I'm at a T206 crossroads and looking for ideas

[ZachS]

For a couple of years now I've pretty much been away from collecting any new cards (first son was born in 2009 and just had son #2 about 3 months ago) and recently I've started selling off some of my collection.

I've given up hope of ever completing the T206 set but I feel like I need to complete "something". At first I was thinking of completing a HOF set but as I was going through my remaining cards I noticed how good all the portraits looked lined up together.

I'm sure many of you have done this and I was wondering if anyone had a readily available portrait only checklist?

I'm also open to other ideas for completing some sort of T206 set. Help! The monster is winning.

[z28jd]

http://t206resource.com/Portraits%20Checklist.html

Consider the cards an investment for the children and keep getting them!

[ZachS]

Originally Posted by z28jd

http://t206resource.com/Portraits%20Checklist.html

Consider the cards an investment for the children and keep getting them!

Thank you, sir. 177 sounds a lot better than 520!

As for the investment side, I even have my wife convinced that they're worth keeping around for a while. She doesn't care for my gun collection or the couple of military vehicles she's like me to get rid of but she doesn't mind the "old cards".

[atx840]

Maybe try a smaller less expensive subset, my first endeavour was the Factory 649 OP. 34 cards, a handful of HOF to keep things interesting and you have to search/requests backscans on every possible card.

Portraits (minus the big three), portraits by background colour, A-Z. Endless really. Good luck!

[t206blogcom]

Go for the southern leaguers, or only southern leaguers with one of the three possible backs?

[PolarBear]

You could do one of the smaller back sets like Polar Bear, or a team set.

Or, just collect 150 cards with a 150 series back. That is possible with Piedmont, SC, and Sovereign, and since the 150 series contains more than 150 cards, you can skip the big 4 and still get to 150.

[25801wv]

I would go for all of the Walter Johnsons, Christy Mathewsons, Cy Youngs, and Ty Cobb's. Or just the 4 Cobb's.

[ZachS]

All good ideas. Thanks to everyone.

I think I'm going to concentrate on the portraits first. I have all the big ones minus Young and Cobb green (with the exception of the ones I'll never afford like Wagner, Plank, Magie).

Besides, I've always wanted the Young portrait. Now I have a reason to actively pursue it.

[T206Collector]

Southern Leaguers. 48 cards. Always in high demand, so easy to flip if needs be. And it is an obvious, discernible subset of T206.

[ZachS]

The only SLers I'm really interested in are the 3 New Orleans players. Of those 3 I like the Fritz card the best.

I suppose I could attempt a Fritz back run which should be 3 cards (I think?)

I also have a couple of Lattimore cards because he and I share the same birthday. I could go for a Lattimore back run as well (10 backs?).

[mrvster]

LOL...

Don't let the monster win.....great investment for your kids if you can swing it.....it's a marathon......let your kids complete it if you can't......

[thehoodedcoder]

i am starting the old mill sl set with 48 cards.

some of the other ones i had on my list are.
pied 150 with 156 cards.
sweet caporal 42 overprint 109 cards

another sweet caporal subset has like 60 or something in it. in low grade it will only cost you 1500 to 3k to do for that one.

kevin

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

I am at a similar crossroads and looking for some guidance. I am working on a low grade set and getting a little burned out. The set is so large that it seems as though I may never get there. I figure that breaking the monster into chunks is probably the best way to deal with it. You know the saying: "you eat an elephant one bite at a time."

Any advice on which team sets are the cheapest to build?

[Howe’s Hunter]

When I started originally in 1989, I bought a binder, enough pages to hold all 524 cards (the 15 to a sheet sheets), printed out little place holders for each card (same size as the card, with the number according to Beckett's guide, players name and any distinguishing characteristics), then put the four or five T206s I had in the proper place with all the place holders in all the the other spaces. First goal, one card on each of the pages. Second goal, fill one page completely. Then another page.

First page I completed was the first page in the binder. Made it look like if you opened it up, there must be a complete set.

Second page was the page with Demmitt. Then the O'Hara page. Then the final page, which of course was all southern leaguers.

Think by the time I stopped, I had six complete pages. Each page had at least three cards by that time.

It took 18 years to get that far. But it seemed do-able just a page at a time.

