I'm wanting to get started in pre-war cards

[wdwfan]

But I have no idea where to start. Here's my thoughts.

I've recently started watching the Ken Burns' Baseball series in my down time, and it's started the itch to want to get started in pre-war stuff. But my problem is I do not have a lot of money to put towards a nice collection. In other words, I'll never own a Cobb or Matthewson or Young or any of those huge, huge names.

Another problem I face is I don't deal in graded. Is buying non-graded pre-war a good idea? I'm thinking anything from like a T set (there's several and so many different backs) all the way up to a Goudy. Possibly a Play Ball type set. I'd like to just pick up a few cards of various sets just to diversity my collection.

Right now, I'm working on a few 1950s-1960s set, and I love the vintage. But I've never dealt in anything older than that. I would be buying on eBay or on here for the most part. Don't know much about auction sites/houses.

Before anyone asks, I did own a booth at an antique store for some time. But I've never owned anything older than the 1950s and have never seen anything older than the 1950s except for online. So I truly have no idea about any pre-war type cards or where to start. So please don't turn this into a thread making fun of me or questioning my asking about this topic.

[Leon]

I am a type collector. The ole one of each syndrome. However, that was what I used to do. Now I collect types and cards I like. The fun thing about collecting is you can do anything you want to. Collect what appeals to you. Raw is fine but buy from trusted sources. Get your feet wet before you totally jump in. Good luck...Our BST is a pretty good place to find some nice cards. Have fun...



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[conor912]

Go to oldcardboard.com. It’s an amazing resource that will help you get started. At the top of the main page you’ll see the different categories...”T cards, R cards, N cards” etc. When you click on each of those, you’ll see a list of just about every set ever produced within that category. At the top of the list is a “Gallery of sets”. This gallery has a photo example of a card from each set. Browse these. There are certain to be designs that stand out to you. Make a list of those that do and do some more research until you land on one (or a few) that you’re willing to take a plunge into and dive in. Buy one card from a few different sets. Having them in hand might push you one way or the other. Go slow and eventually you’ll find your groove. If you’re going with raw, definitely start with lower grade commons. That’s my super condensed primer.

[mrvster]

You are going to love it here!

try on some T206! there are literally thousand of ways to collect them....if you need any help, just message me

Peace

Johnny V

[Rhotchkiss]

+1

T206 is a huge set, can be obtained raw, has a ton of diversity and can be collected in so many ways (it is “the Monster”), can be reasonably affordable (most cards), and is very widely collected so it’s a great way to meet people and make friends. Also, it’s a great way to learn players who played and coached into the 20’s, 30’s and beyond, and to learn about the world of advertising backs and front-back variations. Great place to start IMO (but admittedly, I am biased).

[Mark]

You are where just about everyone here was at the start of their collecting careers. Unlike many of us, from the start, you have a lot of friendly and knowledgeable people at net54 at your disposal. In my opinion, you can still get some nice raw, cards of famous players from sets like the t206 and 33 Goudey --- and if you're not too worried about condition, they are not astronomically expensive. If I were just starting out, I'd go to ebay, pick out a couple of rough condition examples, and get to know the look, feel, and geneal size of the older cards. Any set or condition that attracts you will do.

[todeen]

Welcome. Ungraded cards can be had here on BST. It's a great place to get your feet wet.

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[donmuth]

Suggest you look into acquiring a hall of fame player to start. You can find raw (or graded) HoFers from many pre-war sets inckuding T206 for a reasonable price. Jyst watch the Net54 B/S/T forum and start there. You can always expand from there if you like, but uf not then you at least have a HoF player which is always a nice add to a collection.

Good luck!

[drcy]

Lots of great Pre-War cards, lots of variety Nothing wrong with buying a variety of cheap, low grade, ungraded cards.

[pawpawdiv9]

Sign up with REA. Get their Catalog in the mail.
And when you do-- You must at first SMELL EVERY PAGE!!!!
Thats after you dropped the 50lb catalog on your foot of course.
REA will get you hooked and you wont get rid of this disease- no cure for it.
Read all the write-ups as they are informative and the photos are just icing on the cake.
(no disregard to the many other Ah's i use.- i just think of REA as Xmas)

[wdwfan]

Okay another question. I think I've decided to start getting my feet wet in grading, and I think this era would be good for that. But here's my concern.

I really, really like the look of the SGC slabs with the black background against the cards. But from what I can tell, they don't hold value to nor are worth as much as PSA. Is this correct? Is one better than the other when it comes to buying vintage?

I like the eye appeal of the black background on the SGC versus the glassy look of PSA, but I don't want to be losing money if/when I try to sell in the future.

[todeen]

I also suggest the exhibits. The 1920s sets have some iconic names in them.

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[Mrc32]

I tried a bunch of different sets - e102, e90-1s, t206s, m101-2, but I was most attracted to t205s. It was a lot of fun working on it - but alas most have been sold off. Try different things - if you find your interest going someplace else - just sell.