[jchcollins]

I have never been a set collector by nature, but have made several rough starts before and now, in my early 40's - want to take another serious shot at it, so that when I'm older at some point - I will be able to say that I completed a vintage set. Where should I start? Here are the options and some of what is already "down":

*1963 Topps. I have the Rose RC, the Steve Dalkowski RC, the Banks, and the Willie Mays. Maybe 20 or so commons.

*1965 Topps. I have the Mantle, the Aaron, and a handful of commons.

*1972 Topps. I have the Ryan, the Carew, the Carlton Traded card, the Fisk RC, and a lot of maybe 50 commons.

For those of you that have completed vintage sets like this - where was the thrill? Was it in difficult high numbers? Slowly assembling the stars? Big lots of off-grade commons that you could just have fun with?

I would envision this being a task that could last 5+ years - something to be a project alongside my usual collecting MO - which is to just buy whatever my heart fancies at the time when I have the dough to do so.

Thanks for any thoughts!