[brian1961]

Hiya, Nick. The guys have loaded you up with some fabulous suggestions. As you check out the lists of who comprises each set, please go for the set that seems to have the most players you admire, as well as the set design that attracts your eye the most.

Since you prefer graded cards, that tells me you really care about your whole project---long-term and when it comes time to part with them. Please, I'm not inferring the journey is unimportant; it's probably most important. With graded cards, you're getting your money's worth and nothing bogus, and can even make money long-term.

Another idea----collect one card from each of these sets mentioned that you like. Research each set and see if the background story behind any of them piques your fancy. A further idea----there's a guy on here who wrote a book about smaller sets that were regionally-issued and/or with food products. Entitled NEVER CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN, the title hints at a stark aspect of their history----they were relatively expensive to acquire during the year they were issued. In the ensuing years, they seemed to appreciate in value as more and more collectors began to appreciate their beauty, background story, and built-in scarcity.

It wouldn't be right if I failed to mention that I wrote the book, and that it's an E-book on a CD. At 478 pages, the thirty bucks it costs you gives you a ton of information and stories. If I was seriously going to collect one of the sets featured in the book, I'd owe it to myself to buy it and read up on as much as I could find out about the set. Of course, if the casual collector just wants to know the basic facts, and price guidelines, we have price guides for that. NEVER is not a price guide. 'Nuf said on that.

If your favorite era is pre-war, then I love the 1961 Golden Press Hall of Fame. If the 50s causes your heart to flutter most, then the 1954 Red Heart Dog Food has got the goods! If the early 60s is a prime period for you, those 1964 Topps Giant All-Stars are beautiful, big, and reasonably cheap. If the idea of a Topps test issue really moves you, those 1969 Topps Super Baseball cards are sheer beauty. Though much smaller than the very thick, large Topps Super issues of 1970-71, the 1969 Topps Super were called "Super" due to their super glossy surfaces. But watch out, the super glossy surface was fragile, and thumbnails marred and grooved them easily. I would go for PSA 8 NM-MT. The only down side is that there is a preponderance of head shots, and some re-uses of the photos used by Topps on their regular-issue cards (examples are Tom Seaver and Reggie Jackson). Still, these have a nice variety of poses.

Go with your heart, Nick. Here's wishing you the best, my fellow collecting warrior.

---Brian Powell