Temptation to Collect the T206 set....

[Zach Wheat]

Originally Posted by MVSNYC

.......My advice to people wanting to get into T206 is...focus on building a "collection" of cards, rather than a "set". Don't pressure yourself to get every card. There's so many ways to collect T206- HOFers, Southern Leaguers, Rare Backs, teams, printing errors, etc...Pick a focus to start with, and hit the ground running! Good luck.

Couldn't agree more with Mike. There are many subsets within the Monster. Don't let the sheer size stop you....I've learned a lot from my start 25+ years ago. I got so caught up in collecting the set, I branched out into buying biographies on many of the players.

Listen to the audible book, "The Glory of Their Times" and tell me listening to them tell stories in 1st person about their playing days. That will inspire you. One of the best audiobooks out there on the deadball era (also has a paperback version with slightly different content),

[jsfriedm]

Originally Posted by Zach Wheat

Listen to the audible book, "The Glory of Their Times" and tell me listening to them tell stories in 1st person about their playing days. That will inspire you. One of the best audiobooks out there on the deadball era (also has a paperback version with slightly different content),

Better yet - buy the paperback, and pay close attention to the cards on the cover.

[Johnny T]

My T206 journey started in the middle of 2022 with the purchase of a private collection of about 100 cards, which included many HOF'ers...so I was off the ground running...would I have started this set without the bulk purchase, probably not, but I got to 518 (and I'm done) in just 2 1/2 years. Many of the cards I got were right here on Net 54's B/S/T...my condition averager overall is probably between FR to GD with about 150 graded (some as high as a 5) and the rest in a binder. I didn't pay much attention to the backs (which makes it a lot easier), but I do have at least one of all of the backs with the exception of the rarest (Drum, Uzit, Carolina Brights, Broadleaf, Lenox and Hindu). I do have most of my Southern Leaguers in Old Mill and just about every HOF'er is graded. Now I was pretty focused during that 2 1/2 years an have around 60k invested in getting to 518...so not easy, yes...but not impossible...and it doesn't have to be a lifelong quest if you have the funds and are willing to accept the occasional beater until you replace it for a better example (which is what I've been doing for the last 6 months...and continue to)...I have also completed (almost...6 to go!) the T205 set and I must say I like the T205 better...there is less of them, easier on the wallet (though the short prints, HOF'ers, and rarities will challenge any budget), and they do look nicer. Both sets are in a binder and the T205 is in a little nicer condition (GD to VG on average) mostly because pricing of a T205 in VG is similar to that of a GD T206...in my opinion, the T205 is still an undervalued set. In this set, all of the HOF'ers are graded with an average of 3.

Bottom line is I love them both...whether it takes 2 1/2 years or a lifetime, the chase is awesome and so are the cards. If you decide to take the plunge, I wish you the best...

I will say this, I have read many board members say the started and abandoned the chase at some point...safe to say, if you bought well, I don't think you will lose much money in resale, if at all...these cards hold their value very well and are always desired by someone!!!

Good luck with your decision!

Kindest regards,

JT

[Zach Wheat]

Nice story JT. The chase is always fun.

[Cmvorce]

520 seems overwhelming when you’re sitting at 0, which is where I was about 5 years ago. Then I got a really good deal on a dark cap Matty and I was hooked. One of the best looking cards in the hobby in my opinion.

Like others have said, I would recommend starting with 1 or 2 and seeing how you feel about it then. Once I held that Matty I knew I was all in.

If you decide to move forward from there, there are so many ways to go. The way I did was to get one pose of each HOFer first. I figured that would take care of a few of the more expensive cards up front and I always wanted 1 card of every HOFer anyway, so two birds etc. if you go this route and then decide it’s not for you you’ll have no trouble selling or trading t206 HOFers.

From there, I still needed something to segment the set into chunks. If I didn’t do that, it would still seem like too heavy a lift. So my approach is to focus on 1 or 2 teams at a time. Granted, this will take longer, and you end up paying more for certain cards than you would otherwise and missing out on deals for cards from teams you’re not presently focused on, but for me personally the trade off is worth it, having a checklist in front of me of 15-25 cards rather than 400. It makes it seem much more doable. I try to do about a team a year and that pace works for me.

No wrong way to do it though, and the years-long journey is a big part of the joy.

Good luck!

(I currently have Boston AL, Boston NL, Cincinnati, Washington, Philadelphia AL, Philadelphia NL, and Pittsburgh complete, and I’m very close on New York NL and Cleveland)

[pawpawdiv9]

Good advice- I thought about it a few times
Starting again - Cobb and hof portraits for me
and any others that might accompany if it’s in a group
Heck I’m just stuck and expanding to something else

[Leon]

As others have said, there a almost an infinite number of ways to collect T206. I have been doing HOF'ers with big top borders but have slowed on that project for now..
I also put in a vote for the T205 set. One of the greatest looking sets ever, imo...