Bigger lifetime project: '52 through '85 Topps and '51 Bowman sets

[cardsagain74]

Given the accelerated pace that I've picked up '52s in the last few months, I've started to think even bigger (as far as a more "lifetime" project):

A complete run of '52 to '85 Topps sets. Along with a '51 Bowman. It would be amazing to have all of that to flip through. Covering my dad's childhood up to the early part of my own. The golden years of quality vintage. Nostalgia overload. Always been a complete set junkie anyway.

It would likely be somewhere in the range of grade 1.5-4 up to 6-7, gradually increasing as they get newer. Many will be bought complete when it happens, cause even though set building is fun, the extra cost from doing it that way (for most issues) irks me.

The total cost at current market prices would be around $70 k to almost $100 k, depending on how things end up within my grade range; as with most of my collection, getting the best value in said range is the goal, rather than more rigid expectations. Not an easy feat! No rush. Especially since all those '52 highs won't get here anytime soon.

I'm not going to chart this regularly like with my '52 stuff. Maybe an occasional update. So far I have the following (there's also my grade 3-4ish '55 Bowman set aside from this cause, well, I like the TVs)

'52 Topps (grade 1.5-4.5): just over halfway done, but no key high numbers

'53 Topps (grade 1.5): complete

'55 Topps (grade 3-5): complete

'56 Topps (grade 1.5-6): halfway, low grade Mantle.

'75 Topps (grade 4-6): complete

'78 Topps (grade 6): complete

'80-'85 Topps: lots of it, will have to check my childhood stuff

I asked this when I started my '52 as well, but has anyone taken this project on?

[arcadekrazy]

Good luck with your project. To answer your question, I tried that as well. Most of the 80s stuff I had because that’s when I started collecting. I’ve been working on a 52 tops set off and on for years. The one thing which got to me was the building, card by card, of the 70s sets. I found it quite off-putting. I bought 76-79 complete, and built 73-75. Almost finished 72 before I threw in the towel. I just lost interest. And then the thought of building the 60s sets. Ugh. Basically the same reason I haven’t finished the 52 set - I’ll go at it hard and then wonder why I’m trying to outbid someone by a few dollars for some no name player from a set that came out 25 years before I was born. Throw in the fact that there is no way I’m dropping 30+ grand on a mid grade 52T mantle.

Those are the pitfalls I’ve come across. To avoid burnout, and this is my .02 cents, you may want to pick up a complete set here and there.

That said, I wish you the best of luck and hope you accomplish your goal. I’ll happily monitor your updates.

[cardsagain74]

Originally Posted by arcadekrazy

To avoid burnout, and this is my .02 cents, you may want to pick up a complete set here and there.

That said, I wish you the best of luck and hope you accomplish your goal. I’ll happily monitor your updates.

Thanks for the good wishes. Other than the '52 and '56 (and only cause I already have half of that one including Mantle), I can't imagine the extra cost and burnout from building much else.

Complete sets from the '70s are way too reasonable to find. And the '54 and '57 to '69 aren't that bad. Even the ones with the worst realistic break-up value (relative to that set's typical cost) from those years, the '60 through '66 except the '63, are still less cost-effective to build. Especially in my case, since I don't already have any cadillac '57 to '69 cards except for the '57 Mantle.

Though since I also have the '57 Frank Robinson and Drysdale, maybe I'd have some fun with that one and build it, especially if I could find a good deal on Brooks. But that set is fairly top heavy, so we'll see

[Harliduck]

Yep...been smack in the middle of this project for about 8 years now...

Started by rebuilding a childhood memory of building the 1969 set and took off from there. Took stock of what I had in my childhood collection from the 80's...and just bought the sets I needed, that was cheap. So I have all the Topps, Fleer, Donruss base 80's sets to 1990.

