may be nicely positioned to move much higher in another half century. And if they don't they are still very affordable, enjoyable and educational.

[Archive]

Posted By: Paul

Hey Leon, great question. I think the 18 card W554 set is an under appreciated & great set to collect. Loaded with 13 HOFers, & no cards are short printed in my opinion. Also, there's a nice side project of hunting for the back variations, although the red printed backs are nearly impossible to find.