Your Collecting Focus

[vintagecpa]

I'm taking a crack at my first PSA graded set. I'm going to try for a PSA 5-7 1958 Topps set (maybe a master set). Basically, I plan on spending a ton of time and money to put together a product that nobody will want to buy when I'm finished.

[paulcarek]

-- 1972 through 1980 Topps (my pack-opening years). About 30% done with '72; just a couple dozen cards short of the rest. Average condition is probably EX. I like having the actual, well-handled cards I collected as a kid, but will upgrade the real beaters.

-- 1952 Bowman. Currently 15 high numbers short of completing a solid VG-EX to EX set. Looking forward to meeting this longtime goal.

-- NY/SF Giants Retired Numbers.

-- Single cards of top-tier HOFers (T206 Cobb and Mathewson, '34 Goudey Foxx, '39 Play Ball DiMaggio, '54 Bowman Williams, etc.). I try to do the "type" thing here, and acquire examples from as many classic sets as possible.

[mjmj1966]

I'm really trying to stay focused on Philadelphia Phillies pre-1990 all graded. So far I've lasted 6 months collecting one thing which is a record for me according to my wife. I'm around 100 cards so I have a long way to go but its been fun.

[BradH]

Like many on this thread, I try to focus and sometimes find it very hard (that's what she said).

When I'm at a card show, antique mall or just surfing eBay, I always find myself buying cards just because I like them. No harm in that, except that I end up with tons of cards that have no real rhyme or reason. Oh well.

Older sets I am actively working on:
-- 1954-55 Topps Hockey in low-mid grade
-- 1955 Topps All-American in high grade
-- 1960s-70s Topps oddball sets (I find these great to collect because the sets are usually small, the cards are relatively easy to find and they're usually inexpensive compared to the regular issue for that year).

Modern Sets:
-- 2000 Fleer Greats of the Game Autographs (about 50% done)
-- 2002 Donruss Diamond Kings (that I'm getting autographed one card at a time on my own - am about 60% done).

Misc.
-- Run of Harold Baines cards showing on top of unopened rak/cello Topps packs from 1981-89 (If you have any of these, please contact me!)
-- Athletes (baseball, basketball & football) in major Topps sets who played at Purdue University.

[scmavl]

I'm pretty proud of myself. I rented a table at a card show last weekend and tried to sell off a lot of stuff that's not in my focus. I sold lots of '56 Topps, a few PSA cards, all of my Ted Williams Topps cards, an '81 set, some autos, and vintage commons. Made a few hundred and decreased my inventory.

All I bought was some NM/MT raw '61 commons (to grade & resell) and got some '51 Bowmans for my set and '33 Goudeys in trade.

[U240robert]

My goal right now is 1960-1978 sets.

The 1975 set is the first I bought in packs, but was more of a Wacky Packys fan back then. 1976 set is the first I bought hard core obsessed. As a photographer myself, I still love the photography in that set.

I have completed a 1972,1973,1975,1976 sets.
I'm working on a 1970 and 1971 sets- NM or so better.
I'd like to buy complete a 1977 and 1978 set, NM better.
The 1978 set is the first set I bought through Mail order- from Renata Gallaso, legendary dealer from Baseball Digest.

Back farther- my goal is to complete all the sets from the 60's.
I have 75% or better complete: 1960,1961,1963,1964,1966,1967
I need to work more on 1962,1965 and 1969.
I'm putting off to the end the 1968 set- my all time least favorite Topps set issued from 1951-1980.

Oddly, I haven't a single card from 1974. Probably will buy the set complete at some point.