Then the 70's...I had the 78 and 79 from childhood...took the time to upgrade those sets (cheap) and bought the 75, 76, and 77 in mint as whole sets. Well, 76 and 77...my 75 kinda sucks, I need to upgrade or buy a new one...anyhow, finished out 74 (for some reason I had about 70% from childhood. I then built the 70, 71, 72, and 73 sets...72 being the hardest. Had a lot of fun doing that. 70 & 80s...complete. I would say my 70's are 6's to 7's...very picky, and always upgrading (do you ever stop upgrading 71s?).

Went to the 50s next...completed 54, 55, and 57...got some killer 57 lots, one especially from a fellow who bought them himself in packs from 1957...that set had some 8's and 9's...I found this out because I did a set break to pay for an adoption we did (we now have that daughter for 6 years! Good investment...lol) and the set went for easily 5 times what I had into it and shocked me how much that sold for. Anyhow...

Jumped back to the 60's...So I quickly was able to do 68, not a hard set...then 66, then 67...hard sets...lol...then 60, 61, and 63. I also collect classic cars and had the opportunity to buy a rather rare car for the right price (1963.5 Ford Falcon Sprint) and sold my remaining 50 sets, and some of my 60 sets. That put me back a bit towards the goal...ugh.

Last year after a year off I jumped back in...almost done with the 60's (you can see my signature below) and have around 50% of the 50s waiting to be organized.

Long and short of it...yes, that is my goal to go 52-90...and it's been a heck of a journey. Lots of side tracks, lots of fun...and will be worth it. Just focusing on the 60's right now, set by set. Re-finished 1966 a couple of days ago, 3rd time I have done it. I am committed, as of now, haha....to quit selling things off. I don't sell my cars, so I am trying to hold myself to the same standard here. Certainly don't to it for profit, all for fun!

[Harliduck]

Sorry, forgot to mention...I have no interest in Bowman. I have about 200 54 and 55 cards, a few stars and such, just no interest. Maybe when I complete my Topps run I will change my mind, but I think I will simply start rebuilding 60's sets again. BY FAR my favorite. Working on my 4th 69 set, just because. I think I would like to have two of each set 60-68 eventually....

Good luck on your quest! Lots of bend in the curves...there are a few here that have this done, I've learned a TON from folks on this forum, and have picked up a lot of nice cards here through the years. Total asset this site...

[ALR-bishop]

Bowman 48-55
Fleer 1923 and 59-2007

Topps 1948 and 1951 to 2019, including unopened pack run. For Topps also all issued test sets, insert sets and supplemental sets listed in the SCD Standard Catalog through 1994, plus any SCD, Beckett or PSA recognized variations.

Now working on non recognized recurring variants and unissued test sets and doing Heritage sets 2001 to 2019. ( likely will stop those after 1972)

Good luck on your quest

[cardsagain74]

Originally Posted by Harliduck

Went to the 50s next...completed 54, 55, and 57...got some killer 57 lots, one especially from a fellow who bought them himself in packs from 1957...that set had some 8's and 9's...I found this out because I did a set break to pay for an adoption we did (we now have that daughter for 6 years! Good investment...lol) and the set went for easily 5 times what I had into it and shocked me how much that sold for.

It would be great to have a lot of pristine cards from the '50s or '60s for this, but from your timeline, I'm guessing the '57 lot (and any of them) were a lot cheaper back when you got those.

Now they may be more expensive than a daughter

Talking about your favorites being the '60s from your other post has inspired me to make a poll about that here in a few.

[Harliduck]

Originally Posted by cardsagain74

It would be great to have a lot of pristine cards from the '50s or '60s for this, but from your timeline, I'm guessing the '57 lot (and any of them) were a lot cheaper back when you got those.

Now they may be more expensive than a daughter

Talking about your favorites being the '60s from your other post has inspired me to make a poll about that here in a few.