[wonkaticket]

Try a pose type set, like all cards with bats on shoulders or great pitching poses etc. that could be fun and not too crazy.

[ullmandds]

you could always make life really easy...and just collect t206's of players with moustaches!

[wonkaticket]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

you could always make life really easy...and just collect t206's of players with moustaches!

Too much money.

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

you could always make life really easy...and just collect t206's of players with moustaches!

Hahaha thanks for the laugh. I will keep that in mind.

[wonkaticket]

Or a big John Davidson teeth subset.....

[Sean]

Originally Posted by I Only Smoke 4 the Cards

I am at a similar crossroads and looking for some guidance. I am working on a low grade set and getting a little burned out. The set is so large that it seems as though I may never get there. I figure that breaking the monster into chunks is probably the best way to deal with it. You know the saying: "you eat an elephant one bite at a time."

Any advice on which team sets are the cheapest to build?

The cheapest are of course the teams with the fewest Hall of Famers. I think the Phillies would be the cheapest as long as you don't count Magie.

[Sean]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

you could always make life really easy...and just collect t206's of players with moustaches!

Yeah, but if you're only going to collect Titus, you have to collect every copy of that card.

[Bpm0014]

Why do you even need to collect any subset at all?? In regard to the T206 set, collect whatever you'd like. Collect as many or as little as you want. There are so many cool unique pictures and poses etc. if you don't mind back damage, you can literally get hundreds of cards under $20. There's no reason to collect a particular subset. Do whatever you want! Good luck!

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

Originally Posted by Bpm0014

Why do you even need to collect any subset at all?? In regard to the T206 set, collect whatever you'd like. Collect as many or as little as you want. There are so many cool unique pictures and poses etc. if you don't mind back damage, you can literally get hundreds of cards under $20. There's no reason to collect a particular subset. Do whatever you want! Good luck!

My price range is usually around $20/card and I do not care about the grade. I guess my OCD has the desire to check something off.

[Luke]

Originally Posted by I Only Smoke 4 the Cards

My price range is usually around $20/card and I do not care about the grade. I guess my OCD has the desire to check something off.

I can totally relate to what you're saying. I think I'm at about 130 or so. I've thought about focusing on smaller subsets to make it feel like I'm completing something. I think that can work if you're really patient and don't mind waiting a long time between pickups. However, while you're focusing on say, a particular team set, you'd be missing some good deals on other cards that you will eventually want. I've settled on just embracing the fact that it feels like a never ending journey. I pick up cards here and there in the condition and price range I want, and I don't worry too much about completing anything. I get burned out on T206 every so often, focus more on my other sets. I think Ed's binder idea is a really good one, especially for your set. I would imagine you don't have too many slabbed cards, so you can display them the way they were meant to be. If you did that, you could focus on certain pages at a time, but still pick up other cards that were the right condition and price for your set.

[AMBST95]

T206 is what got me in to vintage cards. I hear you on burning out. The monster wins more often than we like, hence the name. I just set a yearly goal and try to chug away. I also work on other projects to avoid burning out. If I devoted my entire card budget on T206s, I'd lose interest over time but by working on other things and limiting myself to a specific number of T206 purchases it keeps it fresh. I was excited for January to allow myself to start looking at T206s again.

[mrvster]

a freak or two

[jasonc]

Thought I'd bring up an old thread, as this really relates to what I'm dealing with.
I am currently at 220 or so T206 cards, and I am at a crossroads. I feel kind of burned out and on one hand I feel like trading away some cards in order to "complete" something like a Tigers and Browns team set. Which with the HOF's and cards I have, I could do even making a run at trying to get the other 3 Cobb's.
And on the other hand, just keep chipping away. I really feel like getting into something else, which means I could keep what I have and just change focus. I don't want to face the regret of selling what I have.

Is there anybody that was at the 200 or 250 card point then just sold or traded most of them to get into something else, like just going for a T206 subset and using the cash to get into something else?

Maybe some people sold most of their T206 collection and started all over again???

