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PaulI still have mine. I started buying packs in 1970 (age 4 1/2). I eventually completed my 1970 set in about 1982. My 1971 and 1972 sets are nowhere near complete, but I did manage to complete all my sets from 1973 forward, including the 75 minis. I completed most of these sets as a junior or senior in high school, on a trip with my parents to visit colleges I might go to. In every town we went to, or even passed through, I'd stop and look at the local yellow pages and find the card shops. This was, obviously, before the internet.
I honestly don't remember my first vintage card ("vintage" being defined as anything from 1969 or before, since I started collecting in 1970). It definitely would have been from the Card Collectors Company. It may have been a 51 Topps Berra which I later traded away, but have since re-acquired. Or it might have been a 68 Topps Drysdale which I remember getting very early on, and still have.
I'm also not sure what my first pre-war card was. It may have been my E-90-1 Keeler from Paul E. Marchant, or my 33 Goudey Terry from the same source. I traded both of these away as well, but got the exact same Keeler back in a later trade.