For sale

just leave some for the rest of us:D

In order of priority, I hope to acquire these:

O’Hara St Louis completes 520

T204 McIntyre and Donovan

E121 Harry Heilmann and Pep Young

T209 Brent

Into a Lighthouse VARIO G padded binder. Only thing I asked my wife for for Christmas, and a box suspiciously the size a binder that size would fit in for mailing appeared under the tree Saturday. Fingers crossed.

I just posted in another thread that I just completed my last post-war set with all Bowman, Topps (sans 52 Hi #), Fleer and others. So truthfully I have no idea where I go next. Maybe grab some short prints like the 1954 Bowman Williams or "Ted Signs" but those just feel like tail ends to a completed project.

Obviously pre-war is the next stop. I like building sets and there are a lot of sets to work on, but also a lot that would never be completed in my lifetime.
Maybe if I lower my definition of "complete" I could start a nice collection of T206. Maybe go after T205 instead. I've also thought about Hassan double folders that seems like a set with a reasonable shot at completing.

I guess I'll see where the card Gods lead me.

Pretty static, collection-wise, given prices for items I want, but still hoping to snag Mcgraw, glove-Cycle to complete back run.

is it too late to change my answer to "right into the crapper"? :D

Thanks, Ryan
 

Thank you, Ryan.

I'm still working on the presentation as I've tried a couple things that don't look quite right/aren't easy to digest ... like my current form which just has them all broken out by back and ordered alphabetically... meh.

That said, current progress is in albums at/on my ImageEvent site and linked in my sig. More commentary/info to come, but it is what it is for now. Thanks for the kind words.

For me 2024 will be a continuation of the endless quest to deepen my m113 / m114 collection, and knowledge.

I am also on the verge of actually starting to prune my "collection tree". I have ignored some of the branches for so long it feels like letting them move on to people who have more interest might be a good idea.

Or maybe a better analogy would be : I'm going to take collection that currently resembles an Einstein haircut, and clean it up a bit.

In 2023, I feel like my collection took on added focus. I sold a lot of graded superstars, Mays, Aaron, Clemente, etc., along with a few key graded rookies like Brooks Robinson, Bob Gibson. All great cards, but I decided I am happy with these guys in lower grades and raw only. They need to be a part of my collection, but maybe not primary objective.

I then used those funds to substantially beef up my Red Sox collection. I expanded my pre war range quite a bit, with Tris Speaker, Joe Wood, and a bunch of cool examples, T206s, Tattoo Orbit, a nice Cicotte, etc. Not only that, but I added Red Sox modern cards. It made sense because there are a lot of cool cards after 1990 and they are mostly cheap. Plus, the team won 4 World Championships this century and I want those guys represented in my collection. I'm particularly fond of 2011 Topps. 2008 and 2014 are nice as well. I ended the year with a much more impressive Red Sox collection if I say so myself, and intend to keep this snowballing in 2024.

I also transformed my 75 Topps mini set from NMTish to NMT/MT. I added Yount and Ryan in PSA 8 and a suwwwwweeeet Brett in SGC 9. The problem with this is that my standards continue to go up, and cards that were previously more than good enough are now in need of upgrade. What a boondoggle Lol.

I also beefed up my Boston non baseball collection a bit, getting all those Celtic, Pats and Bruins cards of guys I grew up watching. This is definitely a secondary project.

Lastly, I improved my Brooklyn Dodgers graded collection, mostly 1939 to 1957 It all fits nicely in a BCW super vault. Most of it is mid grade and quite affordable. The highlights were a '53 Jackie PSA 1.5 and a PeeWee RC in PSA 1.5.

I feel these projects are all in better alignment with my emotional attachment to the specific players and the game(s).

I bought a 3200 count box of '79 '80 and '81 Topps baseball cards for $50 (1.5c each) and have been enjoying putting these sets together again. And once you complete your Topps hockey sets what else but move into the OPC cards?

https://i.imgur.com/jMUqmEvl.jpg

Vintage
 

More and more vintage rookies! Selling most modern to go after Ruth, Mantle, Mays, Cobb, Rose, Bench, Young, Matty, etc....I love T206 and 50's Topps/Bowman. Still need 1951 Bowman dream cards of Mantle and Mays.

Sell it all.

In 2024 I'll continue with the "less is more" approach. If I can add at least 3 or 4 significant (to me) items I'll be happy.

Is this just a rant/fake sale announcement? Or are you really selling it all?

If you're really selling, do you care to share why you've decided it's time to get out?

I decided to do something slightly different with my collection. I have decided to smell it all.


Brian

Just goofing around mostly. I have recently become unemployed so it has entered my mind as kind of a fallback if things go south. So no, as of now I'm holding and still adding lower cost items to satisfy my need for mail.

Good luck with the job hunt. Hopefully you find something even better!

