Introduction and a question on which cards are "Must Haves"

[Rich Klein]

"I am a 34 year old married father of one son (5 yrs old) who is just starting to show an interest in the hobby - but he only wants to collect Chase Utley cards, his favorite player."

That you make sure your son gets more cards of Mr. Utley. We love hearing about the "kids" who collect, so make you help him with HIS collection as well.
Give him the base cards to play with -- and keep the better early cards and inserts, etc. so he can have them in nicer shape when he's a bit older.

Regards
Rich

[barrysloate]

Welcome to the board Paul.

I would recommend you go with your five favorite players, and try to get the most attractive pose of each (that is subjective). Cobb, Matty, Walter Johnson, Cy Young, and Honus Wagner are the big five of the dead ball era, but you may have other favorite players yourself. Try to get them in the best condition you can afford.

[quinnsryche]

Paul, being of a similar situation (although I have about 10 years on you) my suggestion is buy what you like. I re-entered the hobby with the goal of getting cards which are asthetically pleasing to my eyes. I look at the cards in my collection on average of 2-3 times a week so I pick what I want to see over and over again. I can't come close to affording ANY of the cards mentioned but I enjoy what I have just the same. I agree with a previous post to stick with graded cards (for safety reasons and they are protected from any further damage). If you think it's cool, you can afford it and it's a good deal, get it. You can always sell it or trade it later if you change your mind (I do that ALL the time).
Good Luck and enjoy the board!

[Clark7781]

Thank you all for the warm welcome, and the much appreciated feedback!

Regarding your comments, I very rarely buy raw cards. I am working on the T205 set (I have about 50 or so cards), all which were purchased graded by SGC - I prefer SGC over the other companies, but that is just a personal preference.

I already have the T206 Cobb with Red background that I absolutely love. It's only a 30 SGC, but I love it.

I REALLY love the 34 Goudey Gehrig; I'm thinking that may be the next big purchase for me.

For you experts, what should be a fair market price for a '34 Goudey Gehrig around a SGC 30/40 go for today?

Again, thank you for the warm welcome and I look forward to interacting with everyone!

[dstudeba]

If you are interested in cards that you can easily trade or resale for when something else catches your fancy almost all of the aforementioned cards fit the bill. I would go through some of the archives of auction sites and see what excites you. If you are into the first class of the Hall of Fame then the suggestions are valid. If you are interested in collecting cards relevant to the Virginia area then they probably won't do much for you. Find what you enjoy and collect that.

Personally I don't have any interest in any of the cards mentioned so far and yet I still actively collect prewar cards.

[rhettyeakley]

I'll second what Dan said!

All the aforementioned cards are great...but they simply don't do anything for me. Like many pre-war collecors when I first started collecting I got excited about T205, T206, and the Goudey sets. However, after seeing a few thousand of them I think I just got bored of them. So, now I tend to collect the things that are interesting to me or that I have found myself researching. I collect all those funny little round cards (Colgan's Chips) and the Zeenut sets from 1911-1938 (Pacific Coast League). I personally prefer real photos over cartoony action shots of the players (but I'm in the minority in that regard)

Find something that really interests you. If you are in Virginia I would recommend collecting the T209's or T210's. However, if you want big name players (HOFers) you will probably find more enjoyment in the T206 or Goudey sets. Just remember, you can always change your mind...I don't know how many times I have started collecting a set only to find out that it just doesn't hold my interest as much as I may have thought it would.

-Rhett

[Jewish-collector]

Paul,

Welcome to the board. Collect what you like and ENJOY IT !!! Hope to see you at the Chantilly show next month.

Alan

[ethicsprof]

Welcome Paul!
great to have you on board!
I say go with your own aesthetics, your own sense of beauty.
As you can see, we are quite a varied lot of folks who choose as we see fit.
You will do the same.
best of luck in the quest(s),
barry

[ScottFandango]

gotta have a T206 Johsnon Portrait....an amazing gaze from an amazing player.

But man cannot live by pre-war alone....

this card (with this poor scan) just sold for $3000 ungraded


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the graded PSA 9 just went for $4500....



this card has appreciated VERY fast over the last 8 years!

even in a market of lower prices for collectibles, this card CONTINUES to set new highs!

remember, there are less than 500 of these rookies of possible the GREATEST RIGHT HANDED HITTER EVER.....

[Exhibitman]

Welcome aboard!

I'd add to the responses already given the following:

There are no rules--this is supposed to be fun above all else. Focus on what you like versus what others say you should like. If there is a team or player who meant something to you as a kid, an historical era that really appeals to you, or a card issue that intrigues you, base your collection around that subject. If you don't care about high grade vs. low grade, don't waste your money on high grade cards when lower grade ones will give you the same satisfaction at a fraction of the price. If you value completion of a set over collecting of individual players, choose a set that appeals to you and try to assemble it. If "common" cards simply don't interest you, don't waste time on a set with lots of commons in it. If there is an era or type of card (like E or strips) that don't appeal to you, don't bother with them.

[Leon]

Hi Paul,
Welcome to our board. I see where you had said, in your first post, that you might have waited a week to get approved for membership. It should never take a week and I would hope it would rarely take more than 1-2 days, but sometimes my emails get a little backed up.

I think what everyone has been saying so far is good advice. My very first big card was a T205 Johnson as I thought it was so great looking I had to have it. I have since sold it and moved on but it's a great set. As a closely held secret I am a type-collector, meaning I like one (or more ) from each set. Along the way there are certain cards I have seen and liked so much I picked one up. I think the main thing I could add to this discussion is "be patient." This is a long marathon not a sprint. Folks on this board have been collecting up to about 50 yrs, or a little more. I think from our last poll about time-in, in the hobby, the most common spot was in the 12-18yrs range. I fall into that one too. I hope its multiples of that before I am done. (and I mean literally done ) ......Here is a card I knew I always wanted, it turned up with a cool back, so I went for it. It's an absolute classic card of the winningest pitcher of all time. How can you go wrong with one of these? I am quite sure you will find cards like this that you really want too, as your collecting matures. If you collect what you enjoy you will rarely have regrets.

[ChiefBenderForever]

Paul I am no expert but am pretty familiar with the 34 Gehrig you are looking to get. It all depends on the eye appeal and how clean the card is, in a sgc 30/40 500-900 would be my guess from what I have seen for a decent example.

[steve B]

Another angle could be to collect cards of a player or players thet have the same last name as yours. I've got a few, and it's fun trying to figure out which ones exist. fortunately for me it's only one player and only one fairly rare card most of the rest being commons.

The "must have " cards really depend on your likes and dislikes. And unless I'm way off the list changes for most of us as we learn more about the cards and the players. For example, you may learn about a player who had a fascinating life and career and decide that his cards mean a bit more to you than other players.

Steve B

[ajwagner421]

As you can tell this is my first post as well. I just started getting back into baseball cards, but as a college student, the budget is extremely limited at this point!

Anyways, I'd love to collect players with my last name (Wagner), but I think I might have trouble getting at least one of those!

I'm really interested in the T206 set and I'd love to collect these as I get older. I'm sure I'll collect a few as I finish out my college years, but won't get serious until later. It's been really interesting to read everyone's opinions on this subject. I'm sure this board will be a valuable resource as I collect.