General Forum

A couple of years ago I discovered the 1912 T207 Brownbacks. They are sepia and kind of creepy and many people hate them. But I do not hate them. In fact, I decided to embark on a years-long mission to get all 10 Cubs. Sure, there are a couple Hall of Famers, a star or two, but they didn't seem outrageously expensive. Today, in fact, I picked up my fifth one for 28 bucks. Five to go. Two HOFers, but even those at the SGC 20-30 level I tend to buy for these, will be affordable with a splurge or two. But then today I finally researched all the cards a bit more, since I noticed that some virtually never come up on eBay (including the one I just bought, actually). My conclusion: oh well. Two of these suckers -- Vic Saier and (especially) Ward Miller -- are virtually impossible to find. In fact, the Ward Miller at PSA 2 seems to go for about, oh, $823! So even if when I'm 75 I find one graded, say, Authentic, a grade I've always avoided in the past, it will take me out, what? $250? I want Ward Miller to be the card I've spend the most on in my life? 

My daughter and I planned a giant, black velvet covered, black silk rose-adorned, macabre wall display for the 10 cards. Who's kidding whom? I'll never get all 10. So now do I continue collecting them and know that there will always be two blank spots? I'm not putting reprints in there. Do I scrap it and try for a different team set -- the T205s? These are all rhetorical questions. I'm just sharing my (mild) sadness. Any goals you strove for for awhile, then abandonned? (There. That's not rhetorical.)

v3

First and foremost, V3, it's your goal and you should go with what makes you happy.  And perhaps in 10 or 20 years things change and it's worth every penny to you then.  who knows.

But one thought that comes to mind is if there is a trend with some of the 10 cards that makes a partial set look full?  For example, is it possible that 7 of the 10 were on the 1908 Cubs world Champion team?  If so, then maybe those 7 would be a goal which still deserves black velvet (not the whiskey, in this case).  Or similarly perhaps the 5 you have might mix well with others from the set (or similar set) which would work nicely for you.

Heck, I'm impressed with anything 1912, so in my book you're already a winner with the 5 you have.

In 1978, after graduating high school, I decided that I didn't care what my friends thought, I was going to start collecting baseball cards again. I loved baseball and had always enjoyed looking at the cards. I started hitting the garage sales around Lawrence Kansas. My goal was, since I was born in 1960, to have a complete set of Topps cards from 1960 to the present. Fast forward to today. I have complete sets of 1960, 1965 and 1967-2018. I'm 11 cards away from finishing my '66 set and halfway completed (the cheap half) the 1961 set. 

It took me 16 years to finish the 67 set- pre internet.

My long winded point: GO FOR IT!!!  If you're having fun, keep plugging away. You never know what you may stumble across. I've met some very generous dealers over the years who sold me cards at low prices because they were more interested in the card being appreciated than making the maximum amount on a sell. 

I agree with kent. I'm super impressed with the 5 1912's you have. That is so fantastic. My earliest cards are 1951 Bowman. Keep with it! I'm rooting for you and I'll bet most of TCDB is too.

Creepy?  No idea what you're talking about...

I would say keep up the search you never know what you’ll stumble across. In the meantime I would go ahead and display what you have and just rearrange as you get more in a way that doesn’t neccisarly look like there’s a gap in the collection. People will be impressed regardless and those are cool enough they need to be on display. Good luck with your search!

I would say keep up the search you never know what you’ll stumble across. In the meantime I would go ahead and display what you have and just rearrange as you get more in a way that doesn’t neccisarly look like there’s a gap in the collection. People will be impressed regardless and those are cool enough they need to be on display. Good luck with your search!

It took me more than 20 years to track down a card issued one per pack...in 1996. And it was a hall-of-famer, not somebody obscure that nobody likes.

I lucked into a complete set of cards from 1922 for $25 that I didn't even know existed, in 2014.

My point is that you never know what you are going to find.

Alternatively...

If you don't want that set to be your most money spent on a card...you could always buy something you like more for more

Thanks all. Yes, I shall plug away, leaving those two spots in my giant C for as long as need be. 

Oh, nice modeling of the creepiness. Thank you. 

Clever idea, Billy. Maybe I’ll spend too much on an 1800s card some day, so Ward F’ing Miller doesn’t become my most expensive card. 

And I encourage anyone who can afford it — and it’s probably more of you than you realize — to buy at least one super vintage card, just to say you have one. Then, of course, like me, you’ll get hooked. 

Happy collecting! 

V3

Stick with it and maybe work in a custom made card with the Cubs logo in the missing spots.