I can't afford to buy cards these days, and I wouldn't get crap for the ones I have if I sold them. And I like the ones I have, so no more trades. What does it all mean? I guess I will just sit tight and keep what I have and be happy with them.

Kind of like how it was in the chow line on USS Midway CV-41, cruising in circles off the Philippines back in 1983. The chow line was backed up into the hangar bay with airedales between launch and recovery events. I asked a Chief coming up the ladder from the main deck below, "Did you see what's for chow, Chief?" "No, but whatever it is, you'll have it and like it."

As I have stated in other posts, buying a mid grade prewar HOFer is key for me. I still those prices will decline or flatten, so there will be an oppurtunity in the near future. Stay tuned.

I feel as if I am at a crossroads with my collection. In order to add any significant cards I want I would want to sell some to fund it. And that would require getting rid of cards that I love. So I am kind of in a holding pattern. Still quite active looking on a daily basis, but not buying much.

Still on the hunt for an E107 Yankee and will continue to build my HOF type set. I get a kick out of finding a HOFers from a sets like E95 that does not have any Yankees or a unique image of the HOFer or Yankee. May also chase the HOFers in the 1954 Bowman set. Just picked up a nice Mays from a fellow board member to go with the few I already have.

Darby choclate complete box ,,,ok ok im sorry 😳😳

always enjoy these threads, so I'll add my two cents.

Summary: Most likely answer is standing pat. Although I woudn't be surprised if I took the plunge and continued paring down my collection.

Long version:
after collecting as a kid in the 70's thru my early 30's in the 1990s just "buying packs of what ever was in season", I re-entered the hobby in 2009 and discovered net54 shortly after. I spent 8 years building a very solid low grade collection including t206/520, 33 goudey minus 1 gehrig and lajoie, 52 bowman, 73 topps sets, an over 300 card prewar type collection with 100 types and at least one of each hof player in the majors, over 100 diff e-cards, 170 diff t205, 40 diff t207, a post war collection of all hof players 48 thru 89 topps, bowman, fleer, donruss, upper deck, score (minus 52 t Mathews and 67 seaver). Had a great time building that collection.

2017 saw some life changes and by 2018 i decided to start selling. Been at it since then. I chipped away slowly using the BST and eBay and recently facebook groups. At each stage I evaluated my collection and kept my favorites, selling those that didn't make the cut. Been thru several cycles like that. Of course each time it was harder to choose. I haven't had any fire sales, not thrown any away, and am always happy when my cards go to collectors.

When I decide to sell a batch of pre-war or vintage, they usually go pretty fast. In the meantime I've got a lot of 80's & 90's cards on ebay on their 8 week cycle and I lower them 25% everytime a new 8 weeks starts. It's been a steady trickle selling and there haven't been many weeks go by that I haven't placed some cards in PWE's and sent them to a new home. Still have a bunch of cards listed on ebay (about 4500, mostly in lots of 9), but that whole effort is on auto-pilot now.

I think I've enjoyed sorting and selling as much as I enjoyed collecting.

I'm currently at another point in the sell-off where, if I continue, I need to decide which cards are next. On the other hand I've met a few selling goals I set for myself back in 2018, one of which is: I'm running low on all the padded mailers I saved from purchases over the years, so I could very well be finished with the sales.

anyway, after a too-long background story, I'll answer the OP question: "Tell us where you see your collection heading in 2024?"

Most likely answer is standing pat. Although I woudn't be surprised if I took the plunge and continued paring down my collection.

Similar to Pete .. would like to add a few significant cards but may have to sell others … regardless - need to pair down and upgrade …. Otherwise
Anything Cleveland rare , upgrade t206 Cleveland team, Aaron , Doby , Joss ,,,, so you see the problem…

After cruising in circles hope you made port at Subic Bay. Little rough but plenty of action.

Yes sir. A couple of cold San Miguel beers on Magsaysay in Olongapo City before heading out to Gaines Beach in Barrio Barretto. The girls became a lot prettier after a few beers, and away from the Olongapo sailor traps. It was something like 47 pesos to the dollar, and a cold bottle of San Miguel was, what, 20 p's? Pretty reasonable for good beer. Add some lumpia and pancit noodles, naked girls, and...well, you know how it is.

Then we would go back out and go in circles, cyclic flight ops between the carrier and Cubi Point Naval Air Station, before heading up to Hong Kong, then Sasebo, Japan on the island of Kyushu, where we would offload missiles and bombs, then fly off the air wing to Atsugi Naval Air Station before we pulled into Yokosuka, our home port. These were 3 month cruises around the South China Sea. When we went to the Indian Ocean, we would hit these same places in reverse going out, and hit them again coming back, but also stopping in Singapore and Pattaya Beach, Thailand. We also went to Mombasa, Kenya.

When I was on USS Independence CV-62, after Desert Shield/Desert Storm, we traded places with the Midway, and Indy then became the forward-deployed carrier. Same liberty ports, but one cruise we went to Sydney, Australia. And that is a story in itself...

