If you had 100k to build a collection...
 

What would it look like?

PSA 4-5 T206 HOF subset minus Wags and Plank.

First card would be a relatively high grade 1947 Bond Bread Robinson portrait card, then maybe the Leaf for the heck of it

I would find 39 other people with $100k and go in on a Trout rookie together.

I'd probably focus on just one T206 back subset that has some difficulty in finding the cards. Something like Cycles, American Beauty's, Old Mill's, EPDG's, or Tolstoi's. There's no fun in just buying something easy over night and being done with the project. I'd maybe be satisfied for a week with my purchase. I'd rather have to search cards out over time to build a very special rare collection that maybe one or two people have done or come close to completing. But that's how my brain works. I've built custom cars and I enjoy the build more than the completion.

I'd see if I could get a home and road flannel for each team from the 1960-1968 era. Colts would be too difficult but Astros would be possible. I'd try to avoid vests by getting early Indians, A's and late Reds (road) shirts, but with Pirates there wouldn't be much choice. What a fantastic display that would make, and game flannels are scarcer than most cards, or GU bats.

Prob buy the 4 Ruth 1933 Goudeys in best condition I could get for 25k each.

In no particular order and would get the best examples I could find to meet the budget.

Goudey Ruth #53
T206 Green Cobb
T206 Red Cobb
47 Bond Bread Portrait Robinson
14 CJ Cobb

Complete darby chocolate boxes 😀

Build a mid grade 1933 Goudey and 1951 Bowman set. Probably target an EX condition on all cards, and then upgrade if I had any money left over.

Fractional ownership brah! I'll get right on that, be right back or look for spam in your junk folder

Yeah... screw that 4 Million Dollar Trout Card!

I would stick with "vintage", and spend the $100K to own 1/25th of a '53 Topps Mantle. :rolleyes:

Or I hear for $100k you can own one eyeball of a ‘53 Mantle.

Pre 1930 low grade super star HOFers. Lots and lots of them.

Q: What's better than 3 low grade T206 Walter Johnson Portraits?

A: 4 low grade T206 Walter Johnson Portraits.

Definitely no card purchases for me if I suddenly had $100,000.
Like Billy Joe and Bobbie Sue, I would take the money and run.... quickly.

Low grade Ruth rookie.

I'd build a high grade Mays run!

Maybe you could go after the HOLY GRAIL. A Trout rookie printer's plate proof card.

If Trout dipped his sack in ink and made a 1/1 nutprint card, I wonder what that would go for....

Given all the wrinkles and hairline creases the low grade would really ding the value.

Either a low grade Old Mills Joe Jackson or a Boston Garter Joe Jackson

Low Grade, High Volume
 

I have run this thought through my head before. I would go out and try and find the best low grade examples of the iconic cards in the hobby. Which is really what I have been trying to do since I was a kid, but this would be a war chest that I could have some fun with!!

Either that, or I would buy EVERY Dave Winfield rookie card I could get my hands on, control the market, corner the market. That would be sweet.

I'd rebuild the t206 set I was working on before I sold 8 years ago. Got to 373.. I've thought about starting again, but too many other projects, kids, life, and the rising prices don't make it feasible right now.

for 100k?
 

I'd buy 1880's and 1890's Old Judge HoFer then move to some mid-grade's of some caramel/tobacco HoFer's like Young, Cobb, Matthewson.... would have to weigh high grade vs. size of collection.

I would buy as much 1988 Topps as I possibly could.

I would get an Addie Joss Day Post Card, a low grade Magie error T206, Just So Tobacco sample card, maybe a square frame Ramly in high grade... fun to think about!

Ricky Y

I'd buy as many Jackie Robinson cards as I could. I foresee incredible upside there in coming years.

I'd exhaust the entire amount by buying a single 1982 Topps common from Dean's. :cool:

No hurry. Perhaps have your eye out for an especially appealing to you Babe Ruth card (the 1926-29 Exhibit is classic). Of course same goes for a Ty Cobb card you really like. And a handful of other top tier HOF'ers - W. Johnson, Matty, Cy Young, Foxx. The Bowman Satchell Paige is stunning in nice condition and centered. You don't have to get into the "set" mentality. Look for nice for the grade EX 5 - EX/MT 6 range. Good luck.

