What's the "easiest" and best pre-war set to complete?

[ronniehatesjazz]

Originally Posted by rats60

Defintely not t205 if you want an easy set. I decided to try to complete the set 3 years ago when I realized that I already had over half the set. I am still trying to finish it. The short prints are a nightmare, toughest set that I have tried to complete. I would suggest t206 set of 518 before attempting t205. I wonder how many of these sets suggested are easy or are you going to be spending years trying to finish them unless you want to hit BIN at double or triple VCP.

That's odd I've had little difficulty finding the SP's with the exception of Hobby (which I'm not going for anyways). Maybe I've just been lucky.

[rats60]

Originally Posted by ronniehatesjazz

That's odd I've had little difficulty finding the SP's with the exception of Hobby (which I'm not going for anyways). Maybe I've just been lucky.

Where are you finding them? I have them in my watch list on EBay and I am signed up with most of the Auction Houses including Collectors Central which duplicates a lot of the prior. The only show that I go to is the National though. I just don't want to pay 2 or 3 times VCP.

I am not sure about those suggesting E sets either. They don't seem to be readily available unless you don't care about price. I'd say t202 before t205 or any of the E card sets, although t201 is easier than t202.

[The Nasty Nati]

I haven't attempted it, but the Diamond Stars seems like a very doable set. Very underrated in my opinion and the art deco design is great. In many cases the design is better than Goudey on a lot of the players.

E96 might be another 'easier' one, but personally, I think the players all look like they are wearing blush makeup. Not really for me.

[Mark]

What about E220? Has anyone put together a complete set? I don't think that there are any terrible scarcities, but I might be wrong.

[Steve D]

Originally Posted by Mark

What about E220? Has anyone put together a complete set? I don't think that there are any terrible scarcities, but I might be wrong.

E220 has an insanely difficult Babe Ruth in it!


Steve

[Boccabella]

The 1933 Tattoo Orbit set is a fun challenge at 60 cards and it has that cool 1930s look to it like the Diamond Stars. While there are some SPs, prices overall don't seem to match the level of scarcity so there might be a little "undervalued" element there. No Ruth or Gehrig, which is good or bad, depending on your viewpoint: https://www.sportscollectorsdaily.co...ble-challenge/

[SAllen2556]

To the OP: You're from Kalamazoo, so maybe you're a bit of a Detroit fan? Even if you're not, the Diamond Star set is the answer to your question.

1. The values have actually depressed from a few years ago, except for maybe the Greenberg card.
2. There's 108 cards, or 96 if you decide not to do the high numbers - a manageable number, but not small enough to finish too quickly. (Took me about two years)
3. There are variations on many of the cards if you want to really go nuts.
4. Lots of Detroit Tigers from the '34-'35 teams that do not appear together in any other set. There's even a version of Al Simmons as a bengal.
5. They're readily available on eBay both raw and graded. I prefer to buy graded and then set them free!
6. The most expensive card in very good condition will be around $300. Try finding a t205 Cobb for $300, or a '34 Goudey Gehrig, or most of the Delongs. No way.
7. They're funky. A lot of them look like they could have come out of a 1930's Batman comic.

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[darwinbulldog]

I've worked on both E95 and Diamond Stars at various points. Both are pretty good answers to the question. E95 is quite possibly the most attractive of the early E sets. However, Cobb looks like he's having a peyote freak out, and Matty doesn't resemble Matty.

As far as I'm concerned the Diamond Stars are the best-looking pre-war set, period. Ruth is conspicuously absent, but as affordable as they are, compared to the other popular sets of the mid-30s, you'll be able to pick up the Diamond Stars in better condition and have enough left over to buy yourself a nice Ruth card if you like. And besides, Hornsby, Grove, and Foxx are no slouches. Really though it's the artwork on Stan Hack, Wes Ferrell, and dozens of others that really sets the Diamond Stars apart.

[Cozumeleno]

Originally Posted by rats60

Where are you finding them? I have them in my watch list on EBay and I am signed up with most of the Auction Houses including Collectors Central which duplicates a lot of the prior. The only show that I go to is the National though. I just don't want to pay 2 or 3 times VCP.

I am not sure about those suggesting E sets either. They don't seem to be readily available unless you don't care about price. I'd say t202 before t205 or any of the E card sets, although t201 is easier than t202.

They'll eventually surface. I had a hard time with several. Joss was the toughest for what I wanted to pay. Had about 4-5 SPs that I overpaid on just to get them. You can go a few months until you see a few of them on eBay at a half decent price. The basic 208-card set was enough for me but I've added a few of the variations/errors beyond that since then.

[yanks4]

34 Goudey

[Bridwell]

I had been thinking the same question as the OP a few years ago. Some of the pre-war sets are available to collect, but not very attractive IMO.

For me, I ended up doing PSA registry sets of 1934 Goudey and 1934-36 Diamond Stars. Both were fun to collect. I also did an E96 set, in mostly SGC. These were all great looking sets to collect, and prices seem reasonable these days. If you're patient you can get some low prices bidding on ebay or from the various auction houses.