Posted By:
Marc S.In any grade -- you should be able to acquire most of the cards in the set, and it is pretty clear by now which errors, variations, etc. are tougher than the rest.
If you are focusing on a specific grade minimum, then the situation becomes clearer as to which cards are tough.
Examples of tougher commons in higher grades include: Al Bridwell no cap, Ambrose Puttman, Arlie Latham, Barney Pelty (vertical), Bill Burns, Bill Hart (Little Rock), Bob Ganley, Bob Rhoades (right arm out), Bunk Congalton, Carlos Smith, Charles Seitz, Cy Semour (Throwing), Doc Adkins, Foley White, Fred Merkle (throwing), George Manion, George Mullin (with bat), Harry Arndt, Jack Bastian, Jake Stahl (glove showing), all the Joe Doyle cards, John Titus (Mr. Mustache!!), both Lefty Leifields, Donlin fielding, Red Ames (hands at chest), Nicholls batting, Conroy fielding, etc.
Obviously it very much depends on your condition criteria. If you are only looking for VG/EX examples, these should be abundant for most players/poses if you are patient. If you are looking for rare backs -- some of those are tough for nearly every player. It depends on exactly how you are collecting the set. Hope the list above helps.
MS