New to the forums and vintage collecting, starting my first project!

[mintacular]

Classic set, got to like the "big" cards pre-57. Lots of HOFers/rookies. Nice Koufax/Killebrew. Good luck. Here's my one and only '55 card:



P.S. Not to sound like a wet blanket but be REALLY careful about building complete vintage sets and make sure you want to tie your $ up on a particular set...I've done so with the '57 and don't regret it all but have also fell into the trap of set building and ended up spending hundreds+ on common cards, etc. that in retrospect I later wish I spent elsewhere. For me, I think one or two full sets is achievable but the rest of my disposable income I would rather spend on a handful of key cards/rookies from each vintage set rather than spending that $ on commons/short prints, etc from one particular set just to finish that set....JMO

[ls7plus]

Agree with Patrick about spending big $$$ on quite a few commons, but then again, I collect stars and hall-of-famers, with an emphasis on prewar. A lot of the guys here are set collectors, however, and I also understand the appeal of that approach: you've essentially recreated the whole panorama of the single season (or group of seasons--see the 1926-1929 Exhbits Postcard backs, for example). It just depends on what you like, and whether your focus is on maximizing value appreciation over time or pure personal enjoyment. There's no right or wrong approach.

Personally, I think the '55's are the most beautiful set Topps ever produced. Sold some of them in high grade off a few years back, and regretted it, although the values may have declined. Still have the Killebrew rookie in PSA 8, since he's one of my favorite players and a most gracious gentleman to meet at autograph shows.

Larry

[cdn_collector]

Should I ever develop the ability to focus my collection for longer than a month, '54, '55 and '56 Topps sets are all on my hit list [for fun, not investment]. All three sets boast spectacular cards.

My only '55 currently is Jackie Robinson, of which I do not have a scan handy.

Great looking start you've got going based on that album though.

Good luck with the rest of the project!

Regards,

Richard.

NB. Anyone know who the 4 unissued '55 Topps cards were supposed to depict?

[VinTX]

Originally Posted by Ease

Nice cards, and welcome!

thanks Ease, I appreciate it!

Originally Posted by mintacular

Classic set, got to like the "big" cards pre-57. Lots of HOFers/rookies. Nice Koufax/Killebrew. Good luck. Here's my one and only '55 card:



P.S. Not to sound like a wet blanket but be REALLY careful about building complete vintage sets and make sure you want to tie your $ up on a particular set...I've done so with the '57 and don't regret it all but have also fell into the trap of set building and ended up spending hundreds+ on common cards, etc. that in retrospect I later wish I spent elsewhere. For me, I think one or two full sets is achievable but the rest of my disposable income I would rather spend on a handful of key cards/rookies from each vintage set rather than spending that $ on commons/short prints, etc from one particular set just to finish that set....JMO

Nice Clemente!! hoping to get my hands on one of those sooner than later for my set...pretty much smooth sailing after that one, lol. Good advice about the set building. I'm planning to try and do a little of both. Work on a set and then spend some time just picking up some nice singles until I feel the urge to work on a set again

Originally Posted by ls7plus

Agree with Patrick about spending big $$$ on quite a few commons, but then again, I collect stars and hall-of-famers, with an emphasis on prewar. A lot of the guys here are set collectors, however, and I also understand the appeal of that approach: you've essentially recreated the whole panorama of the single season (or group of seasons--see the 1926-1929 Exhbits Postcard backs, for example). It just depends on what you like, and whether your focus is on maximizing value appreciation over time or pure personal enjoyment. There's no right or wrong approach.

Personally, I think the '55's are the most beautiful set Topps ever produced. Sold some of them in high grade off a few years back, and regretted it, although the values may have declined. Still have the Killebrew rookie in PSA 8, since he's one of my favorite players and a most gracious gentleman to meet at autograph shows.

Larry

I agree with you Larry, I love the 55's! For me, its kind of a combination of factors. There's obviously a great deal of personal enjoyment for me in it and that great sense of accomplishment when a set is finally finished, but I also look at long term appreciation in value as a factor too. So I just have to find that happy medium, lol. Thanks for the comment!

Originally Posted by cdn_collector

Should I ever develop the ability to focus my collection for longer than a month, '54, '55 and '56 Topps sets are all on my hit list [for fun, not investment]. All three sets boast spectacular cards.

My only '55 currently is Jackie Robinson, of which I do not have a scan handy.

Great looking start you've got going based on that album though.

Good luck with the rest of the project!

Regards,

Richard.

NB. Anyone know who the 4 unissued '55 Topps cards were supposed to depict?

Don't have a clue about the 4 unissued...might have to look into that. Wonder if one of them was slotted for Mantle in the hopes they could steal him away from Bowman?

I really like the 54 and 56 sets too along with the 53's. Just something about those particular sets that really grabs my attention. Second to those among my favorite topps baseball sets is the '62 which I may someday start working on.

Would love to see a scan of ur Jackie! Haven't gotten to that one yet in my set but I'm sure you'll be seeing a scan of it in this thread sooner or later!

[cdn_collector]

Originally Posted by VinTX

Would love to see a scan of ur Jackie! Haven't gotten to that one yet in my set but I'm sure you'll be seeing a scan of it in this thread sooner or later!

You're exactly right. This thread wouldn't be complete without one eventually



I also have the 1955 Topps Double Header of Jackie [and Don Hoak], but it's just raw and I'm leary of trying to scan it.

And lastly, those unissued cards. I've always wondered if Mantle was one, and if Pee Wee Reese was as well, as both are absent from 1955, but featured in earlier and later Topps issues. I'll have to do some investigation...somebody must know more.

Regards,

Richard.

[ALR-bishop]

Travis---you should read the Stephen King book "Needful Things"

[toledo_mudhen]

Topps did a "reissue" of the missing cards in 2006 for the National Show and per Topps they are as follow:

#175 Stan Musial
#186 Whitey Ford
#203 Bob Feller
#209 Herb Score

Benn working on the 55 Topps Set for about 10 years now (Slabbed NRMT +) and it brings me great joy as I near its completion.