Very basic question

[robsbessette]

I know this is one of the most basic of basic questions, but I'm generally a post war guy who happens to pick up pre war once in a blue moon...

Are gold border T205s generally harder/ more rare to come across than a normal back T206?

Which are generally more sought after?

Thanks in advance

Rob

[ullmandds]

I'm no t205/T206 expert...but I'd surmise that common T206's are certainly more common than common t205's due to the length of production of t206's compared to t205.

From a desirability standpoint...that's a toughie...there are definitely more t206 collectors than T205...commons in either set are just that..."common"...pretty easy to find in almost any condition...and not terribly desirable in the vintage bb card collecting universe.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

I'm no t205/T206 expert...but I'd surmise that common T206's are certainly more common than common t205's due to the length of production of t206's compared to t205.

From a desirability standpoint...that's a toughie...there are definitely more t206 collectors than T205...commons in either set are just that..."common"...pretty easy to find in almost any condition...and not terribly desirable in the vintage bb card collecting universe.

In the past, I preferred T206s, just because of the hugeness of the set, various types of poses available, and all the various front/back combinations. There are also a lot of collecting possibilities with proofs and printer scrap, HOF portraits only, teams, Southern Leaguers, matching lithos with original photos, etc. Another real bonus is the beautiful Horner-based portraits.

The T205s are just gorgeous with the gold borders and vivid colors; however, they are all portraits and the set is much smaller. That's basically why I never collected them, but some of them are such classics that I just had to have them in my collection; for instance, the T205 Cobb is just classic. But the detail of the lithos can also cause issues - the Mathewson can be a horror if the eye registration is off. Another problem in my opinion, is that a poor to good T206 looks nicer than a T205 in the same condition - so it can be more expensive to collect T205's if you require a presentable grade. Also, they have nice info on the back, so a good back is more critical. My first card back was a T205 Cobb I picked up two weeks ago (with a horrible back), so I decided to work on the set, but no low-grade this time.

Apologies for the lengthy meandering thoughts, but since I complained about not getting responses to my own T205 questions, felt like I should throw in my 2 cents on this one.