T206 Survey

This is a survey do get an idea of how many people activley pursue the T206 set. Post what you want after taking the poll. Pics always welcome

Please remember that a set is with or with out the Big 6.

[martin neal]

You may want to add ... variations, misprints, and oddities... as I am sure there are a few of us around.

[Doug]

I voted for just a big pile of cards. When I made an attempt at putting the set together about ten years ago I managed to get over 200 cards in before I ran out of money and had to sell them off. The sad thing about that was I had both the Demmitt and O'hara St. Louis variations out of the way along with all of the SL players and most of the HOFers.

[Howe’s Hunter]

Three backs –Piedmont, Old Mill and Hindu – so are the only ones I've come across that fit in my collection.

[tonyk1975]

I'm going for a complete set but doing an all American Beauty backs set does intrigue me.

[T206Collector]

....complete T206 is the goal. But I think it's really "As Many Different Fronts As Possible."

I have always found backs a little amusing -- I enjoy seeing different backs, but will always find it strange that people care about them so much. I collect Baseball Men, not Tobacco Brands!

[Doug]

Originally Posted by T206Collector

....complete T206 is the goal. But I think it's really "As Many Different Fronts As Possible."

I have always found backs a little amusing -- I enjoy seeing different backs, but will always find it strange that people care about them so much. I collect Baseball Men, not Tobacco Brands!

That was what I thought, but I guess the challenge of completing a 524 card set just isn't enough for some people!

[ChiefBenderForever]

I have 16 different T206 backs in the three Chief Bender poses, also have 3 different T213 Bender backs which I include to make it 19. I do pick up a different player here or there if I think the card looks cool. I fully understand the facination with different backs and rarer issues, it's really cool lining up the backs with all the colors and variations.

T213-2, T213-3, and T213-3 fac overprint 8 Bender backs-



Edit to add the fronts- I have another T213-2 no trees Philadelphia American front so will have 6 different, you would think I would get sick of the same poses but it is just the opposite.

[E93]

In addition to collecting the set, I know I am not alone in collecting examples of each of the brands (17, including Coupon type 1 imho).
JimB

[thegashousegang]

Currently, I'm just doing the HOF Portraits (minus Wagner, Plank) with no back in particular. But, I'm sure when I complete this that it will lead into other subsets - different backs, teams, etc.

[JasonL]

started with Cubs
now on to what I call Classic Images
also working on Sunsets, Stadium backgrounds, and Sweaters

[teetwoohsix]

I am going for the whole set ( as close as I can get at least).One of each front is the main objective,and at least one example of each back within the set.I may add ONE Coupon T213-1 just as an example of the back (even though it's not a T206 ).

Regards,Clayton

[MVSNYC]

it's tuff for me to simply choose one of those options...i collected T206 for almost 20 years, and have taken a bit of a break from it in recent years. i have the itch to get back into it...i've owned thousand's of T206s over the years, and have focused on various facets of the set at different points; rare backs, variations, printing errors, high-grade, rarities, graded, raw, etc, etc. there are so many different ways of collecting the monster...

FWIW, when i get back into it soon, will probably focus on high-grade once again.

[celoknob]

When I was a kid, I read Fleming's "Unforgettable Season", which is still my favorite baseball book. That book was a compliation of newspaper articles from the 1908 pennant race, mainly from the NY Giants perspective. No other book can take you back to the deadball era like that one.

I am definitely not a NY sports fan, but the characters from that book (Mattewson, McGraw, Donlin, The Iron Man, Dummy Taylor etc) have always stuck with me. I probably never would have collected any T206 cards if I had not read that book.

Anyway to get to the point, I started T206 collecting by getting the NY Giants team because of "Unforgettable Season". Ever since getting most of the NY players, I just buy random cards I like.

I have absolutely no chance of finishing the full T206 set. Even if I did, I find big-time set builing to be more stressful than fun (I'm a little OCD already and don't need to add another compulsion!).

[Comiskey]

Well, I started collecting the T206 set with the New York Giants sub set. I had just read a great book called the old ball game which highlighted Christy Mathewson, John McGraw and their Giants team and so I decided it would be fun to put together the giants set. Well it took me about a year to collect the sub set in about good to vg conditon. During that time I decided to get a couple of additional HOFer's such as a Cy Young portrait and a Ty Cobb (Green) portrait card. Well the green in the T206's kinda stuck to me and I started looking at the backs of some of these cards and really liked the look of the American Beauty's. Well, guess what happened next......I ended up buying a few T206's with an emphasis on AB backs. As you can see, the monster sucked me in and now I am 188 cards into the set and loving every minute of it!

