I've really enjoyed reading this thread if for no other reason than to confirm there are other collectors out there who share some of my thoughts and preferences. I'm a set-builder who likes decent-condition raw cards with no regard for their investment value. I started collecting as a second-grader in 1972; beginning in 1974, the first year all the cards were issued in one series, I realized that spending all my allowance and lawn-mowing money on wax packs made putting together the complete set possible. Since then I've been obsessed with having the entire set of whatever year I'm collecting.
My only exception is a separate collection of Clemente, Aaron, Mays and Frank Howard cards. I started acquiring duplicates of all their Topps cards (so as not to break up my existing sets), then trying to obtain every Topps insert (1968 game card, 1964 stand-ups, 1963 peel-offs, etc.) and every non-Topps card of them (interesting that Aaron didn't appear in '63 Fleer or the early-'70s Kelloggs cards). My set-completing tendencies have taken over -- it genuinely bugs me that I haven't yet acquired the 1969 Transograms of Aaron and Mays or the 1962 Canadian version of Clemente's Post cereal card. I'll probably never get any pre-1954 Mays cards or Aaron's rookie, but it's important to have goals.
|