Trying to decide a Set Build! Help :)

[frankbmd]

I guess T9 doesn't stand a fighting chance on this thread.

[Bruinsfan94]

Really great choices. I think either 33 Goudey or T3 are great choices. Don't see too many T3 sets.

[RaidonCollects]

T3's are beautiful, but can get pricey (especially if you want a nice Cobb). Some 50's sets are nice too and relatively affordable, for example 1953, '54 and '55 Topps. 41 Play Balls and 34 Goudeys are awesome too!

Good Luck with whatever set you choose!

~Owen

[bnorth]

Buy a few cards from each set and after you have had them a while decide what you like best. Then sell/trade the cards you don't want to get more of the cards you like. This is what I have been doing lately and it seems to work good for me.

[Mark17]

T3

I collected them back in the mid-1980s through 1991. Then when I built my house and was on a tight budget, I had a choice: Keep my collection or have really nice fireplaces on two levels in the house. Since I live where it gets quite cold in winter, I decided the fireplaces were needed more than the cardboard. But, I loved those cards.

I had about 70 of them, ungraded but I suppose they were mostly in the 2-3 range. No pinholes but rounding on the corners. It's an absolutely beautiful set - images you see online don't give them justice.

Here's what I recommend:

1. Read "The Glory of Their Times" by Larry Ritter. Best book on baseball ever written. There are posts here about Larry and this book.

2. When you see a T3 become available, go to http://www.retrosheet.org and check out the player. In many cases, retrosheet provides an interesting biography on these guys. It's fascinating, and will give you greater appreciation for your cards, the players depicted on them, and that time in baseball's history.

3. When you see a Rhoads available, buy it. From my collecting days I can assure you, it is tough.

If you go the 1965 route, much of your investment will be in grading service fees (598 of them.) If you go with T3s, that overhead will be much less, and you'll have the pleasure of holding cards that are over 100 years old.

By the way, Brown was my favorite T3 card. Arguments can be made for lots of other cards (Speaker is very colorful for example, and Bridwell is classic) but I love the look of Three Finger Brown, standing on grass with that bright orange background (most Cubs in the set have orange background I noticed.)

Good luck, let us know what you decide and how your collection progresses.

[ajjohnsonsoxfan]

Mark you mentioned your T3's had no pinholes. I've noticed quite a few do as I'm sure this was the most popular way to display them back in the day. I just purchased my first two cards both of which have pinholes. Do most T3 collectors consider pinholes taboo?

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by ajjohnsonsoxfan

Mark you mentioned your T3's had no pinholes. I've noticed quite a few do as I'm sure this was the most popular way to display them back in the day. I just purchased my first two cards both of which have pinholes. Do most T3 collectors consider pinholes taboo?

I did avoid pinholes, it was a personal thing with me. But mine all had rounding on the corners, a couple had pencil marks on the back, and my Elberfeld even had a red crayon mark in the middle of it.

I do think T3s without pinholes are harder to find for the reason you mentioned.

It's one of those things... if I collected a 1965 set I'd be fine with PSA 6 or 7. I wouldn't need 9s. When I collected T3s, I stayed away from pinholes and water damage but could accept bad corners, normal wear, and a few marks. If I resumed collecting them today, I might prefer pinholes with no pencil marks, I don't know.

It's totally up to you which quirks you choose to have.