Help me Pick my next set

[AMBST95]

Originally Posted by skelly423

I posted this in the post-war forum, but would appreciate some pre war options to consider as well. I am one of those collectors who needs to always have a set in progress. I just finished my 1950 Bowman set, and am having trouble figuring out what I should target next. I have a few ground rules I try to follow when building a set:

1. In need to be able to get every card in the set. If there's a huge stopper (1949 Leaf Paige, 1933 Goudey Lajoie, 1952 Topps Mantle), I don't want the sent. My collector OCD won't allow me to have holes in my set.


2. I like all of my cards to be in similar condition. I don't mind spending a significant portion of my budget on a single card, as long as I can keep the grades consitent. A set of NM-MT cards with the key card in VG would bother me.

3. I want a set where most of the cards are readily available. I like to build a set in 6-12 months. If there are cards in the set that are only seen once every few years, I don't have the patience to wait.

4. Set size doesn't matter much - I'm equally happy with a tough set of 16 cards as I am with a set of 300 cards.

5. The card images need to actually resemble the players. Early 20th century caramel cards and strip cards bother me.

6. Budget matters. I am looking for something with an overall cost somewhere in the $10k-$15k range. As much as I'd like a 1933 Goudey or t206 set, that's not realistic.

Thanks in advance for your input.

If you're comfortable with lower grade, the Philadelphia Caramel E95 set is doable and only has 25 cards with a few HOFers. The artwork tends to be really good on those compared to some other Caramel issues or even the T206s. I've been working on it slowly around other sets and the cards are always circulating on auction.