Until then, it's all up-hill. Especially when it's an older set. It's not like you can go to the corner store, buy a few packs, and luck into the remaining commons.
I've been slowly putting together an ungraded, low-grade 1956 Topps Baseball set. It's a great set because the design is top-notch, it contains an unbelievable number of superstar Hall-of-Famers (except for Stan Musial), and it's possible to find most of the needed cards with time and patience.
Today, I received an eBay lot of cards from an American seller which put me over the half-way mark. The set has 340 cards plus 2 un-numbered checklists, so 342 in total. I now have 183 cards in the set! Only 159 to go!
As you can see, the cards are low-grade. But these three cards above book for $525 in near-mint condition. I was able to get these three plus about 10 more for only $50.
I felt low-grade was the way to go from the beginning.
Graded cards by PSA cost too much. If I purchased ungraded cards in great condition, I'd always be worried that they'd be fake. But with low-grade cards, there is a sense of security. I don't mind if my New York Yankees Team Card has extremely soft corners or if my Duke Snider is full of creases. In the grand scheme, I'm pretty damn happy that I own these cards. Period!
I still have some big names to acquire. Hank Aaron. Sandy Koufax. Yogi Berra. And lots of commons.
On the bright side though, I've already got The Mick!
3 comments:
hi, not sure how to contact you through your site, so here I am on your latest post. I googled Black Diamond Markov, as I am trying to find a gold quad jersey of his, 08/09 to complete my set. So far, only at 41/98. I just checked out your extensive Markov collection and noticed you have one! Would you be interested in selling it?
My email is timothyt@mts.net
all the best,
Tim
My '59 set was built exactly as your '56, mid- to low- condition unslabed beauties. Not only do I not have to worry about fakes but I can just sit and leaf through all those colorful pages like God intended a set to be viewed.
Have lots of luck and even more fun in your efforts to finish it off. The '56 is a wonderful set.
To Anonymous - Sorry, it's part of my Markov collection and my only one. Good luck.
To Commishbob - Thanks for the comment. It's fun to put together such an old set. If and when I complete it, I'll look for another older set... maybe 1955 or 1963.
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