Pre War Set advice

[CrazyDiamond]

Looking for some advice


I have recently shifted my focus to pre-war cards. At first I wanted to take on the T206 set but i realized this may be too much to handle right off the bat. I then shifted to just pre-war hofers which is fun but i would like to focus on ccompleting a set.

I have limited knowledge, so i am asking for any kind of advice or recommendations for a set to start working on. Looking for something challenging but not impossible. Also, My budget isnt one that can handle a set like the moster so please take that into consideration.

I just found myself buying one big card a month and would like to have something else so that when I go to shows I can have something to focus on - rather then looking for the one card that pops out at me.

One other thing - because my knowledge of prewar cards is so limited I prefer to purchase graded cards. I understand that gets a little more expensive but i like the peace of mind when purchasing. Low grade with nice eye appeal has been my focus and will remain that when I find a set to work on.

thanks in advance for any/all advice anyone can give.

[Leon]

Depending if you like the chase of completing a set more than the cards you might consider type collecting. It is anything you want it to be, literally. Since I am close to completion on my type set (not recommended) I just acquire cards I like, for whatever reason. I had an e95 already but when I saw this one I had to have it. I finally made a deal with a board member, at the last national, and couldn't be happier with it. There are less costly cards that are just as great looking too. (of course) Whatever you do, have fun with it!!

[BicycleSpokes]

Though I do not own any, I always thought the 1941 Play Ball set would be fun to try (72 cards). Alternatively, you might try to tackle a T206 subset like the Southern Leaguers (48 cards).


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[conor912]

I don't collect t206, but it is my understanding that the set can be as complex or as simple as you want to make it. If that's what appeals to you, go for it.

My first prewar set was '33 Goudey, which is a good alternative, albeit expensive once you hit the Ruth's. I would recommend '34 Goudey, as it's a smaller set and has no Ruths. No matter what you pick, since you're going for low grade, I would also recommend raw instead of graded. Graded cards are like training wheels, nice to have at first, but you'll never learn what to look for if you just use the slab as a crutch. Plus the likelihood of a low grade goudey being messed with is pretty low, comparatively. Just my two cents anyways.

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by conor912

I don't collect t206, but it is my understanding that the set can be as complex or as simple as you want to make it. If that's what appeals to you, go for it.

My first prewar set was '33 Goudey, which is a good alternative, albeit expensive once you hit the Ruth's. I would recommend '34 Goudey, as it's a smaller set and has no Ruths. No matter what you pick, since you're going for low grade, I would also recommend raw instead of graded. Graded cards are like training wheels, nice to have at first, but you'll never learn what to look for if you just use the slab as a crutch. Plus the likelihood of a low grade goudey being messed with is pretty low, comparatively. Just my two cents anyways.

Agreed...you can collect the southern leaguers...or a specific team...or the different backs...or portraits...whatever u want!

[x2drich2000]

Hello Greg,

A good alternative to T206s are the caramel sets (e92-e98, e101-e102). Most of these sets are small, loaded with HOFers and can be put together relatively inexpensively. They also aren't nearly as common as T206s so some can be a bit of a challenge.

This board can come up with some great suggestions if you give more details about what appeals to you (i.e. portraits vs action shots, time period preference, players you definitely want an example of, b&w vs color, a little more specific on amount you want to spend, do you want to be searching for cards for years or weeks, etc?)

In addition, you'll see a link to Old Cardboard at the top of the page. Old Cardboard has a great listing of different sets and most have an image gallery that you can browse through. It is a great resource when you are trying to find what you like.

DJ

[ullmandds]

e94 is a great pre war set to collect too...it is tough...but these days there seem to be a lot of them around at good prices.

[edhans]

E90-1.

[glchen]

Since you're still unsure what set you want to collect, I would recommend collecting HOFer's since if you change your focus later, those cards will be the easiest to re-sell. (However, you should always make sure that you purchase for a decent price and not just buy BIN's from ebay. You can use VCP or check past completed sales on ebay for this.)

If you don't want to go the HOFer route because you are by nature a set collector, then I would take some time and just look through some of the pickup threads here (like Feb or March), and just get an idea of what kind of cards that you enjoy looking at. You can also go to other resources like Old Cardboard or even ebay and the auction house catalogs. When you narrow it down to a few sets that you think you would like to collect, then you can come back to the forum and ask the board what they think about these sets and how collectible they are? That is, are certain cards practically impossible to obtain because they are so rare or expensive or is this a good set you to collect? You can also think about if you want certain HOFers in the set that you collect. For example, if you want a Ruth card in your set, you should probably look at 1920s-30s. If you want a Cobb, then 1900s - 1910s might be better. The T206 is always very popular and as others have said, you don't have to limit yourself to collecting the entire monster, but can just look to collecting a subset. The 1933 Goudey is an nice set, but there are 4 Ruth's and 2 Gehrig's as well as the practically unobtainable Lajoie, so that set can become very expensive. Good luck in whatever you decide!