Should I focus my collection on PSA 8's and 9's?

[HasselhoffsCheeseburger]

Okay, that makes sense. The Rickey, McGwire, and 83s are the toughest PSA 10s of the entire decade so going for 9s makes perfect sense. I think Peter is right though, go after an 8 Tiffany Bonds.

The 80s are a slippery slope. I set out a few years ago to do what you're doing now. The list has grown exponentially but I've enjoyed every step of the way.

[AGuinness]

Sweet cards, Arthur, especially the Leaf and OPC. I grew up in Vermont in the 80s and always hated running into the Canadian counterparts when trading, etc. But now I've done a 180 on them and quite enjoy them more than the Topps and Donruss varieties.

[stevecarlton1972]

Thanks to everyone on the info about Topps Tiffany as I honestly never knew these sets existed. Like every kid in the 80's, I collected Topps, Donruss, Fleer and UpperDeck and then the market crashed in the early 90's and most of these sets were worth nothing (except those early/mid 80's sets with Henderson, Ripken, Gwynn, etc). I just googled Toppy Tiffany after you guys posted a few pictures and now I see why those cards are a good get, as they are rare/low production compared to the mass produced Topps sets of that time period. When I sold my cards about 20 years ago, I had a lot of older cards my uncle gave to me (1965 Joe Namath Rookie, 1979-80 Wayne Gretzky Rookie)

Originally Posted by HasselhoffsCheeseburger

Okay, that makes sense. The Rickey, McGwire, and 83s are the toughest PSA 10s of the entire decade so going for 9s makes perfect sense. I think Peter is right though, go after an 8 Tiffany Bonds.

The 80s are a slippery slope. I set out a few years ago to do what you're doing now. The list has grown exponentially but I've enjoyed every step of the way.

]

Don't worry, my list has already gotten bigger over the weekend! It started very small with a select few cards that defined the decade (1980 Topps Ricky Henderson, 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey, etc), and now I keep adding this Hall of Famer and that Hall of Famer.

And of course I have to find a Billy Ripken Fleer F**face, just because it was the one card that we all talked about in High School for a laugh!

[HasselhoffsCheeseburger]

Originally Posted by AGuinness

Sweet cards, Arthur, especially the Leaf and OPC. I grew up in Vermont in the 80s and always hated running into the Canadian counterparts when trading, etc. But now I've done a 180 on them and quite enjoy them more than the Topps and Donruss varieties.

Completely agree, Garth. I enjoy the added challenge of the Canadian versions as far as condition goes. Both the Bonds and McGwire were pack pulled and self-submitted by me. That Bonds is the best I've gotten out of almost 60 '87 wax boxes.

Arthur

[Shankweather]

I collect Cubs RCs from all eras. I use the PSA population report to decide which grades to pursue. I try to get cards that grade higher than 80% of the total pop.

So for a 77 Andre Dawson that means a PSA 9. The total pop is 3,690, with 50 10s, 458 9s, 57 8.5s, and 1,529 8s. I assume my 9 is average for its grade, so that means there are (458/2)+50=279 cards graded higher than my card. Which means my card grades higher than 92% of the total pop of 3,690. The 8 would only grade higher than 64%, so 9 it is.

Obviously older cards will mean a lower grade. The same math for a 33 Goudey Gabby Hartnett gets you a PSA 6.

So you could use the same process, and adjust your target % to match your budget. 70%, 50%, whatever.

[Peter_Spaeth]

As a general matter, what grade I buy is dictated by how much I want to spend on the player. So I will pay a lot more for RCs of players I consider elite all time greats (Clemens, Maddux, Bonds) than for players I just want to complete my HOF run (Larkin, Alomar, Biggio).

[bnorth]

Here is some more 80's eye candy in slabs. They are for sale as a lot if anybody is interested.

[HasselhoffsCheeseburger]

For my 1980s/early-90s collection my goal for everything is a PSA 10. But I can be completely satisfied with a lesser grade if the right situation presents itself. I was able to get an '86 Traded Tiffany set for an obscenely low price and the Bonds came back a 9. So in that case, with getting the Bonds 9 for so cheap, that will probably cause me to not go for a 10 down the road. It just doesn't make sense financially.

I think the only card I would completely write-off as a possibility at this point is the Rickey rookie. There's just so many other things I'd rather have along with a nice PSA 9 Rickey than one of the few PSA 10s.

Arthur

[RayBShotz]

If you are set on a collection of slabs from this era, I would recommend PSA 9 grade examples. In the case of lesser stars you might be inclined to add, a PSA 10 may even be peanuts.

4 Sharp Corners is a great place for this stuff aside from eBay.
Best of Luck re-entering the hobby!
RayB

PS please share your spoils with us on this Board.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by Shankweather

I collect Cubs RCs from all eras. I use the PSA population report to decide which grades to pursue. I try to get cards that grade higher than 80% of the total pop.

So for a 77 Andre Dawson that means a PSA 9. The total pop is 3,690, with 50 10s, 458 9s, 57 8.5s, and 1,529 8s. I assume my 9 is average for its grade, so that means there are (458/2)+50=279 cards graded higher than my card. Which means my card grades higher than 92% of the total pop of 3,690. The 8 would only grade higher than 64%, so 9 it is.

Obviously older cards will mean a lower grade. The same math for a 33 Goudey Gabby Hartnett gets you a PSA 6.

So you could use the same process, and adjust your target % to match your budget. 70%, 50%, whatever.

I didn't know there was going to be math...

For the cards the OP listed, Henderson is a different animal than the rest. Pre-Fleer/Donruss, usual 1970s Topps horrible QC. I have this one and I am happy with it:



Of course, part of my happiness with it is that I pulled it from a pack when I was 14 years old...

I would go after the Henderson in 8 or better, the rest I'd try for raw. Frankly, the minute differences between grades on these post-1980 issues is frustrating for me. I don't see it and I don't care to see it. An 8 often looks just as nice as a 10 and there are tons of beautiful raw cards out there. I have almost none of them except raw. I think the goal should be to get cards that look undergraded rather than labeled a 10.