Set Collectors - Report in your progress!

[JollyElm]

I love the binder talk. All of my 1957-75 sets are in binders, and for countless years I've been trying to upgrade them by going to shows and hitting ebay, etc., knocking off a card here and there. I absolutely love the tactile feel of the cards and the wonderfully musty, nostalgic aroma of the old cardboard comes through whenever you leaf through a binder. But it's come to the point now where virtually everything I buy is graded. The main reasons for that are two or threefold:

First, when the time comes to sell my cards, having them in slabs will be quite a leg up for establishing perceived value and whatnot.

Two, if I'm looking for something on ebay, it is virtually guaranteed that ungraded HOF'er cards will have such inflated prices that it'll be more than prudent to spend a little more and get a really nice one that's already graded. That's what happened when I was finishing off my 1961 high numbers. $70 bucks for an ungraded All Star to put in the binder, or around $100 (and less during ebay coupon days) to grab one up in PSA 8? I enthusiastically went with the latter. (The same sort of thing happened with 1967 high number, Rocky Colavito.)

Lastly, I gotta be honest, when I see really nice ungraded HOF'ers from the 60's being sold by dealers who specialize in graded cards, I often wonder, "Why didn't he get this one graded? There must be something going on. Maybe it's trimmed and/or was rejected by PSA or something??" Granted, there are plenty of other reasons why a card hasn't been graded, but it never hurts to be careful.

Originally Posted by JollyElm

I love the binder talk. All of my 1957-75 sets are in binders, and for countless years I've been trying to upgrade them by going to shows and hitting ebay, etc., knocking off a card here and there. I absolutely love the tactile feel of the cards and the wonderfully musty, nostalgic aroma of the old cardboard comes through whenever you leaf through a binder. But it's come to the point now where virtually everything I buy is graded. The main reasons for that are two or threefold:

First, when the time comes to sell my cards, having them in slabs will be quite a leg up for establishing perceived value and whatnot.

Two, if I'm looking for something on ebay, it is virtually guaranteed that ungraded HOF'er cards will have such inflated prices that it'll be more than prudent to spend a little more and get a really nice one that's already graded. That's what happened when I was finishing off my 1961 high numbers. $70 bucks for an ungraded All Star to put in the binder, or around $100 (and less during ebay coupon days) to grab one up in PSA 8? I enthusiastically went with the latter. (The same sort of thing happened with 1967 high number, Rocky Colavito.)

Lastly, I gotta be honest, when I see really nice ungraded HOF'ers from the 60's being sold by dealers who specialize in graded cards, I often wonder, "Why didn't he get this one graded? There must be something going on. Maybe it's trimmed and/or was rejected by PSA or something??" Granted, there are plenty of other reasons why a card hasn't been graded, but it never hurts to be careful.

Cant disagree with any of the logic.

[1963Topps Set]

After a VERY long search, I finally picked up a 1951 Bowman Willie Mays, leaving just Mantle to finally put this beast to sleep once and for all.

[1963Topps Set]

After a VERY long search, I finally picked up a 1951 Bowman Willie Mays, leaving just Mantle to finally put this beast to sleep once and for all.

[aljurgela]

This is probably a set that most have not heard of, but I have been working on it for more than a decade. 71% complete as of now.

Of the 49 card (known cards), I am missing:

Armando Cabanas
Alfredo Cabrera
Joe Casey
Claud Derrick
Chicho Conzalez
Gervasio Gonzalez
Bris Lord
Quico Magrinat
George Moriarty
George Mullin
Emilio Palomino
Eddie Plank
Carlos Roggers
Germany Schaefer

Any help in finding these would be much appreciated!

The good news is that I have most of the key cards, like Cobb, Pop Lloyd, Mendez, Bender, Bruce Petway, Eustaquio Pedroso, Luis Padron and Home Run Johnson. The only HOFer that I am missing is Plank.

[commishbob]

I made a big dent in my 1961 needs at this past Saturday's local hotel show. I'm now at 492 of 586. The 94 I lack however are mostly high numbers and some stars from the lower range. It'll be a challenge to find these in decent shape at prices that won't drain my retirement funds.

But if it was easy it wouldn't be as much fun or as rewarding.

My '71, '75 and '78 sets are at or near complete but have been on the back burner waiting to be bindered while I have tackled the '61.