Another HOF RC collector bites the dust..

[DanP]

After a lot of thought I have decided to give up my impossible quest to obtain RC for every MLB player in the HOF. I believe I have real RC's for 185 of the 207 MLB players (no executives, managers, negro league, etc.).

The last 10% are just to difficult or expensive (or both). As I am making out my insurance check I realized, this is crazy! However, I don't regret one minute of the quest (I believe I started in 2006 buying a Sandy Koufax RC while on vacation). I learned so much about so many different card issues (I don't know anything about any vintage issue when I started). I also want to thank all of you who helped me with some of the tougher cards.

I will be keeping some of the collection (i.e. I'm still trying to complete a J Robinson Bond Bread collection) and I also plan on trying to complete a small pre-war set.

I'm still not sure how I plan on selling (auction house, ebay, N54), but you'll probably start seeing at least some of the cards on N54 soon. This is not a Hal Lewis or Sergio collection. They had single cards worth more than my entire collection! But I'm really proud of what I have.

I'm in no hurry to sell. Yes, it is going to be difficult to part with. Every time I think of listing a cards I say: I really don't want to sell that one!

BTW, my wife was disappointed when I told her last night.

I attached some pictures of my family room which is where the cards are displayed.

I want to give out a special thanks to Leon and all of the N54 members. Without the information and support I received here I wouldn't have even been able to get this collection of the ground.

[barrysloate]

Sorry to hear that Dan, I can sense the disappointment in your "voice." But it's the natural order of things. Most people do part with their collections at some point. I did. C'est la vie.

[CharleyBrown]

As I said in the email I just sent: I'm real sad to hear this, but it is part of the natural process.

I do hope that you keep your website going, and at least archive your collection.

[novakjr]

dibs j/k

Anyways, sorry to hear this Dan. I think there are alot of us who have chosen to have at least one or two impossible tasks in our collections. It's just natural. It gives us something to strive for and challenge us, while the sheer impossibility assures us that our collections are never finished. One of my impossible tasks is also the HOF rookies, I know I'll never get there, but every once in a while I'll pick one up, and it just completely rejuvenates me, and reassures me that my interest in the hobby is worthwhile and fulfilling.(I literally just picked another up, only 20 minutes after posting this) I pick up new tasks here and there. This set, that set, and whatnot. I know that there are sets that I haven't even thought of yet, that I will have completed before I ever even sniff the finish line of the HOF rookies. And for some reason, I like the thought of that. It's nice knowing that it will always remain the one constant in my collection. However, I'm not quite at an advanced of a stage as you or many others, and the impossibility may prove to be my future downfall as well. It's all about perspective. What's good now, may not be so appealing in the future... Challenges often lead to frustration.

[bh3443]

Hi Dan,
I can understand and relate to your decision. I (I'm sure that I'm not the only one!) have many times stopped projects to pursue another for various reasons that were similar to what you wrote.

I found another project each time. I learned to pursue things I knew I could finish because the cards were available and in my price range,

I always take comfort in the fact that since we are all around virtually every card made we can still enjoy them. In other words I could "visit" the cards I could not afford at shows!

Dan, I'm sorry to hear your situation. However, I know there's another project or more just waiting for a great guy like you to pursue and most importantly enjoy.

Good luck with whatever you decide to collect.

By the way, Becky and I have the same leather sofa and love seat that are in your pictures!

Have a great weekend.

Bill Hedin

[jp1216]

I showed these pictures to my wife..... "Don't even think about it"......
Beautiful display Dan. Changing focus is always acceptable. I just don't like hearing when people leave all together. Best of Luck.

[jcmtiger]

I have been selling off my collection a little at a time for the last couple of years. Can't seem to sell the Ty Cobb cards or 19th century though.

Joe

[bcbgcbrcb]

Dan:

Sorry to hear that you are giving up the chase. With a few heavyweights having dropped out over the past few years, I would guess that your collection is probably # 1 around as far as I know. I'm sure that you had a lot of fun while it lasted and wish you the best of luck in your future collecting endeavors.

Phil

[joeadcock]

Good luck in your future decisions Dan.

[Robextend]

Dan, I appreciated being able to share my HOF RC pickups with yourself and Phil over the last couple of years. You are one of the hobbyists that I look up to.

Good luck in any of your future endeavors.

Rob

[Bambino]

I am in awe of your collection Dan.

I just started my own HOF RC collection, but I am only collecting players voted in by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (I have 49 out of the 111 players so far). Wish me luck!

[BCD]

and that is really amazing to display the baseball artifacts in every room! Amazing.

[sycks22]

I was thinking how sweet that would be to have my wife let me do that to a room. Sorry to hear about selling the items.

[theseeker]

Why is selling off most of a card collection part of the "natural process" of things? As I've stated before, I find most collectors experience ebbs and flows. When I'm in a down time, I never sell, knowing full well that the passion will return. For me, the one thing more costly than having a horders mentality towards collecting is selling during down periods only to repurchase when the fire is rekindled.