All of the cards I collect I either buy graded and crack them out or buy raw and keep them that way. I keep almost all of them in penny sleeves, then placed into the T size top loaders and then place them in a 3 ring binder. They look incredible together and it's a blast flipping through the pages seeing the different teams together and on the opposite side I can see the diverse group of advertising backs that I have collected. The only cards from my T206 set that are still slabbed are my Demmitt and O'Hara cards. Other than that they are all "naked." I also have been lucky enough to add a couple of T206's to my set such as the T206 Cobb red portrait from the skydash collection and a Lundgren with an EPDG back. I am also always on the lookout for T206 oddities. I have some T206's with names on the top, miscut backs, two names on the card, and some with color problems to the front. At this point my set is pretty diverse which I am pretty happy about and hope to continue this type of set building in the future!

Here is a break down of my set so far:

American Beauty (Framed)- 30 cards
American Beauty (No Frame)- 1
American Beauty 460- 2
Piedmont- 77
Sweet Corporal- 32
Sovereign- 3
EPDG- 9
Tolstoi- 3
Old Mill- 10
Polar Bear- 4
Hindu- 14
Cycle- 1
Lenox-1
Drum-1
Uzit-1

Here is a photo of my T206 set:
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As for the survey question, I feel like I could fall into all of the categories. But thats what's so great about the set, you have so many different ways to collect it, you could potentially collect it forever!

Jeff

[Steve D]

Be careful all ye who collect only T206 teams/subsets/backs/etc.....

I innocently began that way. I wanted to collect only the hall of famers. Once I completed that, I looked at them and said: These cards are too nice to stop now!

So.....I decided to collect all the Brooklyn Superbas (Dodgers), Chicago Cubs and New York Giants. As I approached completion of those, I said: These cards are far too beautiful to stop now!

So.....I'm now at about 51% of a complete set!

When it comes to The Monster.....Be Afraid!


Be Very Afraid!!!!!


Steve

[HRBAKER]

HOFers only

[ethicsprof]

after taming the Monster, i took on the Canfieldean obsession and have tried to get an example of each tobacco pack within the T206 era. I also have a dose of
the Luckeyean fixation with 'types'.
Tuff, tough, very difficult---but great fun.

best,
barry

[Jantz]

As many of you may already know, when I started this set I was just going to do a Cleveland team set and like most everyone, I got bit. Long story short, I'm at about 40% now, but I find myself being more selective of the T206s that I buy. By that I mean that I would like to do a Polar Bear back set, so now I'm trying to "kill two birds with one stone". If a player has a card with a Polar Bear back, I try to buy that version first.

I found it interesting Andrew that you refer to the set as with/without the "Big 6" instead of the the "Big 4". I say this because maybe a week or so ago, there was a raw Demmitt (St.L) on Ebay. I watched it throughout the week and after seeing the final price, it made me wonder if I will ever own it or the O'Hara. 518 just might be the magic number for me too.

Jantz

[martin neal]

Mike, it's good to hear you may be getting into t206s again. I remember those pristine cards tou used to have.
I bought my first T206 around 1988, and completed the set in 2008. Although, I am not that exicited about "keeping" the set as I was "building" the set, I find it very hard to sell certain cards. I toyed around with the idea of keeping around 20 of my favorites. Since then, I have pared them down to around 600.

[Dustanh1]

I am going for one of every front, and trying to acquire one of as many backs as I can along the way. Depending on the back, I will downgrade a cards grade to get a better back. For example, I had a common in an SGC 40 with a Piedmont back, but I "downgraded" to a PSA 2 with a Hindu back. Hindu is my favorite back, so I try to get as many of them as possible, but I would like to have as many different backs as possible. I'm shooting for 518, but that is based on my current financial situation. I am only at 101 or 102 right now, so who knows if that situation will have changed when I am approaching 518-520, or what the market will be at that time. Whatever....I'm having a blast.

[M's_Fan]

I collect every hall of famer in each variation. There are 76 total, but I won't ever get the Plank or Wag. I'm trying to have my set be SGC 40 or above, but I really prize eye appeal even at the cost of some grades. I'm thinking of putting them into custom made frames, but who knows if that will ever happen...

[Hot Springs Bathers]

I just started over a couple of years ago. The first time around I just focused on one of every card. When I found a different back I kept it but it was not a prime consideration.

After a few years the different backs became more important. This time around I am once again focusing on one of each card but the back variations are important.

Back in the 1970s & 80s I actually used the Heitman checklist and tried to complete a team at a time. That is how I had them in my album too. It never made any sense to me to have the players in alpha order. I plan to do it that way again this time. Same thing for my T205s.

I saw a T205 set one time that had one card mounted on each page with a bio of the player typed and glued under the card. It was wonderful though ti would make for a multiple album scenario for the T206s!

I suppose any way you want to collect the set is fine as long as you are having fun.