I'm wanting to get started in pre-war cards
 

But I have no idea where to start. Here's my thoughts.

I've recently started watching the Ken Burns' Baseball series in my down time, and it's started the itch to want to get started in pre-war stuff. But my problem is I do not have a lot of money to put towards a nice collection. In other words, I'll never own a Cobb or Matthewson or Young or any of those huge, huge names.

Another problem I face is I don't deal in graded. Is buying non-graded pre-war a good idea? I'm thinking anything from like a T set (there's several and so many different backs) all the way up to a Goudy. Possibly a Play Ball type set. I'd like to just pick up a few cards of various sets just to diversity my collection.

Right now, I'm working on a few 1950s-1960s set, and I love the vintage. But I've never dealt in anything older than that. I would be buying on eBay or on here for the most part. Don't know much about auction sites/houses.

Before anyone asks, I did own a booth at an antique store for some time. But I've never owned anything older than the 1950s and have never seen anything older than the 1950s except for online. So I truly have no idea about any pre-war type cards or where to start. So please don't turn this into a thread making fun of me or questioning my asking about this topic.

I am a type collector. The ole one of each syndrome. However, that was what I used to do. Now I collect types and cards I like. The fun thing about collecting is you can do anything you want to. Collect what appeals to you. Raw is fine but buy from trusted sources. Get your feet wet before you totally jump in. Good luck...Our BST is a pretty good place to find some nice cards. Have fun...


https://luckeycards.com/t206wheat.jpg
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Go to oldcardboard.com. It’s an amazing resource that will help you get started. At the top of the main page you’ll see the different categories...”T cards, R cards, N cards” etc. When you click on each of those, you’ll see a list of just about every set ever produced within that category. At the top of the list is a “Gallery of sets”. This gallery has a photo example of a card from each set. Browse these. There are certain to be designs that stand out to you. Make a list of those that do and do some more research until you land on one (or a few) that you’re willing to take a plunge into and dive in. Buy one card from a few different sets. Having them in hand might push you one way or the other. Go slow and eventually you’ll find your groove. If you’re going with raw, definitely start with lower grade commons. That’s my super condensed primer.

Welcome !
 

You are going to love it here!

try on some T206! there are literally thousand of ways to collect them....if you need any help, just message me:)

Peace

Johnny V

+1

T206 is a huge set, can be obtained raw, has a ton of diversity and can be collected in so many ways (it is “the Monster”), can be reasonably affordable (most cards), and is very widely collected so it’s a great way to meet people and make friends. Also, it’s a great way to learn players who played and coached into the 20’s, 30’s and beyond, and to learn about the world of advertising backs and front-back variations. Great place to start IMO (but admittedly, I am biased).

welcome
 

You are where just about everyone here was at the start of their collecting careers. Unlike many of us, from the start, you have a lot of friendly and knowledgeable people at net54 at your disposal. In my opinion, you can still get some nice raw, cards of famous players from sets like the t206 and 33 Goudey --- and if you're not too worried about condition, they are not astronomically expensive. If I were just starting out, I'd go to ebay, pick out a couple of rough condition examples, and get to know the look, feel, and geneal size of the older cards. Any set or condition that attracts you will do.

My advice will be different...

Do not take any advice or suggestions from board members on what to collect, how to collect, where to purchase, what to look for, etc.
Part of the fun of collecting is the learning and exploring of the hobby, and this is best done by diving in first hand, gaining experience, and personalizing your collecting goals that will evolve over time.

You never really know what you'll end up liking and where it will lead you...

I would second this. Baseball cards are like women - you don't fall in love with one because someone tells you to. You date a few, give it some thought and consideration, and you'll find yourself drawn to a set or two that you really think are special.

So, with that in mind, I don't want to play matchmaker exactly, but I do suggest you at least consider my favorite set: T202. It sounds like you aren't very familiar with pre-war cards or the players from those days. Well, here's what a T202 offers:
1. 2 colorful end panels, very much like the popular T205 set
2. An action photo from about 1908-1911 (how cool is that!)
3. Perhaps best of all, each of those 3 panels has a very interesting biography of the players depicted, so you can learn a little about those guys, and baseball at that time, while holding a card that's well over a hundred years old.

