Posted By:
Stephen MitchellDavid...
I'll try to answer the first two of your questions: Why so cheap? and Which year is better?
WHY SO CHEAP? As a collector since 1957 I have observed the baseball hobby scene for more than five decades have seen some quality items go begging for a time. Full sets of 1964 Topps Giant Size sold for $1-3 more than 10 years after their issuance; S & S Baseball Card sets were offered for $2 two decades after their appearance; and I personally bought not one but two 1957 Topps baseball sets in 1974 for $52.50 apiece through the most widely circulated hobby auction of the day, The Card Collector's Bulletin. The point? Simply this: The Perez-Steele Galleries GREAT MOMENTS (and others) cards offer quality and scarcity for a very low price...today. Tomorrow - who knows?
I do believe the Perez-Steele (as well as many TCMA, Shakey's Pizza, Big League Collectibles and other sets) have been widely scattered and frequently broken into singles (many for autographing), team sets, Hall of Fame collections, etc. Future economic considerations aside (easier said than done), I expect Perez-Steele - and other quality limited editions - to continue to move upward in popularity and price. The hobby, while much larger than when I first began collecting, is still a small one and quite "thin" in many ways - as is numismatics which has been organized and fitted with serious periodicals, reference books and annual national conventions for two or three generations longer than our pastime.
WHICH YEAR IS BETTER? Personal choice, of course, drives me to the 108-card Great Moments T3-style series. Many of them are magnificent little lithographs and, truly, among the finest things to have living players sign. And, they are a limited edition of 5,000 - half the production of all other Perea-Steele cards. Next, in terms of quality, I would rank the 50-card Master Works postcard series. But, realistically, the Hall of Fame art series (styled after 19th century Allen & Ginter) is probably my next favorite because of its comprehensiveness (250+ cards) and variety. (Its production quality, however, is a notch or two behind Master Works.) The Celebration set lags the field - but what a field! - and is frequently available at half it's original ($200) cost.