The 57's was one of those "once in a lifetime" type deals, at least for me. My local card shop owner actually gave me the tip as the guy wanted to sell but didn't want to come down to his shop. 300ish different 57's, mostly commons, all pristine. From packs in 57 to his shoebox...I offered him $700, he said he just wanted $500 as he had something he wanted to buy his wife. So yeah, not going to replicate that. He was shocked I paid that. The Don Zimmer card alone went for $126 when I did the set break, the mid series went crazy...I was shocked. One person bought a majority of them and let me know that most were 8's with some 9's and a few 7s. I probably should have submitted them myself. LOL. Just not into graded cards.

One funny side note, one card came with a crease...Joe Nuxhall. That was his favorite player as a kid because he played when he was 15...and he used to look at that card a lot. I kept that one...still have it to remember that deal. sharp corners and a crease...lol.

[bobsbbcards]

Originally Posted by Harliduck

...I did a set break to pay for an adoption we did (we now have that daughter for 6 years! Good investment...lol)

She's was only a six, but I'll bet she's been upgraded to a seven by this point.

[cardsagain74]

Bob, that edit was quick but not fast enough (I saw the missed-old-bump first draft heh)

[Harliduck]

Originally Posted by bobsbbcards

She's was only a six, but I'll bet she's been upgraded to a seven by this point.

I missed the pre edit...but yes, maybe even an 8.5....


That was a fun re-read for sure...and wow, I made a lot of progress in a year. Hope others have as well!

[Nick55]

cardsagain: good luck with your sets. I built ungraded '71 through '81 topps baseball and bought complete ungraded '82-'87 topps baseball sets. For the 1950's and 1960's, I built one favorite topps baseball set from each decade. I chose 1957 and 1969 (both ungraded).

I kicked around the idea of building other sets from the '50's and '60's (e.g., 1959), but could never pull the trigger; too many expensive commons of too many players I never heard of. Instead, I bought the book, "The Complete Picture Collection - a 40 Year History 1951-1990 topps Baseball Cards" which has every card front pictured for those years. The book is big and heavy, but cheaper and takes up way less space than having the actual cards from those years. And for me, it sufficiently scratches the itch. I love that book as do my kids who pull it out to look at from time to time.

I am also building a "type baseball set" for each year for the years 1952-1968, excluding 1957, to put in a binder. I chose 9 cards for each year to fill one, 9-pocket page per year. I've "completed" 1958-1960, and 1968. Each 9 pocket page has a few HOF'ers, a checklist, team card, world series card, league leaders card, and/or other "insert" or "all star" card. I pick the cards with the goal providing a sample of cards that gives a good feel for the particular year. I also pick players that I've heard of.

There's many ways to do it, of course, depending on one's interests, financial situation, storage space, and time, among other things.

Again, I wish you the best building those sets!

[darkhorse9]

What a great project. I accomplished most of that recently.

I have all Topps sets 1951-2020 complete except 52 high numbers
All Bowman sets 1948-1955 complete except for 1949 (about 1/2 done on 49)

Now I'm working on oddball set runs like Hostess, Kellogg's, Post, Red Man etc.

I have no clue how much I've invested and I don't care. I'm keeping it all until I'm gone and my son can sell it for whatever he wants.

[kailes2872]

I decided to get back into in 2012. My goal was to buy all of the sets that were just pipe dreams when I was a kid. Within a week, I bought 73-85. Over the next month, I was able to find a near complete '68 and '71. I quickly bought the cards to complete them. A month later, I ran into a guy selling '72 and '66. I then bought '69 and '70 online.

A couple of months later, decided to start on '67. That was a journey. I didn't realize what I was in for on the high numbers. I spent way too much money for just mediocre conditioned lower numbered cards. By the time I upgraded those cards plus found the high numbers, I was very deep into that set. I learned a lot about set building and paid a pretty big stupid tax.

In 2013, I bought '65, '64, and 63. I then bought '60, '58, and '59. I got the '58 at a show and needed to upgrade Williams, Mays, Mantle, and Maris. I got them all in PSA 6. '59 I bought cheap on EBay and it was in pretty poor condition. I spent the next year upgrading about half of the set including the majority of the hall of famers. Nearly all of those HOFers are in PSA 6.

