...518......519.........520............521!!!

[White Borders]

Today I was able to pick up a T206 Ed Foster from Tom Barlage to "complete" my 521 card T206 set.

My collection is predominantly raw in F-VG condition and is kept in 3-ring binders in 15 pocket ultra-pro sheets. Currently I have a total of about 800 different front/back combos. Most were picked up one at a time on Ebay without sniping software - I absolutely love counting down myself and sniping by hand!

I have 248 of the 250 Polar Bear backs I've been able to confirm (need Abbaticchio blue sleeves and Camnitz arms up), and 28 Piedmont Factory 42's.

Excluding the Ty Cobb back, the brown Lenox back, and the Old Mill brown and overprint backs, I have all (brand, series, factory) except a Red Hindu.

My highest graded card is an SGC70 Evers Chicago on Shirt with Pied 42 back.

The centerpiece is the Magie Error I picked up in the Huggins and Scott Auction.

My favorite card is Ty Cobb Bat Off.

My plans are to continue adding front/back combos to my collection. I have no plans or desire to sell it off.

Other than T206, I collect T201's, 19th Century Female Ball Players (Virginia Brights, Dixie's, Sub Rosa's, etc), various Type cards, and I'm beginning to work on a couple of T206's close cousins - T213-1's and T215-1's.

I'd like to thank everyone that I've had transactions with and everyone that I've corresponded with. It's all good

Best regards,
Craig

[slidekellyslide]

Congrats Craig! Well done.

There is a Ty Cobb/Ty Cobb up for auction in Goodwin.

[barrysloate]

Well done Craig...and I too like to snipe manually on ebay. I usually get it down to about 8-10 seconds. Once I had thirty seconds to go only to discover I was asked to sign in. By the time I got my username and password in the lot closed.

[Rob D.]

Congrats, Craig.

My favorite part of your post: "I have no plans or desire to sell it off."

[B O'Brien]

Good work Craig! Also, thank you for giving so many of my beloved pieces such a good home, and in the process, helping me near the closing stages of my T206 project.
Also, I will be back for the 42's!
Take care,
Bob

[Adam]

Nice Craig!

[caramelcard]

Nice Craig!

When did you start collecting T206?

You collect them very similar to the way that I have for the past 10 years.

Congrats!

Rob

[geor952]

Craig,

Congratulations! I too would love to know how long you have been chipping away at the set? I started Thanksgiving weekend, 2003, with my father and we are over half way there. I also would like to hear about one transaction that really sticks out? and what is the largest lot you purchased?

Thanks in advanced-
George Gogol

[FrankWakefield]

Congratulations, Craig. IMPRESSIVE.

FW

[canjond]

Congrats on the accomplishment.

[T206.org]

Great achievement, Craig! What's next for the front/back combos?

[Jantz]

Congrats!

Some day I will be there.

Jantz

[Matt]

Congrats Craig!! Really impressive!

As an aside, we implemented a new forum feature today which references related threads when someone creates a new one, based on the thread title. I was curious what would be pulled up given your title, but it actually worked really well. You can see them by scrolling to the bottom of the posts in this thread. It will work for all newly created threads.

[Anthony S.]

Congrats, Craig. Almost completing that Polar Beer run in a year's time is particularly impressive. Now take that last step and free those final slabbed T206s. The raw cards don't like seeing those chosen few slabbies get special treatment. It could get ugly. I caught my Unglaub and Isbell beating a slabbed Molesworth with a coat hanger last year.

[T206.org]

Great new feature, Matt!

[Leon]

Congrats on taming the Monster, Craig. Are you going to keep working on different front back combo's from other mfg's?

[cfc1909]

Good job Craig-521 is a tough number to get to.. I will email in a bit.

[ethicsprof]

A most significant milestone in vintage collecting, Craig.
You have both my heartfelt congratulations and admiration.
A job very well done.
The Monster is quaking in both anger and sadness.

best,
barry

[Scott T]

It takes a big man not to be jealous of another person’s collection.

I am not a big man!

Congrats on the accomplishment.

[majordanby]

congrats, craig! do you still have that cobb bat off SGC 30 I sold you last year? if so, i am glad i was a part of your T206 adventure

[toppcat]

Impressive, I an envious. Mine is going 70.....71.....72.....73, I need to catch up!

[T206Collector]

Ah, the sweet smell of victory!

Having taken your path once before, I can truly appreciate what you have accomplished.

I am at about 50 of my return to the mountatin. This time I won't be
using oxygen tanks as I get close to the summit.

[White Borders]

Thanks for all the kudos and nice comments. As I've told a few peeps, it feels like I've completed the first lap of a multi-lap race. T206 has over 6000 front/back combos, which is plenty to fill one's lifetime. I'm 45, so hopefully I should have many more years of collecting in front of me.

As a kid, I started collecting contemporary cards in the early 70's thru the early 90's, completing Topps sets from '73-'91. I then took about a 15 year hiatus from collecting. A little over two years ago I got back in it thru ebay and completed my '72 Topps. I'd always wanted a T206 so in the fall of 2007 I procured a PSA 4 Jim Scott. Well, that opened the door to vintage collecting for me. About a year ago, after being very impressed with Ted Z's T206 backs subsets, I decided to pursue an all Polar Bear set. While picking up PB's, I also picked up other T206. In January I realized I was only about 100 cards away from a 520 card set. When the Huggins & Scott Auction opened, I saw the Magie Error card and decided I to make a run at it. A week ago I picked up a Hickman, leaving only the Foster to complete the 521 card set. It all happened very fast, so there was never really enough time for futility to set in or to feel like giving up!

The biggest lot I picked up was maybe only 5 or 6 cards. I think I bought a 5 or 6 card lot of brown hindu southern leaguers from adam. And I think I picked up a 6 card lot of polar bears on ebay from beckettmedia. What really helped was I'd win 10-15 ebay auctions of single card lots from a single seller in a single nite to save on shipping. I picked up a bunch of cards from alan swaim and buythatcard in this manner.

I have a lot of memorable pickups. To name a few: My first T206, the Jim Scott. Watching the countdown clock hit 0 on the Magie Error. The T206 Foster yesterday. Buying a card from Brian McQueen and discovering we had attended the same Jr High, Highschool, and Univ. of Kansas. A pickup that I was not involved in but will always be memorable was Felicia's first T206 - Cy Young Glove Shows. We exchanged several emails and she was totaling bubbling with joy over it - that's what T206 collecting is all about!

Best regards,
Craig

[E93]

Congrats on a big accomplishment.
JimB