t207 Donnelly

[Bridwell]

Interesting thread. I've been working on T207s steadily for 3 years now. That list from SCD is a lot different from my experience. It is also a lot different from the 2007 Standard Catalog I have.

In short, some of the toughest T207s seem more common to me. This would include Loudermilk and Ward Miller where there have been many sold in auctions the last couple of years. Even Benz, Donnelly and Sweeney have popped up several times in the last year.

Surprisingly, the more common ones listed such as Doc White can be pretty tough. And a few of the Recruit backs come up for sale very rarely. When guys are working on sets, the competition can be fierce in the auctions. One card may sell for $50, another for $500.

[frohme]

Agreed with the responses above. I also think that perceptions of difficulty in the range of tough cards comes down to personal experience. They're all tough, and if you happened to pick up a Bauman, Bushelman, Pelty or Mogridge by sheer timing, you'd probably not think it to be that difficult - tbob or Rob A may not happen agree with you.

As others have said, points of the SCD list are a ways off from my experience as well. Completely agree that the Benz is one of the easiest in the Broadleaf class (as is Herzog, IMO), but also feel that you could poll the group of T207 collectors on the difficulty of individual cards and get fairly disparate answers ... depending on when they collected, the grade of cards they wanted, etc... (e.g. ask the Cubs team collectors about Miller and Saier). As tbob says above, even some of the Recruit cards in higher grades can be a real bitch. While more are coming out and being graded over time, we're nowhere near the pops of T205s or 6s, and likely never will be.

Many of the tougher cards appear only a couple times a year at best - sometimes much less often, and sometimes only in group lots, oddly. Some of the previous responders would probably agree that "you get 'em when and where you can in whatever grade you can and upgrade later". There really are sleepers in the set that seem much more difficult than others. Lew's Encyclopedia and the VCBC articles by Tim and Bob give good indication of what those are, your experience will fill in the details.

I'd also say that if you find any Broadleaf-class card for sale at "Recruit" pricing - its a deal. Some are on par with the harder recruits, yes, but not the run-of-the-mill first half (or so) of the set.

My two cents.
--
Mike

[caramelcard]

"I also think that perceptions of difficulty in the range of tough cards comes down to personal experience. They're all tough, and if you happened to pick up a Bauman, Bushelman, Pelty or Mogridge by sheer timing, you'd probably not think it to be that difficult."


Couldn't agree more.

One of the first tougher backed card I picked up was Donlin. Just luck and timing.

Tbob and others like Scott B, Alan, Ron and Mike would probably have the best perspective because they've collected the set multiple times or gone after master sets which is almost impossible imo. 1 Time is enough for me.

[Bridwell]

I would estimate there are at least 20 complete sets (or near complete) safely tucked away by collectors. That takes 20 of each of the rare series cards "out of play" as it were. So anyone doing a set now is going to have trouble finding all of the rare series cards.

[tonyo]

I counted the number of times cards were mentioned as "difficult" in this thread:

Mike Donlin 4
Irving Lewis (emblem on sleeve) 4
Charley Bauman 2
Irving Lewis (no emblem) 2
George Mogridge 2
Barney Pelty 2
Victor Saier 2
J.F. Bushelman 2
Edward Donnely 1
Tom Downey 1
Ward Miller (Chicago) 1
George Tyler 1
G. Harris White 1


And the number of times cards were mentioned as "not as difficult as perceived"

Joseph Benz 3
Don Carlos Ragan 2
William J. Sweeney 2
Edward Donnely 1
Charles Herzog 1
Louis Lowdermilk 1
Ward Miller (Chicago) 1
Arthur Rasmussen 1
Morris Rath 1
George Weaver 1

[tonyo]

Originally Posted by tonyo

I counted the number of times cards were mentioned as "difficult" in this thread:

G. Harris White 1

Oddly, in the 2011 SCD White is valued even lower thn most Recruit class cards.

I understand the validity(lack of) everyone places on SCD $$values, but I still use it pretty religiously as a general relative guide, checklist, and set card identifier ----

Just thought that price point was really out-of-place.

[tbob]

Originally Posted by tonyo

Oddly, in the 2011 SCD White is valued even lower thn most Recruit class cards.

I understand the validity(lack of) everyone places on SCD $$values, but I still use it pretty religiously as a general relative guide, checklist, and set card identifier ----

Just thought that price point was really out-of-place.

Tony, you are absolutely correct. Merry Christmas and happy collecting!