2014 brought '57 (from a Net 54 member), '62, and '61. Similar to other sets, I upgraded a lot of the HOFers into a higher grade but kept the raw cards in the binder. In late 2014, I bought a lot of '56's and proceeded to build that set card by card over the next year. All 34 HOFers are in PSA 6 and I was able to get pretty solid ExMt on everything else. I have most of the team card variations. It is definitely my favorite set as I have the most time and energy into it. I can look at that set for hours on end.

I was able to find a '55 Topps set missing 7 key HOFers including Clemente, Mays, Aaron, Williams and a few others. It had a Koufax and Killebrew but they were both pretty rough. Over the next year, I bought and upgraded all of the HOFers to PSA 6. It is a solid Ex+ all the way through. I enjoy looking at that set but not nearly as much as my '56.

In early '15, I bought a '54 set missing Aaron and Banks. I was able get those two in PSA 6 at price that was market at the time, but about 1/2 of what they would cost me today. I upgraded the rest of the HOFers to PSA 6 as well and I have the #7 or #8 PSA HOF graded set on the registry. It was as high as #4 but it has been overtaken a few times. I really enjoy that set. I like the colors and I really like the green backs. It does irritate me in the binder that some cards are upside down based on how they were cut on the sheet.


After that, I found a nice '53 Bowman with an SCG 70 (5.5) Mantle. I upgraded several cards in that set and it is a real beauty now. Shortly after, I got the B&W set and keep it in the same binder. A few months later, I found a '50 Bowman for a decent price, however, I had to upgrade Robinson and Williams. In '17, I got the 59-63 Fleer sets (with a PSA 6 #68), a '52 Red Man set, and I was able to track down a '54 and '55 Bowman - both from Net 54 members. My '54 Bowman came without Mantle and Williams and I was able to find a nice PSA 6 Mantle and a PSA 5 Williams that collectively cost more than the rest of the set.

In 2018, the same Net 54 member that sold me the '55 Bowman sold me the '53 Topps. He had opened most of those cards from the pack. I have really enjoyed looking at that one.

In 2019, that same friend sold me '52 Bowman with a nice PSA 5 Mantle and several very nice cards that came out of the pack. In late 2018, I found a very nice '48 Bowman for a good price on Heritage and made some upgrades to make it nice mid-grade - probably VG-Ex to Ex level on the whole. It has a very sharp Musial - I actually took it to my local card store to see if I was missing something - i.e. was it short? He told me that it measured out and he would put it at a 5 or 6 depending on the mood of the grader that day.

Next up will be '49 and then I will do '51 without Mantle and Mays before tackling '52. I have lost some steam recently, and I know that I will probably be more into these next 3 sets than what I have into everything combined. I am trying to decide if I have the energy to pursue over the next few years or if I just want to liquidate and put the proceeds into 10-15 oceanfront property cards like doing all 4 Cobbs from the T206 set, all 4 Ruth's from '33 Goudey, etc. I do enjoy looking at them on occasion and I really did like building them - especially '56. They do take up a lot of space and fill out my entire safe.

Enjoy the journey. I have learned so much in the last eight years and met many friends on this board. The boys have been mildly interested and my oldest has put together a pretty nice pre-war collection that he has on display!

[cardsagain74]

Originally Posted by kailes2872

I decided to get back into in 2012. My goal was to buy all of the sets that were just pipe dreams when I was a kid. Within a week, I bought 73-85. Over the next month, I was able to find a near complete '68 and '71. I quickly bought the cards to complete them. A month later, I ran into a guy selling '72 and '66. I then bought '69 and '70 online.

A couple of months later, decided to start on '67. That was a journey. I didn't realize what I was in for on the high numbers. I spent way too much money for just mediocre conditioned lower numbered cards. By the time I upgraded those cards plus found the high numbers, I was very deep into that set. I learned a lot about set building and paid a pretty big stupid tax.

