Introduction and a question on which cards are "Must Haves"

[Clark7781]

Gentlepeople:

Greeting from the Commonwealth of Virginia. I am new to the site and this is my first post. I have been visiting over the past week awaiting account activation, and am happy to be a member of the forum.

I am a 34 year old married father of one son (5 yrs old) who is just starting to show an interest in the hobby - but he only wants to collect Chase Utley cards, his favorite player.

I have been collecting since I was a child, but during college and as a young man starting his career, money for my hobby was hard to come by. I now find myself in a financial situation where I can spend some money adding to my collection.

I have a deep love for the old tobacco cards, but my pockets are not as deep as I would like to go after them full bore.

So here is my question: What are the four or five "must have" cards for someone who collects early 20th century (pre-WWII) baseball cards? I'm thinking that I can spend about $1000 to $1500 for each of these cards; I'm not a condition prude, so lower grade cards are ok with me.

Any opinions are greatly appreciated, and I thank you for your time. I look forward to corresponding with many of you in the future.

Regards,

Paul
Fairfax County, VA

[E93]

I think a T206 Cobb is right up there. You can get a nice looking example in that range. A '33 Goudey Ruth or '34 Gerhig would also be nice.
JimB

[Kawika]

Gentlepeople? You sure you're in the right forum?
J/K. Welcome to Net54, Paul.
Lot of different ways to go about this. One suggestion: pick a different issue for each of the first inductees to the HOF. There would be a veritable plethora of possible permutations. F'rinstance:







Can I post faster than Matt Wieder? Listen, my friend, there's no man alive can post faster than Smoky Matt Wieder.

[teetwoohsix]

Welcome to the board!!I have to agree with Jeff-that was just perfect!!!
Also,any T206 HOF'ers after those 4 are a great addition to any collection-good luck!!!

Sincerely,Clayton

[Bicem]

these 4...



look how nice those look together!

[Matt]

Maybe get a card of each of the first 5 inductees into the HOF?
(I like themes )

[terjung]

You will likely get responses all over the board on this type of question. It really depends on your focus and what you like. Until you find out what you like, I will recommend a couple of "staple" cards that will always be able to be resold and quickly - due to demand. The key to this is to have something cool and desireable if you decide to change directions. Again, your collection and interests will change as you delve deeper into the hobby - as it should. For starters, some classic cards for a collection may include.

a T206 Ty Cobb - Red Portrait (common back, for starters)
a 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth - take your pick of any of the 4 (probably #144 or #53 though)
a 1934 Goudey Lou Gehrig #37 - a HOF caliber card on most peoples list (including mine)

I only listed three there and only one of those is a tobacco card. I will let others add to the list.

Also, when starting out... don't buy raw cards - especially on eBay. Since these cards that I have listed are very popular, they are also very commonly faked. Trust grading companies SGC or PSA with anything pre-war. Others may add BVG or GAI to that list of grading companies, but DO NOT stray beyond those four. They are the staples. Many will have preferences of one or the other. None is infallable, but for starters, trust SGC and PSA (especially SGC, in my opinion) until you learn more about the cards you are collecting.

Good luck and enjoy what you are collecting. That is more important than collecting what someone else thinks you should have. That said, I doubt anyone would fault you for having a Cobb, Ruth, and Gehrig in your collection.

[terjung]

Looks like Jim and I had the same thoughts...

Nice picks, Jim!

[rdixon1208]

Welcome to the board. I don't know how it will be for you, but this forum makes collecting a lot more fun for me. Anyway, I started my pre-war collection with a 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth. You can pick up a nice "Collector's Grade" example for the money you're talking.

[Rich Klein]

"I am a 34 year old married father of one son (5 yrs old) who is just starting to show an interest in the hobby - but he only wants to collect Chase Utley cards, his favorite player."

That you make sure your son gets more cards of Mr. Utley. We love hearing about the "kids" who collect, so make you help him with HIS collection as well.
Give him the base cards to play with -- and keep the better early cards and inserts, etc. so he can have them in nicer shape when he's a bit older.

Regards
Rich

[barrysloate]

Welcome to the board Paul.

I would recommend you go with your five favorite players, and try to get the most attractive pose of each (that is subjective). Cobb, Matty, Walter Johnson, Cy Young, and Honus Wagner are the big five of the dead ball era, but you may have other favorite players yourself. Try to get them in the best condition you can afford.

