Putting together vintage sets

raulus · #1 11-04-2023, 12:01 PM

I’ve never been a big set collector. I’ve always preferred to stick to player collecting, with a big focus on the all time greats from my favorite team.

However, I have branched out a little to collect some oddball sets from the 50s and 60s. Often it happens because they’re smaller sets, and to pick up one of my favorite players I am forced to pick up a larger lot, which gives me a running start. The good news is that they’re often underloved and so the competition for pieces isn’t quite as fierce.

Some examples include:

53-54 Briggs Meats
1954 Stahl Meyer
1963 Jell-O Complete Boxes
1967 Topps Punch Outs
1968 Bazooka Complete Boxes
1971 Bazooka Numbered
1973 Topps Comics

I do think that part of the fun with these sets is the hunt. They don’t come up often, which means that I can naturally pace myself. Plus this also gives me the option to work on all of them concurrently, since it will likely take years or even decades to finish some of them. Every once in a while I can pick up a piece to push them forward a little bit at a time, without having to worry about my pace.

Luckily for me, a lot of the big names are players that I’m already collecting anyway, so I generally don’t feel like I’m dropping huge sums on players that I don’t care about.

Since these sets are also difficult to complete, I also get to find my zen knowing that I might never get there. And I’m okay with that! The fun is in the journey, not just in getting to the finish line.

judsonhamlin · #2 11-04-2023, 02:50 PM

I am a set collector on a type card budget.
Maybe an overstatement but probably more true in 2023 than 2013, say. It�s annoying because I�m close (in numbers) on a numbers of sets - E90, T205 and 1933 Goudey, for instance, but the investment to complete them is way out of my league.

rjackson44 · #3 11-04-2023, 03:07 PM

One card at a time😳

jingram058 · #4 11-04-2023, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjackson44

One card at a time😳

What he said.

BearBailey · #5 11-04-2023, 07:31 PM

It has not changed my focus at all just slowed it down. The prices of everything has gone sky high, so just slows down the process.

Rich Falvo · #6 11-04-2023, 07:40 PM

The only prewar set I've tried to put together was the 1933 Sport Kings, partly because it's only 48 cards. Focused on getting the Ruth first, which was going for about $700-$800 in low grades then. Kept just missing out on auctions and every time I did, I used some of the money to get other cards in the set. Next thing I know, I've got 46/48 and still no Ruth, which by then was going for $1500+. I gave up and spent the past two years selling most of the set to fund a few single cards that I'd rather have. I only kept Cobb and Jimmy Doolittle.

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