And, you can get ungraded ones in the $50 range, and often times, cards with Hall of Famers in the center panel are considered commons (A Great Batsman - Lajoie, for example.)

Now, go out and date a few pre-war cards. Just be sure to get home before midnight.

Not dealing in graded and not knowing what you’re looking at is going to be a dangerous combination when it comes to prewar. You open yourself up to some lessons you don’t need to learn. Buy graded and pop the card out if you prefer it out of the slab.

I thought I would add some pictures to the T202 recommendation, although it is only one of many great options. Here we have a "slow-runner" featuring end-panels with a HoF player/manager/owner and a 16-year MLB veteran who happens to have the lowest batting average with 5K+ at-bats in MLB history. Griffith comes wearing the T205 NL pattern while McBride brings his T205 AL pattern. Sandwiched between is an action-shot featuring the player whose "steal" of first base triggered a rules change making it illegal. The backs are the two more common ones: Factory 649/Black and Factory 30/Red.
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1594652065
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1594652079
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1594652073
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1594652085

Thanks everyone for all the comments. So far, I've enjoyed reading them all. I've found a couple of T205s I've got my eye one. But I'm really wanting to start with a nice T206 since it's "the Monster."

Some questions. Hey Leon, what is a type? Does that mean the various backgrounds?

That said, I love history. I love seeing the advertising in the background. That's what drew me to 1957 Topps and then some of the other sets around there (61, 62 mainly). I love looking at the ads in the background.

Thus far looking at some of the 205s and 206s, I'm seeing different backs. One is even french I believe (DeGalle or something of that nature). Is there 1 base and then the rest are parallels (like a base, then a refractor, prism refractor, etc for newer cards or a base and a green tint (from my 62 set))?

I like the idea of buying a few lower end commons of some various sets to get a nice feel for what they're supposed to look like, feel like, etc. I also like trying to take a look at Goudeys (SP), Play Ball, E-121, etc. I'm not a huge fan of the smaller or larger cards (i.e. 1955 Bowman or 1952 Bowman) as I like the traditional sized cards. But I really want to get some of the pre-war stuff to add value to my collection. Plus, I think it'll be easier for whomever is going to be responsible for moving my collection after I'm gone.

As for condition (I know some have asked that), I typically look for Ex with no creases, wrinkles, bends or indentations, no paper loss, pin holes or writing and 70-30 or better centering on my 1950s-60s sets. Will probably try to stick close to that in raw condition. I've been contemplating this afternoon about trying the graded rout. But I just can't pay someone (a grader) to tell me what my card is worth. So for now, I'll be going with raw. And I don't want to have a card just to fill a spot in the set or PC. I want to get something I can be proud of when I sit back and look at my collection.

One final question. Are here and Net54 the best places to try and make deals? I saw someone mention oldcardboard, so I want to check that out as well. But I no nothing about auction houses, how to get involved, if they're trustworthy (talking fake/altered cards). Are AHs a good way to pick up these types of cards? I just figured eBay and here are the 2 best options. But I might be wrong.

A type is just an example from a set. Rather than build the whole set, you just get one card from the set. Many pre-war sets are impossible to complete as there are so few examples, so people are just happy to have a single card.

For T205/T206 and even many of the caramel sets, the different backs are representative a brand of products where the card could be found. Remember most prewar sets were not issued as a collectible itself like they are today, but rather as an advertisement for some other product. T205/T206 were different tobacco products, E92/E93/E96/E105/etc were different candy products, and so on.

I'm not sure where in TX you are located, but I would try to venture to one of the larger shows in the area. That way you should be able to see different cards, touch them, ask dealers questions, etc. You'll see what you like, what you don't. Do you want action, portraits, color, B&W, obscure, mainstraim, etc. I will say, EX condition in pre-war, especially pre-1930 can be considered high grade (with a few exceptions) and get pricey very quickly. You are not going to find many T205/T206 that would grade EX that have not been graded.

Also you will need to really reconsider your thought on the size of the cards. If the early Topps and Bowman sizes bother you, prewar will really bother you. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any pre-war sets that follow the standard post 1957 card size.

