Defeated by the Monster?

[PolarBear]

Originally Posted by E93

I think one could make a legitimate argument that Magie and Doyle N.Y. Nat'l are not necessary for a basic set since they are error cards. It is like a '79 Topps basic set does not need Bump Wills/Rangers.
JimB
P.S. That does not solve the Wagner and Plank problem.

I'm glad you brought that up.


Personally, I'd solve the Plank and Wagner problem with another coin analogy. It's my belief, and I think most in the hobby agree, that these two cards were never issued in Piedmont packs. They would be kind of like proofs in the coin realm, that is, they were never issued for circulation. I realize proof in the card realm means something totally different.

It's like the 1895 Morgan Dollar, circulation strikes were made, but all of them were melted, only proofs, which were never released into circulation, still exist today. No one considers a Morgan Dollar collection incomplete if you don't have an 1895. Many people want one, but it isn't required for a complete collection because only coins released into circulation are part of the set.

Now, I realize that Plank and Wagner were released into "circulation" via Sweet Caporal packs.

However, defining your T206 set as Piedmont only will eliminate that problem since all Piedmont Plank and Wagners are "proofs", that is to say, they were never released into "circulation", and are therefore not required.

So, if I were chasing the monster, I'd define it as an all Piedmont set, which not only eliminates the big 4, but actually eliminates the big 6.

Now you have a legitimate "monster" of 518 cards (or more if you include factory 42 varieties).

Collecting T206 by back sets would be like collecting just a single mint from a series of coins. MANY coin collectors do this, and it's an established way to define a "set" of coins. For instance, some people only collect Carson City Morgan Dollars, or Dahlonega gold coins, or New Orleans Seated Liberty Halves.

I think T206 back sets are the future of T206 collecting. As complete sets become more and more expensive, and now that much of the back research has been published, people are going to take more interest in defining the "monster" in a way that not only appeals to them but makes completion a real possibility.