New Member/Collector

[clydepepper]

Originally Posted by JRDill

Hi Everyone,

My name is JR and I recently became interested in collecting cards and baseball memorabilia. I collected cards as a kid, but nothing too serious (outside of my extensive Nolan Ryan collection).

I'm mostly interested in collecting, not necessarily for ROI in the future, but for the enjoyment of finding the cards. I'm not sure exactly what I want to collect yet, but very interested in post war and modern.

I have some questions; I have no idea what all of these letter number combos mean, like "T205" and "E90." Any idea where I can read about this to become more informed? Also, what's the most trusted grading company?

Any help and guidance on where to start is greatly appreciated!

A little about me:
- From Houston, TX currently reside in Kansas City
- Die hard Cubs fan (family from Illinois)
- Outside of baseball I enjoy leather craft and comics
- Until the night of October 27, 2004 I carried a 1986 Topps Bill Buckner card in my wallet.

JR- Welcome to a wonderful site! There is a whole lot of good guys on here with a lot of hobby knowledge.

I know that the 'T' in T205 stands for 'tobacco'. not sure what the 'E' in E90 stands for.

I highly recommend you purchasing the Standard Catalog of Vintage Baseball Cards. Ton of information included. I have the 3rd Edition published in 2013. Amazon would have it for you, but just in case, the ISBN is 1-4402-3849-9

As far as grading companies are concerned, PSA and SGC are the most popular ones. My personal preference is PSA and card graded by them tend to resell for higher prices than SGC, but you could be happy with either.

Several members of this board welcome 'piggy-back' additions to the orders they send to the grading companies...which is a great way to save on that particular expense. All you have to do is start a new thread asking for such- and someone will be sure to reply.

These days, I've been purchasing cards that are already graded. And I use The PSA online price guide and EBAY's sale history to help me decide how much I should spend on a particular card.

I'm no expert, just 'into' it. - hope this helps,

Raymond Culpepper