I really do see how the T206 set is called "The Monster"

[VoodooChild]

Hey Jason.....I got up to around 160 a couple months ago after 2 and half years. The T206 Oakes was the first Pre-War card I ever bought. I consider "The Monster" as the "gateway drug" to Pre-War collecting. As the years went on, I started realizing that type collecting was more interesting to me than set building. So, a couple months ago, I sent a bunch of my T206's off to Sterling and sold a bunch here on the BST. For now, I'm going to keep my HOFers with "rarer" backs and all my Pirates. I'm also going to keep one of each back to attempt to but together a back run for my type collection.

I probably still have at least 50 left that I want to sell including common back HOFers and SLers. I kind of look at them as a savings account that I can tap into if I need to finance a purchase for my Type Collection. I still buy a T206 every now and then, for example, when I see a Tolstoi/EPDG/AB HOFer but I do not buy commons anymore.

I don't regret trying to build the set since it is what got me hooked on Pre-War and I don't regret selling most of them off since I was able to then buy cards that I currently find more interesting. Who knows what I'll be into two years from now. But the good thing about T206's is that there's plenty available if you want to start building "The Monster" again.

[PolarBear]

I still like my idea from 2 years ago. Collect 150 cards with 150 series (all same brand) backs.

[jasonc]

Originally Posted by VoodooChild

Hey Jason.....I got up to around 160 a couple months ago after 2 and half years. The T206 Oakes was the first Pre-War card I ever bought. I consider "The Monster" as the "gateway drug" to Pre-War collecting. As the years went on, I started realizing that type collecting was more interesting to me than set building. So, a couple months ago, I sent a bunch of my T206's off to Sterling and sold a bunch here on the BST. For now, I'm going to keep my HOFers with "rarer" backs and all my Pirates. I'm also going to keep one of each back to attempt to but together a back run for my type collection.

I probably still have at least 50 left that I want to sell including common back HOFers and SLers. I kind of look at them as a savings account that I can tap into if I need to finance a purchase for my Type Collection. I still buy a T206 every now and then, for example, when I see a Tolstoi/EPDG/AB HOFer but I do not buy commons anymore.

I don't regret trying to build the set since it is what got me hooked on Pre-War and I don't regret selling most of them off since I was able to then buy cards that I currently find more interesting. Who knows what I'll be into two years from now. But the good thing about T206's is that there's plenty available if you want to start building "The Monster" again.

Some excellent advice. Thanks for sharing

At this point I don't really know what I want to do. Another thought would be to keep 1 of each HOF and trade my commons away to get into something else. Also, a type collection sounds interesting that way I don't have to complete anything if I don't want to.

I was going to build a "Major League" Set, but that is a long road ahead cause of Multiples of Johnson, Young, Mathewson, Cobb etc.

I really do think I can complete a 1 pose of each Major Leaguer (of course, no, Plank, Wagner etc.) I am actually close to that.

[rjackson44]

let them pile up thats what i do ,,,keep buying dont stop

[ullmandds]

hows about keeping the t206's you love...selling the rest...and buying other cards from other sets that you love!

[Mountaineer1999]

I'm in the same boat and I would guess everyone goes through a burnout. It only took me a year and around 125 T206 in the collection. I then moved into a Lumley back run (that I just posted) to try and break things up. I would like to buy a few graded T206 a month but the discretionary income will not allow it so even if I can buy two a month, it will take me 17.5 years to complete the set.
With those number I should probably just come to the realization that it aint gonna happen and go ahead and start sharpening up my golf game for retirement.

[Cozumeleno]

I'd recommend keeping them for now, but collecting something else in the meantime. That way, when you find good deals that come along, you can still add to your set on a casual basis.

Once they're gone, they're gone. Not that you can't start over but your progress will be gone. Unless you really need the money, I'd hang onto them, take a break, work on something else in the meantime, and decide later.

If you still feel the same way in a few months, maybe move them then. But I wouldn't be in a rush to sell them yet - I can't tell you the amount of times I've collected something, got out of it, and got back in later.

[Luke]

Hey, Jason. I was at a similar point maybe 3 years ago. I had around 200 t206. I had started with the HOFers, so maybe 50 of those were HOF. I didn't have much budget to spend on any more cards, and the thought that it would take me years and years to ever finish was really daunting. About that time, I started to get away from buying poor/fair condition cards, but a lot of my cards in my set were poor or fair.