Where to buy cards really depends. Here is great. Ebay can be great. Many AH's will come highly recommended (REA, LOTG, HA, Sterling, H&S, Birmingham, etc) and a few will get less positive reviews (see the recent Crazy Uncle threads). In generally, most of the auction houses are pretty good and deals can be found, just remember to read and understand each AH's T&C before bidding so you understand the buyers premium, sales tax, shipping, etc. These all vary from AH to AH and can influence the final price you pay significantly. If you don't understand something, ask them, that's why they are there.

Best of luck, and just keep asking question!

DJ

Welcome. Ungraded cards can be had here on BST. It's a great place to get your feet wet.

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HoF'ers
 

Suggest you look into acquiring a hall of fame player to start. You can find raw (or graded) HoFers from many pre-war sets inckuding T206 for a reasonable price. Jyst watch the Net54 B/S/T forum and start there. You can always expand from there if you like, but uf not then you at least have a HoF player which is always a nice add to a collection.

Good luck!

Lots of great Pre-War cards, lots of variety Nothing wrong with buying a variety of cheap, low grade, ungraded cards.

Sign up with REA. Get their Catalog in the mail.
And when you do-- You must at first SMELL EVERY PAGE!!!!
Thats after you dropped the 50lb catalog on your foot of course.
REA will get you hooked and you wont get rid of this disease- no cure for it.
Read all the write-ups as they are informative and the photos are just icing on the cake.
(no disregard to the many other Ah's i use.- i just think of REA as Xmas)

Okay another question. I think I've decided to start getting my feet wet in grading, and I think this era would be good for that. But here's my concern.

I really, really like the look of the SGC slabs with the black background against the cards. But from what I can tell, they don't hold value to nor are worth as much as PSA. Is this correct? Is one better than the other when it comes to buying vintage?

I like the eye appeal of the black background on the SGC versus the glassy look of PSA, but I don't want to be losing money if/when I try to sell in the future.

If it sells cheaper and costs you cheaper, what's the financial difference?

I'd most be concerned with authenticity and accuracy in grading, not the ephemeral nature of "What this holder goes for this Tuesday."

If you like SGC better, buy SGC. It's also not an either or. You can buy both graders.

In fact it may be the most prudent longterm investment to buy the card that is currently undervalued vis a vis it's holder over the "latest and hottest grader." For longterm investment, "buying at the height of popularity and price" obviously is not a good move.

Though I'd still recommend buying from a trusted dealer or auction house a nice assorted collection of raw Pre-War cards to really enjoy and enjoy handling them.

T206's are classic - would make very nice acquisitions. Demand is always way up. HOFers even more so in demand. Just don't see how you can go wrong with a nicely centered T206 HOFer. EX 5 and graded by either SGC or PSA is wise choice. But be careful within the grade, not all 5's are created equal - pay attention to the boarders, the fatter the better. Lots of slop in a PSA case wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole. For instance, last night a major ebay auction had 2 T206 W. Johnsons - one had nice fat boarders, the other not so much - be very careful here. And of course get a player you really like with a picture that you really like - eye appeal to you goes a long way to your enjoyment.

Very well said!

I can totally understand the interest in pre War cards after watching Ken Burns documentaries. After watching a neat video on Rude Waddell I just about rushed to get his card.

Aside from T206...

2 other Pre-War sets are great for collectors just getting their feet wet...

1934 Diamond Stars - Lots of affordable HOFers, and loaded with killer art deco images.

1941 Play Ball - More affordable HOFers, and beautiful pastel colors and designs.

Check them out, and you'll find some beautiful cards that are really affordable. I collect them raw with no creases, but quite often the best card at best price is graded. You can easily break them out if so desired. But that's a different story and a different thread.

Best of luck and have fun!

I also suggest the exhibits. The 1920s sets have some iconic names in them.

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I tried a bunch of different sets - e102, e90-1s, t206s, m101-2, but I was most attracted to t205s. It was a lot of fun working on it - but alas most have been sold off. Try different things - if you find your interest going someplace else - just sell.