General Forum

So I've done it. I've looked through my entire collection -- about 36,000 cards. Starting last July, I decided it was equally important to enjoy what I have as it was to accumulate more. (Not a terrible philosophy for life in general, I'd say. And it saves money!) So I started with the oldest cards and looked at all of them. That means I laid eyes on every single card for a few seconds. And I pulled any card that interested me and checked out the back more carefully -- probably 10,000 of them. Did I learn anything? I dunno. I learned I love my entire collection. I have cards I didn't even know I had. The photography has improved vastly over the years. The artistry was better in the pre-war years. While I love the older stuff, the new stuff still holds my interest. I learned I might be more interested in getting a few vintage cards than finishing some less vintage sets. But that feeling seems to fluctuate a bit. I learned that I'm getting more and more flexible on condition, especially on old cards. I learned that I like the quirky cards as much as the hall of famers. Like my need to get a Solly Hofman, because he was the outfielder who caught the ball in Merkle's boner. And I've enjoyed looking up more history, rather than just looking at last year's stats. 

And I've learned that, one way or another, this hobby will be with me until I die. 

Time for a break, then I think I'll start all over again. 

Happy collecting  

Congrats on completing that goal V3!

I won't take the time to do that with my 50,000+ cards, but there are two main reasons for that. #1 - I've seen all of my cards dozens of times each (at minimum) and I see many of them again every time I am pulling cards for a trade. #2 - I have a photographic memory and so just the mention of a specific card will usually bring the image to mind. It may not always work fully for lesser-known players but I will know the design of the card just from year and set name.

Poor, poor Merkle.

Damn it, Switzr. Your comment made me look up Merkle's boner again, and now I need cards for the two guys who got hits in the inning: Al Bridwell and Moose McCormick, which will be expensive. But I will love it when and if I own not only Tinker and Evers and Chance and Merkle, but Hofman, McCormick, and Bridwell, as well. What a stupid, perfect "set" that will be! 

I wonder if the umpire who made the call had a card...

I don't think so. But the pitcher, Jake Pfiester, does. I'm gonna go broke. 

congrats! one of the reasons I began scanning my entire collection in 2009 was so I could look at all of them at any time without having to physically get them out which is not particularly easy for me. I  still have years ahead of me before I finish, and I really don't want to finish. My health problems have pretty much forced me to give up my other hobbies, though when I finish the cards I still have my comic book collection and stamp collection that need scanning. 

Enjoyng the hobby for what it is - a hobby.  I don't go through and look at evvery card one-by-one but this site has caused me to look at my cards on a regular basis.  I still enjoy the older cards more than the new stuff but as a collector, I want one of everything baseball. So, I continue to look for those missing in my collection to fill in the holes.  Funny that this thread is followed by members who all have shown themselves as dedicated collectors for the love of the hobby.

A great feat to have completed this task without getting distracted by shiny things (as my wife likes to point out to me when i go off on different tangents of interest). Having sold off the bulk of my collection a few years ago and just held on to my 57 and 61 partial sets in binders it doesnt take me too long to go down memory lane, however having restarted collecting last year, i have had a chance to look at all of the new cards in my collection as well as the bulk of cards that i have picked up to use as trade bait.  And it has been fun to see all of the sets i never saw before when i pick up a box of miscelanious cards and catalog them for my trade list.  Since i have over 37000 cards on my want list maybe i will someday reach a collection as large as yours before i head to my field of dreams.