Top 3 prewar sets
 

What are your top 3 prewar sets you are collecting? And what percentage of the sets are completed?

Well, this needs a reply. The three most collectable pre-WWII sets are N172 (Old Judge), T206 and 1933 Goudey. I have dabbled in all three, but my emphasis is T206.

There are other great pre-WWII sets for sure. Welcome and good luck.

T210s and T212s for me and I have collected T206s off and on.

Currently have zero T206s and just a few T212s. With the T210s I need one more to complete what I want to collect from that set. I have the complete Ft Worth team set and every player in the set named Jackson. I am missing the Series 2 Jackson, Lynchburg. My Shoeless Joe is a very nice reprint.

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E94
E98
14CJ

2 cards to complete my E94.
Built an E98 Master, sold it, and building a single set.
Not building a Cracker Jack set, just HOFers and cards that appeal to me.
1 player run (need one card), 1 back run (need four cards), and one color run (color run complete).
That’s enough to keep me busy and broke.
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I think the top 3 pre war sets are:

T206 (completed and sold)
1933 Goudey (started but ditched the effort)
1914 Cracker Jack (completed and sold)

I also think N172 (never owned a single one) and E107 (completed and sold) are pretty major.

All of the above are larger endeavors- over (to well over) 150 cards to complete. There are some great “bite sized” sets - 50 or less- and I would rank the top 3 as:

D304 (completed and sold)
E94
E103.

Then, you have some amazing sets that aren’t cards. My top 3 are:

T3 (completed and sold)
W600 (owned many but never tried the set)
1908 Rose Co Postcards (owned many but never tried the set)

Well, since you are asking what MY top prewar sets are, my answer is:

1935 Goudey (85% complete)
1931 W 517 (15% complete with one of the two Ruth cards)
1941 Play Ball (5% complete. Just started.)


They are MY top because thy are smaller and are some of the only sets that have top name HOFers that could be potentially be completed within my limited budget range (and therefore the only ones I’m actively collecting).

If your question was what I think the overall top are, then certainly those that are mentioned above including t205, t206, 1933 Goudey, etc, etc.

I only have 1, but I think N172 Old Judge has to be the greatest set ever made. Actual photos in 1886-90? 4,500 poses/varieties? It’s incredible.

The (obvious) top 3 pre-WWII sets overall:

1) T206
2) 1914 Cracker Jack
3) 1933 Goudey

My top 3 sets that I admire (but I only collect #1):

1) E105 Mello Mint (36/50)
2) E92 Croft’s Cocoa
3) T215 Pirate

My top 3 Pre-War sets are
1. t206
2. 1933 Goudey
3. 1941 Play Ball

I have completed all three without all the ultra rare cards in the first two. T3, 1914 Cracker Jack and N172 are all great sets. I have a few cards from each but have never had a desire to collect those sets.

The only one I'm working on right now is the 1919 W514 Baseball Strip card set.
Will likely never be able to afford Ruth or Shoeless but will peck away at the rest.
Around 35% complete right now, but do have quite a few of a the HOF'ers which are prevalent in this set.
Every post deserves a scan.
RayB

I agree with the above that the top 3 for sure lean to:

1) T206
2) 1914 Cracker Jack
3) 1933 Goudey

I think things get interesting when you think about what the next 3 sets might be. Since I’ve never played in 19th Century, I’ll leave those sets to you experts. I think the next 3 for me would be as follows:

4) 1938 Goudey
5) E90-1
6) 1941 Playball

Since I’m not a set guy, as I concentrate my funds on HOFers, the only set I plan on eventually want to knockout would be my the honorable mention below:

7) E95 honorable mention and only one I may actually get around to taking down!

I know, 7 does not equal 3, but good cards are good cards!

Enjoy,
Bob

N172: 1%
e121-80: 40%
e126: 62%

Curious as to why, if I may ask?

I decided to sell a big chunk of my collection and reinvest the proceeds in a farm in Virginia and a coffee farm in Panama. Spending money on any set, not just 33 Goudey, was counterproductive to converting cardboard to real estate!

Nothing personal on the 33 Goudey set. It’s a beast and some day I would like to own/assemble one.

For me the top two are Old Judge and T206. I don't know what the third set would be--probably Goudey, but an argument can be made for E107, W600, M101-4/5, E135 too.
In my mind, Old Judge is the best because of the scope of the set as well as the fact that it was the first major baseball card set. Interestingly, it has 523 different subjects which puts it close in numbers to T206. However, when you start comparing apples to apples (total different poses) it is much bigger. The only argument against Old Judge in my mind is that it is not really a set, or even really a baseball card set. It is composed of multiple sets, many of which involved cards other than baseball players. Calling Old Judgea set is like calling Topps a set without differentiatiing by year.

T206
Cracker Jack
1933 Goudey

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