1915 Cracker Jacks

[nsaddict]

Personally, I would purchase the commons raw from a seller with a good rep. But the stars I would buy graded. Just take your time and wait for the cards that meet your goal at a fair price. Good luck

[rainier2004]

I wouldn't worry about what the plastic says, look for eye appeal. CJs have their own set of defects with tilt, staining and varying levels color so decide what is important to you. For me its color and registration as I am about to finish my set in about Vg. CJs also go in waves, at the moment common prices seem to be quite high. #90 Smith is the most expensive common for some reason, and be prepared to shell out some cash for the Jax and Cobb...plus 35 additional HOFers and a few more star cards such as Gandil, Cicotte, Chase and Peckinpaugh. Good luck, I love mine but do not think Ill ever do something like this again.

[jg8422]

Originally Posted by rainier2004

I wouldn't worry about what the plastic says, look for eye appeal. CJs have their own set of defects with tilt, staining and varying levels color so decide what is important to you. For me its color and registration as I am about to finish my set in about Vg. CJs also go in waves, at the moment common prices seem to be quite high. #90 Smith is the most expensive common for some reason, and be prepared to shell out some cash for the Jax and Cobb...plus 35 additional HOFers and a few more star cards such as Gandil, Cicotte, Chase and Peckinpaugh. Good luck, I love mine but do not think Ill ever do something like this again.

Thanks everyone for the advice. I value all of it. Please keep it coming, as this board has an amazing amount of knowledge.

[CaramelMan]

I suggest to collect the Caramel stained cards only...these were the cards that actually came from the box...the cards without stains are a factory version and never touched Caramel...I think these lose some appeal due to this.

Edited to add that PSA doesn't even designate these stained cards ST...they agree they should be stained.

[jg8422]

Originally Posted by CaramelMan

I suggest to collect the Caramel stained cards only...these were the cards that actually came from the box...the cards without stains are a factory version and never touched Caramel...I think these lose some appeal due to this.

Edited to add that PSA doesn't even designate these stained cards ST...they agree they should be stained.

Awesome point! Do they command a premium over the factory version?

Also, are there more low grade cards (2-4 range) in PSA slabs or SGC slabs?

[g_vezina_c55]

Beautifull project. Good luck in the quest

[scooter729]

For some reason I've encountered a disproportionate number of CJ's graded which look much better than the numbers they've been assigned. For example, I can find no issues on this Peckinpaugh, but it only received a PSA 2. I've got a few others very similar to this.

So maybe these are more susceptible to the tiniest of flaws, so be aware of that if buying raw.