In 2023, I feel like my collection took on added focus. I sold a lot of graded superstars, Mays, Aaron, Clemente, etc., along with a few key graded rookies like Brooks Robinson, Bob Gibson. All great cards, but I decided I am happy with these guys in lower grades and raw only. They need to be a part of my collection, but maybe not primary objective.
I then used those funds to substantially beef up my Red Sox collection. I expanded my pre war range quite a bit, with Tris Speaker, Joe Wood, and a bunch of cool examples, T206s, Tattoo Orbit, a nice Cicotte, etc. Not only that, but I added Red Sox modern cards. It made sense because there are a lot of cool cards after 1990 and they are mostly cheap. Plus, the team won 4 World Championships this century and I want those guys represented in my collection. I'm particularly fond of 2011 Topps. 2008 and 2014 are nice as well. I ended the year with a much more impressive Red Sox collection if I say so myself, and intend to keep this snowballing in 2024.
I also transformed my 75 Topps mini set from NMTish to NMT/MT. I added Yount and Ryan in PSA 8 and a suwwwwweeeet Brett in SGC 9. The problem with this is that my standards continue to go up, and cards that were previously more than good enough are now in need of upgrade. What a boondoggle Lol.
I also beefed up my Boston non baseball collection a bit, getting all those Celtic, Pats and Bruins cards of guys I grew up watching. This is definitely a secondary project.
Lastly, I improved my Brooklyn Dodgers graded collection, mostly 1939 to 1957 It all fits nicely in a BCW super vault. Most of it is mid grade and quite affordable. The highlights were a '53 Jackie PSA 1.5 and a PeeWee RC in PSA 1.5.
I feel these projects are all in better alignment with my emotional attachment to the specific players and the game(s).
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