Monster? Really?

[scooter729]

A large set like the W600 cabinets might fit the question - large number of cards, many with few copies known - so even with unlimited funds, you are not going to assemble the set in six months.

[Leon]

Since there are no known complete sets of E107 or W600, yes, I would say they would take a long time.

[barrysloate]

Part of the beauty of the T206 set, among many other things, is that it can be completed quite easily. Despite its enormous size, the only real challenge is having the money to do it. If you want to complete the set of 520, no card will present a great challenge. With enough funds, one could pretty easily get it to 522. The real challenges would be the Wagner and Doyle.

Now if you want to go after the master set, that is a lifelong endeavor, and virtually impossible to complete. The master set is a monster, but the basic set of 520 is misnamed.

[bbcard1]

Nonetheless, it's a cool accomplishment. I'll bet less people have finished a T206 set than have reached the summit of Mt. Everest. Again, you just need a good level of health and the money to go on the tour. Something over 2000 people have done it. I had a friend who tried and lost a couple toes for his trouble. Even if you do either, it shouldn't be your biggest accomplishment in your life...

[alanu]

I think the "monster" nickname was probably more true before ebay and all the auction houses.

The Old Judge set is truly still a "monster".

[Danny Smith]

Im working on the e105 mello mint set as a long term project with a couple other set projects (t206, e95, e96, t200). Not sure if ill ever be able to finish it but its a fun challenge.

[tiger8mush]

a master E98 set with all 4 of the background colors would probably take a few years

[U240robert]

I would think it depends on the condition of the set.
Even if you have unlimited funds, just tracking down
the cards in, say, PSA6/7 above would be a very big challenge.
But if it's a lesser condition set the cards are out there.
I still think it would be difficult just tracking them all down.

[JamesGallo]

For some sets it's a matter of the card being available for sale. I have been working on a Boston store set for 4 years or so. About 85% there but some cards like the Ruth are just not for sale. I suppose with unlimited funds I could pry one loose but it would be tough. Also at times for sets like this common cards are rarer then the HOF which is certainly true with T206 and Cracker Jacks.

As far as I am aware a master set of N172 isn't possible. Perhaps you could do a set of one pose for each player I really don't know enough about the set, how many cards would that be?

James G

[DixieBaseball]

The T210 set is the real monster 600+ cards, 8 series... And several in that 8 series you would wait a decade or so for...

Also the 75 card T211 set would be a tedious task. It took me 10 years to get all 17 Nashville players and I was about as aggressive as one can be assembling them one by one. The recent surge in T211's on the market the last year is not indicative of how hard these are to assemble. (It seems once the near set was sold in REA, some bricks fell, but it would take many years to get all 75 cards.)

Finally, the T213-1 Type 1 68 card set would be near impossible these days. Generally they come up one by one with a grouping of the cards coming to auction about every 5 years.... Most of these are put up in collections...

[Abravefan11]

As I've said before the moniker of "The Monster" was given to the T206 set due to it's thousands of possible front/back combinations. A true master set given unlimited resources would be impossible to complete.

If you want to look simply at the 524 card set without regard to the backs there are more posts in this thread than there are 524 card T206 sets.

I understand that a majority of people don't expect to complete the set of 524 and that most set their collecting goals at 518, 520 or 522, but this reduction while reasonable does not make a complete set or reduce it's difficulty.

There are many sets that are scarcer or rival T206 in numbers and variations, but none that come close IMO to it's popularity, availability and size, combined with it's difficulty in completing whether a basic or master set.

[E93]

Originally Posted by Abravefan11

As I've said before the moniker of "The Monster" was given to the T206 set due to it's thousands of possible front/back combinations. A true master set given unlimited resources would be impossible to complete.

If you want to look simply at the 524 card set without regard to the backs there are more posts in this thread than there are 524 card T206 sets.

I understand that a majority of people don't expect to complete the set of 524 and that most set their collecting goals at 518, 520 or 522, but this reduction while reasonable does not make a complete set or reduce it's difficulty.

There are many sets that are scarcer or rival T206 in numbers and variations, but none that come close IMO to it's popularity, availability and size, combined with it's difficulty in completing whether a basic or master set.

Well said Tim.
JimB