Scared to take the pre-war plunge!

[kmac32]

Originally Posted by the 'stache

Don't be scared. Jump in feet first! When you have questions or concerns, ask your fellow forum members for help.

Good luck!

1+

[MattyC]

I recently entered the PreWar area, too. It is amazing. So many great aspects to it-- especially how the cards have so much value based on their age and sheer existence in any grade, and not just condition rarity value established by some grader.

Also, so many key legendary names are here-- and if you collect baseball cards, how can you not get into Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Cobb, Johnson, Mathewson, Young, and others?

Then there are so many issues with so many nuances, as opposed to cut-and-dry sets in the 70s and 80s (which I still love).

There is great fun in choosing which specific cards will be the ones you want to represent any of these great PreWar players. Whereas with say the 70s there is really only one choice for a Schmidt or Brett.

Also, this board is tremendous. The overall level and tenor of the discourse is far superior to other options-- where anonymity seems to breed snark and trolls, and moderator sanitizing of discussions leads to one-sided threads. The collectors here are incredibly knowledgable and helpful in so many ways.

All in all, it's great stuff.

[jimivintage]

Originally Posted by MattyC

There is great fun in choosing which specific cards will be the ones you want to represent any of these great PreWar players. Whereas with say the 70s there is really only one choice for a Schmidt or Brett.

Actually, there are several optional RCs for both Schmidt and Brett.

[toledo_mudhen]

The SSPC Brett - Great Card - Very low Cost even for perfect examples....

[vintagechris]

Originally Posted by toledo_mudhen

The SSPC Brett - Great Card - Very low Cost even for perfect examples....

Some consider those SSPC cards to be 1976 and not 1975.

[MBMiller25]

Eric, I have been dipping my feet into the PreWar arena as of late myself. As others have said, you have a great resource at your disposal on this board. There are a lot of great people willing and ready to step up and offer advice/opinion when solicited.

Since your on the fence at this time, my suggestion would be to stick to the legendary players of this era. You will never go wrong buying: Cobb, Mathewson, Johnson, Young, Ruth, Gehrig, etc. Even if you decide that prewar was not for you, your left with cards of legendary players, that would be a great addition to a collection as complete as your Post War HOF RC collection is.

Edit to add: Good Luck

[triwak]

An excellent resource:

http://www.oldcardboard.com/ref/rookies/RookiesList.asp