[quinnsryche]

Paul, being of a similar situation (although I have about 10 years on you) my suggestion is buy what you like. I re-entered the hobby with the goal of getting cards which are asthetically pleasing to my eyes. I look at the cards in my collection on average of 2-3 times a week so I pick what I want to see over and over again. I can't come close to affording ANY of the cards mentioned but I enjoy what I have just the same. I agree with a previous post to stick with graded cards (for safety reasons and they are protected from any further damage). If you think it's cool, you can afford it and it's a good deal, get it. You can always sell it or trade it later if you change your mind (I do that ALL the time).
Good Luck and enjoy the board!

[Clark7781]

Thank you all for the warm welcome, and the much appreciated feedback!

Regarding your comments, I very rarely buy raw cards. I am working on the T205 set (I have about 50 or so cards), all which were purchased graded by SGC - I prefer SGC over the other companies, but that is just a personal preference.

I already have the T206 Cobb with Red background that I absolutely love. It's only a 30 SGC, but I love it.

I REALLY love the 34 Goudey Gehrig; I'm thinking that may be the next big purchase for me.

For you experts, what should be a fair market price for a '34 Goudey Gehrig around a SGC 30/40 go for today?

Again, thank you for the warm welcome and I look forward to interacting with everyone!

[dstudeba]

If you are interested in cards that you can easily trade or resale for when something else catches your fancy almost all of the aforementioned cards fit the bill. I would go through some of the archives of auction sites and see what excites you. If you are into the first class of the Hall of Fame then the suggestions are valid. If you are interested in collecting cards relevant to the Virginia area then they probably won't do much for you. Find what you enjoy and collect that.

Personally I don't have any interest in any of the cards mentioned so far and yet I still actively collect prewar cards.

[ethicsprof]

Welcome Paul!
great to have you on board!
I say go with your own aesthetics, your own sense of beauty.
As you can see, we are quite a varied lot of folks who choose as we see fit.
You will do the same.
best of luck in the quest(s),
barry

[ScottFandango]

gotta have a T206 Johsnon Portrait....an amazing gaze from an amazing player.

But man cannot live by pre-war alone....

this card (with this poor scan) just sold for $3000 ungraded


---------------------------------------------------------------------------
the graded PSA 9 just went for $4500....



this card has appreciated VERY fast over the last 8 years!

even in a market of lower prices for collectibles, this card CONTINUES to set new highs!

remember, there are less than 500 of these rookies of possible the GREATEST RIGHT HANDED HITTER EVER.....

[Exhibitman]

Welcome aboard!

I'd add to the responses already given the following:

There are no rules--this is supposed to be fun above all else. Focus on what you like versus what others say you should like. If there is a team or player who meant something to you as a kid, an historical era that really appeals to you, or a card issue that intrigues you, base your collection around that subject. If you don't care about high grade vs. low grade, don't waste your money on high grade cards when lower grade ones will give you the same satisfaction at a fraction of the price. If you value completion of a set over collecting of individual players, choose a set that appeals to you and try to assemble it. If "common" cards simply don't interest you, don't waste time on a set with lots of commons in it. If there is an era or type of card (like E or strips) that don't appeal to you, don't bother with them.

[Leon]

Hi Paul,
Welcome to our board. I see where you had said, in your first post, that you might have waited a week to get approved for membership. It should never take a week and I would hope it would rarely take more than 1-2 days, but sometimes my emails get a little backed up.

I think what everyone has been saying so far is good advice. My very first big card was a T205 Johnson as I thought it was so great looking I had to have it. I have since sold it and moved on but it's a great set. As a closely held secret I am a type-collector, meaning I like one (or more ) from each set. Along the way there are certain cards I have seen and liked so much I picked one up. I think the main thing I could add to this discussion is "be patient." This is a long marathon not a sprint. Folks on this board have been collecting up to about 50 yrs, or a little more. I think from our last poll about time-in, in the hobby, the most common spot was in the 12-18yrs range. I fall into that one too. I hope its multiples of that before I am done. (and I mean literally done ) ......Here is a card I knew I always wanted, it turned up with a cool back, so I went for it. It's an absolute classic card of the winningest pitcher of all time. How can you go wrong with one of these? I am quite sure you will find cards like this that you really want too, as your collecting matures. If you collect what you enjoy you will rarely have regrets.

[ChiefBenderForever]

Paul I am no expert but am pretty familiar with the 34 Gehrig you are looking to get. It all depends on the eye appeal and how clean the card is, in a sgc 30/40 500-900 would be my guess from what I have seen for a decent example.