At one point, a Bob Groom in fair condition that I had bought showed up in the mail, and I let the envelope sit in my mail slot for weeks. Eventually I realized that I just wasn't that interested in what I was collecting. I still loved t206, but I wasn't collecting in a way that was fun to me. Finding a Piedmont backed Jeff Sweeney for $28 in nice shape just wasn't doing much for me.

I sold off all of the commons that I didn't really enjoy (probably like 120) and started an E95 set and decided I would collect T206, but with no direction. If I liked a card, I'd buy it, and if it wasn't fun, I wouldn't do it. I ended up getting into backs, and selling a bunch of my HOFers and buying HOFers with tougher backs.

It took awhile, but about two years ago, my latest pursuit came into focus. I found I preferred the 150-350 series for a few reasons (only consists of HOFers, the toughest backs are still affordable, I think the artwork is superior in the first series). So, now I'm working on the most interesting 150-350 series set that I can possibly put together (variety of backs, oddities, print goofs, etc). I haven't regretted any of the cards I've sold or traded.

Sorry for how long that was. The main point of it is that you can really do whatever you want with T206. You can sell all of the cards in your set that you're not in love with and use the money for other cards, or sell all the commons and buy a bunch of non-t206 HOFers, etc. They are really easy to sell, and if you're not feeling it, I doubt you'd regret the decision.

[frankbmd]

A fork in the road............Take it

[dougscats]

Good to see you back and still interested.

Is money and/or time a big issue?

Some excellent advice from Cozumeleno, above, and from many others.

One thing that the Monster teaches you is patience.
Let them pile up now--
It's a buyer's market now!--

As someone else mentioned, I set up a binder with pocket-pages, planned it out, and watched them fill in over the years.
It's such a pleasure flipping through a binder--you can do it any time you want--the easiest way I know of to review a collection.
By all means, do sub-sets while you continue on the big picture [like a jig-saw puzzle in this analogy]. I started out doing Hall-of-famers and Brooklyn Dodgers before I set up my binder alphabetically.

Meanwhile, let the others pile up. If you're in a rush, I don't have to tell you that you can pick them up right here on BST pretty inexpensively [less than ebay].

I started collecting with hall-of-famers [with my son] back in the '90's. After leaving off for some years, I discovered ebay, then Net 54, and it took me 7-9 years to get to 518. Even before I finished, I discovered that I enjoyed the chase even more than the accomplishment. And now I'm continually upgrading my 518.

And from what I see, they're a decent investment. T206's have continued to gradually appreciate over this past 20 years, even while I/you actively enjoy them.

So my advice: Don't quit.
Enjoy the climb.

Doug

[ZachS]

How's it going, Doug? Someone bumped this thread from 2013 but I am still at it... sort of.

Since I started this thread I decided to narrow down my T206's to portraits only. I traded/sold most of my non-portraits and I'm around 60-70% complete with the portrait subset. It's been a while since I picked up a T206 card though.

I've also started a 1953 and 1955 Topps set. Recently I've been considering getting rid of the 53 set though. I also started messing around with some older non-sports sets. I'm actively pursuing T121 SC WWI Scenes cards (about 85% on that one) and R164 War Gum (about 75% complete).

As usual, I'm all over the damn place and my interests change from week to week. Lately I've been digging the T205 set more and the T206 set less.

[T206Collector]

I got to 520 and then sold most of them to buy Lionel Carter's Eddie Plank in 2007. I've climbed up a bit and down a bit a little ever since. I'm in the mid-300s, now without the Plank, which I sold a couple of years back. I just pick them up when the urge hits me, and then let them sit when the urge doesn't.

[PolarBear]

That T121 is one of my all time favorite sets. I had about 20-25 cards at one point but gave up because they're so tough to find.

[ZachS]

Originally Posted by PolarBear

That T121 is one of my all time favorite sets. I had about 20-25 cards at one point but gave up because they're so tough to find.

I picked up a nice sized lot a while back for a good price to start out. I've been able to find smaller lots and singles fairly easily since then. I don't have much more left now and I've saved up a few duplicates. I like vintage cards and military so it's one of my favorite sets as well.

[PolarBear]

If you like military cards, you should try the "T206" of non-sports, the Kinney military series. I'm sure you're probably already familiar with it. 622 cards I think.