In no Specific Order

Red Portrait Cobb
Portrait Walter Johnson
Dark Cap Mathewson
33 Delong Jimmie Foxx
33 Delong Lou Gehrig
33 Goudey Ruth 149
34 Goudey Gehrig 61
41 Play Ball Dimaggio
51 Bowman Mickey Mantle
51 Bowman Mays

All in lower or authentic grades with good eye appeal. It takes a lot for me to part with a card, the investment strategy means nothing to me. I'll stick to the market when it comes to investing my money. Rather just enjoy collecting as a hobby.

I would want a good selection of the games best players and classic sets. My list would look something like this
T206 Ty Cobb
T3 Walter Johnson
E95 Honus Wagner
1915 Cracker Jack Joe Jackson
1933 Goudey Babe Ruth
1934 Goudey Lou Gehrig
1939 Play Ball Ted Williams
1949 Leaf Jackie Robinson
1951 Bowman Willie Mays
1952 Topps Mickey Mantle
1954 Topps Hank Aaron
1955 Topps Roberto Clemente

For 100K!!
 

You would need a new house just to store them!

That said - my 100K would be mid grade (4-6) with high eye appeal:
T3 Cobb
1921 Ruth
1934 Goudey Gehrig
1951 Bowman Mantle
1955 Clemente

That should get me to 100k

My fantasy list, as long as I'm not limited to things that are actually on the market:

T204 Johnson
L-1 Johnson
E107 nice VG Washington player
N403 Yum Yum Mack
PM-1 ornate pin Johnson
T222 Fatima Johnson
W600 Milan

That should be about 85K. I'm sure I would find other items along the way.

Bill

I have thought of this in a similar way. Prices have gotten so crazy I have toyed with the idea of selling my collection, though I doubt that I will...but if I did I would focus on cards from the 1970s. It was when I was a boy and I knew all the players and would spend hours pouring over the backs of cards. There are enough regionals and test issues to make it interesting for the long term. While I don't think those cards will ever reach astronomical heights, they hold a special place in my heart.

Lol
 

I don't care who you are ...That's funny

Low to mid grade T206 HOF Portrait subset with a low grade Plank.

Bill

Almost a year later but I would change my card to

either 1914 CJ Christy Mathewson Card or a W600 Wagner Card

I'd buy a '52 Mantle and give it to his surviving sons...

This is an old clip. Maybe they have one now. They talk about not having his rookie card, but I think they are talking about the '52. Maybe they mean the '51 Bowman. But I don't know. I'd like to give them both of them. But I don't know if $100,000 would even be enough at this point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUriWlOARlc&t=1s

I think I'd buy $100k worth of Green Cobbs, go to sleep for a year, and sell for a much higher price a year from now, then I'd go about assembling the sets I want to put together.

Cobb CJ
Joe Jackson CJ
Claxton Zeenut

People would be balling for it. :p

Holy Cow! Looking at what I've acquired over the past year since I made this post and how much it cost I think I have answered my own question.

Ha, don’t laugh too hard. But I am looking for that set now. Somehow I missed buying it and now find myself having to pick one up to fill my complete set hole for that year.

Somewhat embarrassing.

How many cards constitutes "a collection?"

To me 1 $100,000 card is not a collection?

For me...a nice collection would be:

an e121 ruth
a goudey ruth
pick a handful other ruths

or

a few postcard/early cobbs
all 4 t206 cobb
a cj cobb

You could be right he said to "build a Collection" so I took it as what would I buy to build my collection not complete it part of the building of it

Starting from 1968 Topps Baseball, I would buy complete sets back each year as far as I possibly could to try and complete the run with what I am missing now and have no sensible chance today of completing them without that sort of windfall.

And one of the 1988 horded sets from Doc.

As a collector -- I love T206, so I would likely start with the stud HOFers, ideally in off-backs, and build from there: Cobb, Matty, Johnson, Young, Lajoie, Speaker, and Cubs (Tinker-Evers-Chance, maybe M Brown)

For Investment -- Ruth, Cobb, Wagner, Jackson and rare-back T206 HOFes and maybe a T206 Magie error

Baseball:

'50 Bowman set mid grade
'52 Topps set grade 2
'67 Topps set mid-grade
'71, '73, '75, and '78 sets mid-grade

The rest:

'80-81 Topps and '86 Fleer hoops set in nm
'71 Topps FB mid-grade and '84 Topps FB nm
'85-86 OPC hockey set in nm

What's left (not much) spread out over favorite RCs from baseball, basketball, and football from '48 to '89

CJ Joe Jackson and '52 Topps Mantle

been there, done that...this is a sellers' market right now.

no regrets...well, perhaps just a few.

.