Member introduction (member living abroad)

[BicycleSpokes]

Hi all - I joined this forum awhile back, but only started being semi-active on the forum recently. So, I figure an introduction is in order.

I grew up in Boise, Idaho, where I always loved playing baseball, and was equally fascinated with its history. I got hooked on baseball cards as a kid, starting with the 1986 Topps set, and pretty much spent all my money between then and 1991 buying now-worthless topps, donruss, and fleer cards and sets (Among others, I still proudly own a Canseco Donruss rookie card, purchased at its peak for like $100, which continues to reside in its screw-down holder!) Like many kids of my era, I was really turned off by the set explosion in the early 1990s, and subsequently lost interest in collecting as I entered high school.

About 8 years ago, I somewhat randomly searched for "t206" in ebay (remembering reading of this set as a kid), and was amazed at the jackpot I had found. Soon after, I won a beater "Leach" common, and have been slowly accumulating ever since (up to around 110 so far). My funds are limited, so my collection is mainly composed of "well-loved" (read: low grade) cards, which is fine by me! I am hoping to one-day complete the Monster, and then hope to continue collecting other vintage sets beyond that.

My T206 collecting strategy has gradually evolved to the collection more-manageable sub-sets. This way I will get to enjoy numerous "mini-successes" along the way! So far, I have finished the 6 horizontals (below), and am nearing completion of the SLers (will share on the forums when accomplished).








I should finally mention that in 1999 I actually moved abroad to Europe (The Netherlands) to study / have an experience, and have ended up living/working in Denmark (now with wife and one daughter) since 2001. As you might guess, there aren't too many vintage baseball card collectors over here, so it is very nice to be part of such a welcoming and interesting online forum!

Cheers,
David