T206 Piedmont set.....MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

It has taken me only 10 months, but as soon as a dozen cards which I've recently acquired arrive, I will
have a 518 card "all-PIEDMONT" T206 set. It is missing the "big 4" and the Demmitt and O'Hara only exist
with Polar Bear backs.

I started this adventure back in Dec 2005 when I decided to break up my 2nd T206 set. This set had 160
Piedmont backs to start with. Anyhow, it was still quite a challenge and I enjoyed this great "trip". In this
process, I would like to thank the following members of this Forum for helping me out....Scot Reader,
Steve Murray, Trae, T206Collector, and Brian Weisner.

Regarding the Doyle (error), Magie, Plank & Wagner (all existing with Piedmont backs).....I will pass this
set onto my Grandson, RON. He is studying EE at the U of Maine.......he is on the Baseball, Tennis, and
Hockey teams; and, hopes to become a Pro in one of these sports. If he does, he will certainly be able
to afford the "Big 4"....Actually, I would just be happy if he follows in his Grandpop's foot steps....as an
Electronic's Engineer.

Have I set a precedent....or do we know of anyone else with a T206 set with all the same Tobacco backs ?

TED Z

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Posted By: Turner Engle

Cogratulations on that hard mission. I can't even imagine putting a whole T206 set together but with all Piedmont back?!?! That is amazing!

Once again congratulations on a job well done.



Turner

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Posted By: Joe D.

Ted,

Thats awesome.

Nice going.

I tried the same thing with the Polar Bear backs - and got as far as about 250 cards (not sure how many are Polar Bears / but its less than the Piedmonts).

I sold off most every one this year to pick up cards from other sets.


Very cool to see that this feat can be accomplished.

Regards,
Joe

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Posted By: RayB

Ted,
Sounds like you had a blast with this and congratulations!
RayB

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

JOE D

With 250 different cards with POLAR BEAR backs you were better than 1/2 way there for a complete run.
I think my math is correct.....524 - approx. 20 (150 & 350 Series) - 48 (So. Lgers) = 456 cards.

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Posted By: Al C.risafulli

Wow...that's exceptional.

Nice job. I can't even imagine having the patience to build a complete T206 set, much less TWO, much less a THIRD all with one back.

Congrats!

-Al

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Posted By: steve f

Wicked amazing. Guinness should hold a page for you in their next edition. Congrats!

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Posted By: jay behrens

congrats. VERy cool accomplishment. What back are you going to work on next?

Jay

I love pinatas. You get to beat the crap of something and get rewarded with candy.

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Posted By: Drew

Congrats,Way to go Ted.

Drew

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Posted By: Joe D.

Jay,

I'd love to see an all Sovereign set.

so, who is going to take it on?

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Posted By: Bob Pomilla

Nice going. Inspiring.

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Posted By: Ed McCollum

I was thinking of starting a set with only the ultra-rare Ty Cobb back, but Hal beat me to it.

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Posted By: Scot Reader

Ted,
Congratulations! I'm amazed how fast you were able to put this group together. Must have taken tremendous focus. Keep us in the loop about what's next for you and The Monster.
Scot

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

SCOT

I must credit your great document as a motivating force in attempting to take on this
challenge. If you recall, I first was content to just collect all the 150 Series cards with
Piedmont backs. Well, at least 152 of the 156 cards in this series (no Doyle (err), Magie,
Plank, or Wagner). But, after studying your T206 document, I figured why stop there....
so I continued thru to the subsequent series.

What I forgot to note here (and you will appreciate this), is that the cards are arranged
in my album according to their series.....

1st the 153 cards of the 150 Series (-Magie, Plank, Wagner)

2nd the 48 cards in the Southern Lge.

3rd the 183 (Maj Lgrs) cards in the 350 Series (-Joe DOYLE)

4th the 86 (Minor Lgrs) cards in the 350 Series

5th the 48 cards in the 460-only Series

total....518

Thanks much, Scot

Regards, TED Z

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Posted By: Trae R.

That is very cool, Ted! The cards I sold you were actually the beginning of my feable attempt to do the same. You inspired me when I first heard about your mission... however I am sure it was obvious when I put the lot up for sale I had given up. I only made it 23% of the way. Even without mentioning the fact that it's your 3rd complete set... and the small amount of time you did it in... congratulations on getting such a tough & unique set done!

You and a select few (Bill Heitman of course) have handled more T206's than some of us will in our entire lives... and I'm only 25! Thanks for sharing too - definitely something to be proud of.

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Posted By: Lee Behrens

Hi ted,

Congrats nice work, have you thought about getting each card with each possible pirdmont back. How many actual cards is that?

Lee

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Posted By: John Barnes

Very nice looking cards! Did you keep track of the cost? Have any idea what it took to put that together?
John

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Posted By: Joann

Wow Ted. Good for you!! What a thrill that must be.

Joann

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Posted By: barry arnold

TREX,

What a great accomplishment!!
You have done so much for the hobby and this great news helps make the collecting
of t206's even more of a GREAT RIDE!!
You must be proud to see the impact that you are making on your family,
both immediate and this card collecting one!!

again, congratulations, TED.
A Milestone,indeed.

Barry

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Posted By: T206Collector

When you say "1st the 152 cards of the 150 Series" and then "2nd the 184 (Maj Lgrs) cards in the 350 Series" how did you determine which card went into which Series if there was an overlap? That is, if you had a 350 back that was also available in the 150 Series, did you toss the 350 and wait for a 150 to show up?

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Posted By: Bruce Babcock

Well done. A daunting task, to say the least, Bravo!

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Posted By: Brian Weisner

Hi Ole Buddy,
Congrats on completion.... The Latham 42 is in the mail. Be well Brian

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

OK, let's start with all 150 Subjects backs which are the cards 1st printed that I was
first interested in collecting with Piedmont backs. We know there are actually 156 cards
in this Series....and 11 of them are 150-only cards (which includes Magie and Wagner).