You really haven't lived until you've done 3 and 1/2 months on an aircraft carrier in the Indian Ocean, going in circles off the entrance to the Gulf of Oman, without seeing land of any kind.

And Wog Day (crossing the equator on a Navy ship, where, if you've never done it before, you get transformed from being a lowly pollywog to a trusty shellback) on an aircraft carrier is something to truly behold. Visiting the Royal Barber, before appearing in front of Davy Jones and Neptunus Rex, and getting a proper shellback haircut. The Royal Barber is usually something like a Chief Machinist's Mate. "Don't worry son, it'll grow back out by the time we reach Singapore."

All of that just to say I am sure I will more or less stand pat.

And to get back on topic, after perhaps the most egregious thread hijack ever, please accept my apologies.

what a dream!

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My 2024 is harrowing. It looks like our home purchase is closing on or about Christmas. We are first time home buyers. It immediately goes into a remodel. We have a 203(k) remodel loan of $35k, plus $10k out of pocket for part of the kitchen. But there is minimal storage, so I will need to prioritize my collection. Our remodel does not include Granite countertops, of which my wife is singing "all I want for Christmas is not formica countertops."

So after New Years I must make sacrifices and get rid of some items I truly love. Odd men out currently are Stan Musial, Ernie Lombardi, and likely Tris Speaker (sniffle!). There is just nowhere to store stuff. I'm keeping Barry Larkin, Lou Gehrig, and maybe Joey Votto.

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Whatever the hell you do, don't let this happen to you:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/basebal...id-19-million/

Wow!

My 2024 goals are to upgrade a few in my favorite all time set (53 topps). All ungraded, like I like them, but a few have creases or back damage.

I would also love to get a well centered 52 topps Reese that I can add to my 52 display. The condition I am looking for is likely a PSA2-3 type of card but prefer ungraded or I can crack it out.

I’m really gonna focus less on trying to get huge stuff and stressing only monster cards. I fell into that trap a bit. I’m gonna add pre war high eye appeal lower grade HOFers from some random more tough to find sets and focus on cool poses that really appeal to me. After all that’s what collecting is about. What you love and like!

Trying to finish my e90-1 set is top priority. Then maybe dipping my toe into the T207 waters.

A famous Irish band made it big by singing, "Nothing changes on New Year's Day," so I'll just continue doing what I always do, scratching and clawing to find great Topps era cards at bargain prices. But I also hope to keep digging through my binders, boxes, and toploaders to 'Flip Mine' for semi-precious cardboard gems to be sent off for grading, while filming videos of these efforts as a source of low-brow entertainment. :rolleyes:

Consolidate and upgrade - 33 Goudey Gehrig is one of the goals

I'll say I made great progress in the above goals. But then about 6 months ago, I also discovered Japanese menko cards. So my new goal seems to be heading towards helping catalogue and organize more uncatalogued Japanese baseball cards to assist creating a broader and more complete guide.

Continue collecting Gehrig and Jackie photos and memorabilia.

Haven’t bought a card in a long time.

What is wrong with that? Should happen to all of us!

First and foremost, replace my T206 Steve Evans that I sold last week for a ridiculous amount of money and broke up my T206 set. I'm assuming in July they should be back to a $40 common. Hopefully...

I am shifting my collection over to more baseball and basketball promotional and novelty cards and stamps. For quite a while, I was collecting a lot more of the traditional hall of famers and rookie cards. I am starting to sell off a portion of my collection to make way for more unique items such as the 54 Stahl Meyer Mays. Would love to add that!

Beat you, mine is gone.

2024 focus
 

1) Find and acquire a 1962 Pittsburgh Exhibit Clemente 5 of Spades (see attached picture). It is one of a few items I got "talked out of" a number of years ago and the only one I have as yet been unable to replace.

2) I suppose I can also put out the idea of the possibility of finding something I don't know exists yet (Roberto Clemente themed)

3) Continue to build Pirate team sets with hopes of finishing a few. Some higher priority needs there (condition matters less than eye appeal):

T207 McKechnie
1914 CJ Konetchy, Barger, O'Toole
1915 CJ - All National leaguers except Babe Adams
E90-2 Adams, Gibson, Hyatt, Wilson, Wagner
Tip Top - need a whole bunch of them
T205 Leach with a tough back
T213-1 Owen Wilson
T213-2 Oaks, Camnitz hands over head, Miller
T213-3 Ed Sweeney

Tris Speaker , either t205 or Cracker Jack (or both)

2024
 

Jackie Robinson.

I honestly have no real direction for my collection at this point. I really have even more than what I wanted, and have pretty much arrived at a level of overall satisfaction with it. I think I have all of the best HOF players of nearly every decade up until 1973, both graded and ungraded (graded ones have higher value, of course), as well as eight of my favorite sets - (4) baseball, (3) football, (1) basketball, all in nice, sharp condition.