In 2013, I bought '65, '64, and 63. I then bought '60, '58, and '59. I got the '58 at a show and needed to upgrade Williams, Mays, Mantle, and Maris. I got them all in PSA 6. '59 I bought cheap on EBay and it was in pretty poor condition. I spent the next year upgrading about half of the set including the majority of the hall of famers. Nearly all of those HOFers are in PSA 6.

2014 brought '57 (from a Net 54 member), '62, and '61. Similar to other sets, I upgraded a lot of the HOFers into a higher grade but kept the raw cards in the binder. In late 2014, I bought a lot of '56's and proceeded to build that set card by card over the next year. All 34 HOFers are in PSA 6 and I was able to get pretty solid ExMt on everything else. I have most of the team card variations. It is definitely my favorite set as I have the most time and energy into it. I can look at that set for hours on end.

I was able to find a '55 Topps set missing 7 key HOFers including Clemente, Mays, Aaron, Williams and a few others. It had a Koufax and Killebrew but they were both pretty rough. Over the next year, I bought and upgraded all of the HOFers to PSA 6. It is a solid Ex+ all the way through. I enjoy looking at that set but not nearly as much as my '56.

In early '15, I bought a '54 set missing Aaron and Banks. I was able get those two in PSA 6 at price that was market at the time, but about 1/2 of what they would cost me today. I upgraded the rest of the HOFers to PSA 6 as well and I have the #7 or #8 PSA HOF graded set on the registry. It was as high as #4 but it has been overtaken a few times. I really enjoy that set. I like the colors and I really like the green backs. It does irritate me in the binder that some cards are upside down based on how they were cut on the sheet.


After that, I found a nice '53 Bowman with an SCG 70 (5.5) Mantle. I upgraded several cards in that set and it is a real beauty now. Shortly after, I got the B&W set and keep it in the same binder. A few months later, I found a '50 Bowman for a decent price, however, I had to upgrade Robinson and Williams. In '17, I got the 59-63 Fleer sets (with a PSA 6 #68), a '52 Red Man set, and I was able to track down a '54 and '55 Bowman - both from Net 54 members. My '54 Bowman came without Mantle and Williams and I was able to find a nice PSA 6 Mantle and a PSA 5 Williams that collectively cost more than the rest of the set.

In 2018, the same Net 54 member that sold me the '55 Bowman sold me the '53 Topps. He had opened most of those cards from the pack. I have really enjoyed looking at that one.

In 2019, that same friend sold me '52 Bowman with a nice PSA 5 Mantle and several very nice cards that came out of the pack. In late 2018, I found a very nice '48 Bowman for a good price on Heritage and made some upgrades to make it nice mid-grade - probably VG-Ex to Ex level on the whole. It has a very sharp Musial - I actually took it to my local card store to see if I was missing something - i.e. was it short? He told me that it measured out and he would put it at a 5 or 6 depending on the mood of the grader that day.

Next up will be '49 and then I will do '51 without Mantle and Mays before tackling '52. I have lost some steam recently, and I know that I will probably be more into these next 3 sets than what I have into everything combined. I am trying to decide if I have the energy to pursue over the next few years or if I just want to liquidate and put the proceeds into 10-15 oceanfront property cards like doing all 4 Cobbs from the T206 set, all 4 Ruth's from '33 Goudey, etc. I do enjoy looking at them on occasion and I really did like building them - especially '56. They do take up a lot of space and fill out my entire safe.

Enjoy the journey. I have learned so much in the last eight years and met many friends on this board. The boys have been mildly interested and my oldest has put together a pretty nice pre-war collection that he has on display!

All of that upgrading is fantastic, but I've never had the patience or been that focused on that part of expanding my collection (unless something is severely awful or out of place).