[snider4prez]

I have to agree with a lot of what the other members are saying here, great displays and I wish my wife would let me take over the house like that and why sell just because you can not add to it any more?????? I have stopped collecting for 2-3 years at a time, many times but becasue of the way God made me I always seem to come back to my favorite hobby. My only thing I would tell you is, make sure you are ready to let go before you do!!! Good luck and Gods speed in whatever makes you happy. Oh ya, ounce again you have a great wife to let you take over that much of the house to build those great displays.

Keep Collecting!!!
Trevor

[Cat]

Great collection and a very nice presentation of the cards. Sell the toughest cards last in case you change your mind. Being a HOF RC collector too, it is an impossible task. What you have accomplished in a relatively short time is amazing.

[CubsFanCurt]

couldn't have been an easy decision. I'm almost in tears over it! Best of luck to you on the sales

[Smokey Joe]

I've seen this collection in person when i visited Dan's house with my Daughter a few years ago and it's amazing....sorry to hear this Dan.

[vintagerookies51]

In such a short amount of time, that's an amazing collection you've put together. It's sad to see you selling it. I'm also starting to collect 1947 Bond Bread Robinsons (just picked up the portrait one) and if you haven't gotten one yet, I just want to say that they're really cool!

[slidekellyslide]

Hmmm...I'm of the mind that you should not part with it just yet...perhaps pack them all up and get a safe deposit box at the bank...one for the size of your collection I'm thinking should run around $100/year...I have one that only costs me $35/year and keep just my most expensive items in it. If it's the cost of insuring them you can drop that if you keep them at the bank.

[ls7plus]

Unless you have to, I wouldn't sell. Your collection is obviously worthwhile and immensely valuable to you, whether technically complete or not. Give it some time before you ultimately decide. My own enthusiam tends to wax and wane a bit, or shift back and forth between my collector corvettes and my cards. Experience has taught me that while the flame may seem to have burnt out permanently, that is most often not the case. It will rise again like the Phoenix, and then where will you be? I wished I still had my first 1973 454 vette; '66 Mustang GT; my 1916 Sisler rookie; '59 Bazooka Mantle in SGC-graded near mint, etc., several years after parting with each item.

Take a good long time out before committing!

Larry

[DanP]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the advice. I decided to wait a little while before making my final decision. I may sell some cards, but only non-RC's in case I change my mind!

I'm still leaning towards selling and going after a few vintage sets but I'll see how I feel next month.

Take care,

[bcbgcbrcb]

Sounds good, Dan. Maybe you want to keep your "Players" collection where it's at for now and add another HOF grouping like "Managers" to the mix. Most of them are fairly obtainable without breaking the bank. Then you could always move on to Negro Leaguers, Umpires, Executives & ultimately Pioneers.

[martyogelvie]

Dan,
Love the showroom pics! I wish i had something like that to display some of my cards.

[Doug]

Originally Posted by martyogelvie

Dan,
Love the showroom pics! I wish i had something like that to display some of my cards.

I wish my apartment was big enough to fit that many cards in!

[DanP]

Thanks for all of your input. I have decided to change my focus and sell most of my collection.

In the beginning I enjoyed the research involved with determining players RC's, now I'm tired of it!

I started collecting mostly for display purposes for my rooms I built in my basement. I think I'm going to collect more memorabilia (nothing expensive) and lower grade cards.

I've been in contact with a few auction companies and will decide soon which company I will use. I've already sold about 30 of the lower priced cards and intend on putting some others on eBay soon. You may see some cards on B/S/T soon, if you're interested in any of my cards check out my website and email me at: danp306@gmail.com.

Thanks again everyone!

[tbob]

Dan- I'm sorry to hear you will be selling a large part of your collection. I can relate to your frustrations as I have been trying to complete a master set of the E94 George Close set, 6 colors for each player, and it has been extremely frustrating. Although I have gotten fairly close, the last group of cards needed just never appear anywhere in the particular color I need.
That said, I hope you will hang on to some of those cards, maybe a core group, even if you don't pursue the RC HOF collection.
On another note, I think the displays of cards you have are really visually appealing and nice but I always wince when I see photos of expensive cards openly displayed. Although I have some memorabilia displayed I am too paranoid about criminals to have my cards so openly displayed They are all locked up....
tbob

[Fred]

Dan,

I don't collect rookie cards but after reading this thread I began to wonder about the point where collector's start "hitting the wall" when it comes to completing a set like this.

• What cards are you lacking to complete the quest?
• Which are the most expensive cards in this venture?

Your presentation of the cards is awesome! If you decide to continue, good luck, if you decide to sell, good luck with that also. Personally, I have a hard time selling any of my stuff.

[bcbgcbrcb]

Fred:

A few of the rarest and thus most expensive cards (assuming that you just stick to MLB players) are:

Just So Young
Just So Burkett (restored)
Alpha Photo Engraving Jennings
Alpha Photo Engraving J. Kelley

[triwak]

Best of luck in whatever path you choose to undertake, Dan.