Building a set from scratch

[G1911]

Originally Posted by wdwfan

After watching MikeD's venture into set building, I've decided to start my next project: a 1957 Topps set. I had zero, none, no cards prior to today. I traded for these 3 today. The Boyer RC came in a trade for some Rangers RCs and a couple of extra Trout inserts at the LCS while the Hyde and Spahn were obtained in a trade with a friend that also collects and lives just down the road. I traded some of my extra 1962 Topps to him, and I got the Spahn in return.

Anyway, I'll post as I pick them up. Right now, I have 3 cards from the set. I will probably chase Mantle next to get it out of the way (plus, if I ever want to give up or go a different direction, I'll have the key card to move).

But here's the start. I'll be looking for additional cards from the set whether through here or buying on ebay. Thanks for the look.

I have very mixed thoughts on this set. It was the first Topps set I completed, and the design is a classic. Some of the poses are great, and the amount of hall of famers is impressive. On the other hand, the photograph quality is far below 1953 Bowman, and Topps clearly decided to try and cut costs after killing off Bowman and becoming the only game in town. Probably my favorite of their smaller physical size sets though and very fun set to put together, as the SP series really is not that tough. The Brooks Robinson card is harder to fill in than Mantle in low-mid grade sets, no matter what the price guides say. Frank Robinson's rookie still feels like a bargain to me. The Schoendienst pose is my favorite in the set.

If you are not condition conscious, pm me your address and I will send you a few of my dupes (Good - VG range) free.

[Bigdaddy]

I recently completed this set and really enjoyed putting it together. Some of the Dodgers cards are just beautiful, with the 'Dodgers Sluggers' being almost a perfect baseball card. It pictures four of the Boys of Summer, still in their Brooklyn hats, kneeling on the grass of Ebbets field with the long shadows of a setting sun. Little did they know then that the sun was setting not on just that day, but on their time in Brooklyn.

[BillP]

Originally Posted by G1911

I have very mixed thoughts on this set. It was the first Topps set I completed, and the design is a classic. Some of the poses are great, and the amount of hall of famers is impressive. On the other hand, the photograph quality is far below 1953 Bowman, and Topps clearly decided to try and cut costs after killing off Bowman and becoming the only game in town. Probably my favorite of their smaller physical size sets though and very fun set to put together, as the SP series really is not that tough. The Brooks Robinson card is harder to fill in than Mantle in low-mid grade sets, no matter what the price guides say. Frank Robinson's rookie still feels like a bargain to me. The Schoendienst pose is my favorite in the set.

If you are not condition conscious, pm me your address and I will send you a few of my dupes (Good - VG range) free.

Put this set together a couple of years ago. I agree with the Brooks Robinson comment. Seems to command a premium more than book. The Richardson card too. The part I like most about the set was the move to take new photos of every player. In 55 and 56 the photos can be duplicates of prior year shots and that's a bit of a turn off for me. Similar thing happened in 66/68 and 67/69 I think. I find that the challenge with the 57 set is the register of the cards. I took me a while to find a mays and mantle that was clear. Same with card 407. and several commons.

[ALR-bishop]

My favorite Topps set of the 50s. But the photography is dark and muddy. In some thread, maybe the never ending variations thread, it was noted that two versions of every card seem to exist, one lighter and one darker in coloring. Many examples were posted. Some believe the Mantle card can be found with various degrees of air brushing of the mystery guy

[G1911]

Originally Posted by ALR-bishop

My favorite Topps set of the 50s. But the photography is dark and muddy. In some thread, maybe the never ending variations thread, it was noted that two versions of every card seem to exist, one lighter and one darker in coloring. Many examples were posted. Some believe the Mantle card can be found with various degrees of air brushing of the mystery guy

Nice to see this mentioned. It has always seemed to me the striking difference in hand is not merely the result of having more or less ink in the press that happens in every set over a long production. It seems at least a couple of the series had two different print runs, like some other sets of this period. It's hard to tell in eBay scans sometimes, as everyone uses different scanner settings or lighting, but in hand it's pretty obvious.

[Bigdaddy]

Originally Posted by BillP

I find that the challenge with the 57 set is the register of the cards. I took me a while to find a mays and mantle that was clear. Same with card 407. and several commons.

Agree, good registration can be challenging on some of the cards. Good scans are a must if buying online.

[wdwfan]

Thanks guys for all the insight and help. I saw a few at the LCS yesterday that were out of focus, so I passed on those.

I like the set because it was the Dodgers' last set in Brooklyn. I also like that it's the regular size (not small like Bowman and not big like 54-56 Topps). It's one of my all time favorite sets.

I also decided to just focus on building one set that I really, really enjoy instead of focusing on several sets at a time. I love building sets, but I don't like taking a year or more to build a set. I get tired of it and wind up selling or trading it and moving on to something else.

So I wanted to put my finances and focus on one set and then pick up stars/HOFers only from other years (and not doing those sets … not yet anyway).

[vintagebaseballcardguy]

Originally Posted by wdwfan

Thanks guys for all the insight and help. I saw a few at the LCS yesterday that were out of focus, so I passed on those.



I like the set because it was the Dodgers' last set in Brooklyn. I also like that it's the regular size (not small like Bowman and not big like 54-56 Topps). It's one of my all time favorite sets.



I also decided to just focus on building one set that I really, really enjoy instead of focusing on several sets at a time. I love building sets, but I don't like taking a year or more to build a set. I get tired of it and wind up selling or trading it and moving on to something else.



So I wanted to put my finances and focus on one set and then pick up stars/HOFers only from other years (and not doing those sets … not yet anyway).

This is a great, great point. Looking back, when I still tried to build 50s and 60s sets, I see now that I made two mistakes. 1. To your point, I took too long (often due to financial reasons) and got bored and didn't finish. 2. I aimed too high condition-wise. This ended up causing the sets to cost me more $, which takes me back to point #1. Ugh....

Good luck!!

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[G1911]

Originally Posted by BillP

Put this set together a couple of years ago. I agree with the Brooks Robinson comment. Seems to command a premium more than book. The Richardson card too. The part I like most about the set was the move to take new photos of every player. In 55 and 56 the photos can be duplicates of prior year shots and that's a bit of a turn off for me. Similar thing happened in 66/68 and 67/69 I think. I find that the challenge with the 57 set is the register of the cards. I took me a while to find a mays and mantle that was clear. Same with card 407. and several commons.

Bobby Richardson is one of the guys who seems to sell way over book for pretty much every set he's in. I got lucky and nabbed him early at a decent price, but he still cost more than Drsydale's rookie even. Kubek can be a bit more expensive than one would expect. The Brooks was the last card I got to finish the basic 407 card set. Was hard to find under $100 in any condition, even if Mantle books for significantly more he wasn't too difficult to find for $60 for a decent looking low grade example. The Mays card I also find to be difficult to get with good image clarity, even though some other low-number cards don't have this issue. The reversed image Hank Aaron is one that comes to mind from that series which is almost always found with good clarity. The checklists after the 1/2nd series are pretty darn tough too, I still don't have them beyond the 1/2.