Do you have your most valuable card yet ?

[Prof_Plum]

What I mean is, do you already have a high priced card in your current collection that you’re most likely not going to surpass ? Could be a ’52 Mantle or a rookie Aaron, whatever. Or maybe you’ve already got that big ticket item and from here you’re filling in other collection wants.

If you don’t have that card yet, which is my case, do you struggle sometimes deciding whether to fill in the other less expensive collection areas as opposed to saving for the big ticket item. Every time I spend for example, $10-20 to fill in some Topps, Goudey or Bowman sets, I think that money could have gone toward the big ticket item. ‘Course that second guessing doesn’t detract from the joy and satisfaction of opening the mail and getting those ‘common’ cards. Just wondered if I was the only one with these demons.

Im not going to surpass my 28 Ruth, I just added to my collection the 51 Dimaggio

[ALR-bishop]

Will never have any combination of cards in my collection, which is almost all post war, than the 2 Mantle variations from the 1952 Topps set. There are some proof cards out there that could run that much, the 3 1951 unissued Topps Current All Stars of Roberts, Stankey and Konstanty, the 1960 proofs of Cimoli, Hadley and Throneberry, and the 68 3D prototype of F Robinson, but doubt I will ever get them

[toppcat]

I don't think so-still hoping at some point to add an example of a '55 Baseball Stamp, a '61 Dice Game and a '66 Topps Punchboard. Can't go for filler on those as there are so few of any one of them. I used to think I would never own some of the rarer NS types but recent successes have me down to one grail card on that side of the spectrum and I am hopeful on the Baseball ones as well (someday).

[Exhibitman]

Nope. I unloaded a lot of the high priced high grade postwar stuff so I could collect g-vg and have a shot at having many of the cards I coveted as a kid. I got the idea when I bought a couple of 1950s-1960s collections that were lower grade and found that I enjoyed the cards even more raw in albums than in the fancy plastic tombs.








I know it isn't everyone's cup of tea but it works for me. I think maybe because when I was a kid the cards from the 1950s and 1960s I saw were usually a bit dog-eared and well-loved, so I am nostalgic for that. This is the first "Silver Age" Topps card I ever got, so you see what I mean:

[g_vezina_c55]

Al your psa8 mantle is amazing


I will probably never have a more valuable card than that card . Not a post war but my more valuable card. In post war my most valuable is my 52 topps mantle

[Samsdaddy]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

Nope. I unloaded a lot of the high priced high grade postwar stuff so I could collect g-vg and have a shot at having many of the cards I coveted as a kid. I got the idea when I bought a couple of 1950s-1960s collections that were lower grade and found that I enjoyed the cards even more raw in albums than in the fancy plastic tombs.








I know it isn't everyone's cup of tea but it works for me. I think maybe because when I was a kid the cards from the 1950s and 1960s I saw were usually a bit dog-eared and well-loved, so I am nostalgic for that. This is the first "Silver Age" Topps card I ever got, so you see what I mean:

Adam, I think all your cards are beauties! I believe cards are best in their "natural" or "raw" state and if I don't have a near mint gem of a particular card, it does not break my heart.

I have a rather small collection as compared to most people here. But, I treasure all of the cards regardless of price. When I think of valuable, I think how valuable they are to me in terms of collecting and the memories they bring to me. So, if it is looked at that way, one of my most "valuable" cards is the 1975 Topps Dick Allen for the ChiSox. He was my favorite player at the time as a young boy. Another "valuable" one is Stan Musial's 1958 Topps All - Star card. I first saw it on the tv show Hart to Hart and knew I wanted to collect all those all star cards from 1958 and I did.

Fortunately, most if not all of my card collecting interests are not expensive. I am not a Mantle collector or pre war.

Please don't take me wrong, I am not knocking the original premise of this thread. There are some great cards here and you all should be very proud of them.

[71buc]

I started collecting many years ago and have, like all of you, too many cards to count. I have never really focused on values of the cards. Which is very fortunate for me as I don't have much disposable income. Early on I made a list of cards I wanted in my collection at some point in time. Some were desired for aesthetic reasons while others were players I watched and admired. Beacause I am flexible with condition, and none of the cards are rare, they all are obtainable with time. I tend to get distracted by memorabilia so my focus on this goal has been sporadic. Although I have made a dent in my list I have quite a LONG way to go. The ones with * I have added to my collection to date:

T206 Dark cap Mathewson*
T206 Johnson
T206 lajoie
T206 Cy Young
T3 Fred Clarke*
1914 CJ Sam Crawford*
1933 Goudey Chuck Klien
1933 Goudey Hubbell*
1933 Goudey Ott*
1933 Goudey Ruth
1934 Goudey Gehrig
1934 Goudey Dean
1934 Diamond Star Lazzeri
1934 Diamond Star Hornsby*
1936 R312 DiMaggio
1936 R312 Greenberg
1953 Topps Paige*
1954 Topps Aaron*
1954 Topps Banks
1954 Topps Kaline
1954 Johnston Cookies Aaron*
1955 Topps Clemente*
1955 Topps Koufax*
1955 Topps Mays*
1956 Topps Williams*
1956 Topps Robinson*
1958 Topps Mantle*
1958 Topps Maris*
1959 Topps Gibson
1961 Topps Marichal*
1965 Topps Carlton*
1968 Topps Bench*
1968 Topps Ryan*

[brian1961]

Two Mickey Mantle cards--the Stahl-Meyer Franks masterpieces of 1954, and 1953.

I once owned another masterpiece, the 1952 Topps, the one with slightly darker color. I miss that one terribly. I was content and most pleased with that one. I sold it to raise money for a down payment on a house. I wish I had it back, because I loved it. I miss it. It was simply beautiful, with nary a print spot. Perfect picture registry. I hate talking about it. If I hadn't had such an important reason to part with it, I would be daily chewing myself out.

I've mentioned this already a few times, but it's not like anyone remembers or cares, so since it pertains to the thread initiator: 24 years ago I took out a half page ad in SCD to raise money to buy the '54 Stahl-Meyer. I sold what seemed like a ton of common cards to get that one uncommon card. Later, it graded out SGC 50 VG-EX. From their grading criteria, it could justifiably be re-graded to be a 55 or even a 60. It presents a whole lot better. Even Memory Lane Auctions said mine presented much better than one in the same grade that they had sold prior to seeing mine. Anyway, the conclusion is the same----it was well worth the effort and trade-off of all those cards, for the money to buy that one single card, a great beauty and rarity in its own right.

Salute----Brian Powell

[David W]

Sadly..... not yet, maybe someday