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

[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