Some people enjoy the challenge of getting rid of their castoffs after the upgrades too. I see it as extra effort....the horror

[hcv123]

Outside of when I was a kid I have never been much of a set builder/collector. The focus of my collecting has been Roberto Clemente and finding, buying and selling rare and obscure post war issues. When my 2 boys were about 5 and 7 I wanted to introduce them to card collecting and had a desire for them to be exposed to vintage Topps cards - came up with the idea as an extension to the Clemente collection to collect Pirate team sets - started with the goal of the Clemente years 1955-1973. Soon decided that 52-54 Topps "needed" to be added. A bit later decided it wouldn't be 'fair" to leave out 1948-1955 Bowman. So we were on our way - decided to start with 52 Topps. Set a condition bar of cards that were well centered, no surface damage like creases and nice eye appeal. Decided to do mostly raw so we could touch and smell them! The 52 Low numbers got knocked out in pretty short order - then we ran smack into the high's!! All 10 of them for the Pirates - decided to do these mostly graded. Still need 3 to finish that one and started moving on. When my older son was about 10 he asked why we weren't collecting "the really old small cards", that he liked the way they looked. So the goal expanded. Also added all the Pirates Venezuelan issued team sets tying into my fascination with obscurity. My boys are now 11 and 13. I have gained a deep appreciation for pre war and am learning more all the time. So where the project stands today:

T 206 - (Trying to get a different back on each of a complete pirate team set of fronts -Wagner) - we have 12/18
T 205 - Once again trying to get different backs and all variants- we have 10/16
T 207 - We have a single card so far
T3 - complete at 4 - These cards are SOOOO cool
1914 Cracker Jack - We have 1 card
1915 Cracker Jack - We have 7 cards
1933 Goudey - 12/12
1952 Topps 29/32
1955 Topps complete
1973 Topps complete
1959 Venezuelan - 8/13
1960 Venezuelan - 13/13
1962 Venezuelan - 9/9
1964 Venezuelan - 18/18
1966 Venezuelan - 17/18
1967 Venezuelan - 8/11
1968 Venezuelan - 13/16
We have a smattering of cards from 1953-1973 but have a long way to go - for me/us its the joy of the process, sharing a hobby and spending time together- not necessarily getting to "the end".

[cardsagain74]

Originally Posted by Nick55

I chose 9 cards for each year to fill one, 9-pocket page per year. I've "completed" 1958-1960, and 1968. Each 9 pocket page has a few HOF'ers, a checklist, team card, world series card, league leaders card, and/or other "insert" or "all star" card. I pick the cards with the goal providing a sample of cards that gives a good feel for the particular year.

That was very similar to one of my goals when I first got back into the hobby last year (having a small example of every year).

Apparently that didn't nearly take care of the collection building itch

[Natswin2019]

As a younger collector and someone pretty new to building sets, this thread has been really informative to me. It's really cool to see all the progress on these large scale, life time, projects that everyone is making. Makes me realize I've got some work to do to catch up with everyone ha!

[cardsagain74]

Flashback here! I got a good laugh out of my estimated cost for this run at the time (right before the pandemic boom).

Updating what's happened for the goal in my original post since. And now including some (unexpected since that time) Bowman work and a couple other notable additions. The '60s are still almost vacant

Complete sets only listed here, since the only significant set in the works right now is a '50 Bowman. Though anything unlisted from '80 to '85 has all keys and just needs filled in some (so those are close).

Grades are now approximate weighted averages that assume my best holdings in them.

'48 Bowman (grade 4)
'51 Bowman (grade 1.5)
'52 Topps (grade 3)
'53 Bowman (grade 2.5)
'53 Topps (grade 1.5)
'54 Topps (grade 2.5)
'55 Bowman (grade 3.5)
'55 Topps (grade 4)
'56 Topps (grade 3)
'57 Topps (grade 2.5)
'58 Topps (grade 4)
'59 Topps (grade 5)
'67 Topps (grade 4)
'70 Topps (grade 4)
'71 Topps (grade 6)
'73 Topps (grade 4)
'75 Topps (grade 5.5)
'76 Topps (grade 6)
'77 Topps (grade 7.5)
'78 Topps (grade 6)
'81 Topps w/ traded (grade 7.5)
'82 Topps Traded (grade 9)
'84 Fleer Update (grade 9)