Best set for a new set builder

[sbfinley]

Not Pre-War but 54 Bowman is a good start. The Mantle and Williams will set you back a couple hundred in low grades, but the rest of the set is affordable. Lots of HOFers too.

[Zach Wheat]

T201 is also a good set to start out with....it is comprised of 50 cards (100 players) with all cards obtainable. It also has reasonably priced cards of Mathewson (whose name is misspelled), Johnson and Cobb along with 17 other HOF'ers.

[terjung]

1933 Goudey - a 240 card set with 64 of the cards representing HOFers (including Ruth, Gehrig, Foxx, Speaker, Dean, Cochrane, etc.)

The cards are great looking, readily available, and can be budget friendly depending on what grade (appearance level) you choose. Also, they are easily resold if you change your mind midway through. A great and important set that is ranked as one of the big three - along with the T206 and 1952 Topps sets.

Good luck!

[glchen]

Originally Posted by terjung

1933 Goudey - a 240 card set with 64 of the cards representing HOFers (including Ruth, Gehrig, Foxx, Speaker, Dean, Cochrane, etc.)

The cards are great looking, readily available, and can be budget friendly depending on what grade (appearance level) you choose. Also, they are easily resold if you change your mind midway through. A great and important set that is ranked as one of the big three - along with the T206 and 1952 Topps sets.

Good luck!

I collect 33 Goudey's and just beware, the costs can add up in a hurry even for low grade. Then you run into a dilemma on whether you want a bunch of low grade commons or just a few HOF'ers. If you want them all, like me, you'll end up spending serious cash. If you look at BST, someone is selling ~100 commons for about $700, so that's a good way to get started. Once you start working on the HOF'ers, it'll start to add up.

If you have a limited budget, and it's your first time, I would almost recommend a smaller set like 34 or 35 Goudey. However, part of the joy of the hobby is that you have to love the cards you collect, and if there is some particular set you really like, just go for it. Over time, you can slowly build up your set one card at at time, even if the overall set is expensive.

[ChiefBenderForever]

T205- awesome set without all the competition from all the t206 collectors.

[Griffins]

I'd vote for a smallish set, to make it easier and not get bogged down. Pick and era you like, or players you identify with, and start plugging away. The nice thing about a small set as opposed to a larger one is that you can complete it and jump to the next era, giving yourself a wide range of represented players over time
Pre WW1
T201- 50 cards, Cobb and Matty, overlooked and somewhat undervalued
E95 and E95- small sets, lots of color, good player selection

20's
'21 or '22 Exhibits- reasonable cost, fairly attainable, all the stars of the day- Ruth, Cobb, Johnson, etc

'30's
'34 Goudey -96 cards, good player selection, but not Ruth. The high numbers are not as tough as they are supposed to be, IMO
'34-'36 Diamond Stars - 106 cards, or 96 if you stay away from the high numbers, which are repeats of the lower 96 and tough to find. No Ruth or Gehrig, but a strong selection of players, great design, and the thick cardboard stock makes them more presentable when well worn

'40's
'41 Playball. 72 cards, great design, all the stars of the day. Dimaggio, Williams, Greenberg, etc

'50's

'53 Bowman. Best design of the post war era, IMO. 160 cards flawlessly produced with just good, clean photography. Mantle, Feller, Spahn. Downside is no Ted Williams or Jackie Robinson.

'54 Red Heart - 33 cards, good player selection (Mantle, Musial, Snider) but no Robinson or Williams. Very attainable

'56 Topps- 342 cards (354 if you add the team variations), but the first year there were no conflicts between Topps and Bowman so you've got everyone except Musial. A bunch of variations make it interesting.

'60's

'63 Fleer- 67 cards, most major stars, just two tricky shortprints, Adcock and the checklist, but those aren't as tough as you'd think.

'64 Topps Giants 60 cards, every star of the era, easy to find.

[B O'Brien]

Not to hijack a thread, but what kind of cash do you think it would take to do the E95's in G-VG raw or graded, don't really care.

I know I am a T206 addict, but it would be nice to at least think about something else, even though I am 90% I would ever do it.

Good luck on your summer project, it sounds a lot more fun than any of mine!
Bob

[Robextend]

I agree with the 1934 Goudey set...I think that would be a great start.

[ChiefBenderForever]

Originally Posted by B O'Brien

Not to hijack a thread, but what kind of cash do you think it would take to do the E95's in G-VG raw or graded, don't really care.

I know I am a T206 addict, but it would be nice to at least think about something else, even though I am 90% I would ever do it.

Good luck on your summer project, it sounds a lot more fun than any of mine!
Bob

21 of the 25 E95 in really decent shape just sold for 4000.00 in rea and it included a nice Cobb and Wagner I think they were really nice 2 grade. I wish I could've got them but then again always fun to build a set card by card over several years, I am slowy working on the E95 and up to six cards, my goal is to finish it over the next 10 years, maybe less or longer. After picking up a couple nice E93 from Brian I might start working on that set as well it is so nice and compliments the E95 so well would be a really fun project.
I agree the 34 set is awesome to build I put one together over 10 years with about a total of a 4 year break inbetween.

[Bicem]

Originally Posted by Griffins

'56 Topps- 342 cards (354 if you add the team variations), but the first year there were no conflicts between Topps and Bowman so you've got everyone except Musial. A bunch of variations make it interesting.

agreed, plus they are gorgeous cards and under appreciated.