So.....we have 156 - 11 = 145 that are 150/350 cards. But, we know Plank is in this group.
So we'll discard him and we have 144 cards to collect from the 150/350 group. I searched
only for the "150" version of these 144 cards.

Now add the 9 cards from the 150-only group to the above 144, and the result is 153
cards (I discarded Magie and Wagner).

From the 350 only group and the 350/460 group of Major Leaguers....I tried to acquire
only 350 Subjects backs. The total number of cards in this group is 184. The Joe Doyle
error is included in this group; so, we discard him and we have 183 cards to collect.

I hope I made this clear.....if not I will try to explain it again.


Ted Z

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Posted By: T206Collector

...of the 150/350 group you tried to collect just the 150s and of the 350/460 group you tried to collect just the 350s. As a result, you ended up with a Piedmont set in the chronological order that it was distributed?

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

T206Collector

Excellent, you summarized it very succinctly in just two sentences.

And, you are right, that was my exact intent to chronologically arrange all the cards in
my T206 album. And to that end, the Southern Leaguers actually follow the 150 Series
cards....then the 350 Series cards....etc,etc.

TED Z

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Posted By: T206Collector

...when you find out I have a "Bull" Durham with ultra-rare Piedmont 120 back ...Issued in 1907? ...Factory 6 11th Dist. CT?

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Posted By: MVSNYC

great accomplishment! question, out of all of these piedmont backs (518), how many are series 35-460 fac. 42?

regards,
MS

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

These are definitely tough.....only 2 such backs in this 518 card set.

And, I have another assorted collection of approx. 500 - T206's and
there is only one P460/Fac 42 card in it.

Thanx for asking, TED Z

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

My answer to you is YES.......I have started to acquire the 141 (or 144) possible Piedmont 350
backs for the cards in my 150 Series.

This is a subset that may prove to be more challenging than acquiring the Piedmont 150 backs
for all the 1st Series cards.

Thanx for inquiring, TED Z

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Posted By: Dustan Hedlin

I don't post on here much, mostly lurk; but I have to say congrats to Ted for getting this done. And thanks for finally scanning a few more of your cards.

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

JAY

To your question........I might try to put together a Sovereign-only set.

Therefore, no need to worry about Wagner, Plank, Magie, or Joe Doyle (err).,
Demmitt and O'Hara. And the tough 48 Southern Lgrs. don't exist with Sovereign
backs.


LEE

A better answer to your question....if I try to get every possible PIEDMONT back,
I have to acquire a possible 145 cards with the 350 backs and 64 with the 460
backs, for a total of 209 additional cards to my 518 card set. Then, I believe I'd
have all the available Piedmont backs.

And, I've already acquired the real tough P350 cards (i.e., Dahlen-Bos., Durham,
Tom Jones, Karger, Lindaman, Lundgren, etc).

T-Rex TED

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Posted By: jay behrens

Ted, who are kidding, there are Wagners with Sovereign backs on eBay all the time

Jay

I love pinatas. You get to beat the crap of something and get rewarded with candy.

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Posted By: John J. Grillo

Amazing accomplishment! Congratulations. Those are some beautiful looking cards.

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Posted By: MVSNYC

hi, they are very tuff...thanks for your input, that's only 3 out of 1018 cards...

Best-
MS

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Posted By: joe brennan

Great Accomplishment. Congrads Ted.

People said it was a million dollar wound. But the government must keep that money, cause I ain't never seen a penny of it.

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Posted By: Pennsylvania Ted

MVSNYC

I don't really know how representative my 3 - P460/42 cards out of approx. 1000 are ?
That translates to only 0.3% of my collection of T206's.....Wow, that makes this back
quite rare. I have seen many more Brown HINDU's, LENOX's, CAROLINA BRIGHTS' than
these 3 cards with P460/42 backs.

Furthermore, in the past year I've had as many as 4 - UZIT's and 6 - BROAD LEAF 350
backs....but, I would not dare to say that P460/42 cards are as rare as BL 350 or UZIT
cards.

Perhaps, we should conduct another SURVEY...."Oh no, another dreaded survey"....to
see how many P460/42 cards are in Net54 members' T206 collections ? ?

T-Rex TED

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Posted By: leon

I just wanted to offer my congratulations too. I know it must be a thrill to finally complete the mission. I wonder if sometimes the chase is the more exciting part of the journey? I am usually very happy about filling a hole but it wears off rather quickly? At any rate GOOD JOB... best regards

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

LEON

You are absolutely correct.....the "chase", or I prefer the "hunt", is many times the
more exciting part of the game of collecting BB cards. And, especially the friends you
meet along the way. And, with the T206 set it is guaranteed to be a never-ending
process, so I'm sure to keep the euphoric "high" ongoing, as I continue in the "hunt".

Take me for example, this is my 3rd "set" of T206's......and as Robert Redford said to
Paul Newman in the very last scene in the movie "The Sting"....."it's not enough".....
"but, it's darn close"

I might just consider a 4th set.....I have to do the math to figure out which choice
of Tobacco brand will make the next challenge easier.

Thanx for your nice words,

T-Rex TED

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Posted By: Zach S.

Ted,

Congratulations. I still have quite a way to go on my first set... can't imagine a 3rd. I have limited access to card shops, etc. here in Italy and I was wondering if you could point me in a direction (possibly on the internet) where I could pick up some of those pages I see in your picture that look like they hold T206's quite well...

Regards,
Zach S.

zsmith@as39.navy.mil

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

The plastics in my T206 album are ULTRA PRO (platinum series), 15-pocket pages.

Their website is.......www.ultra-pro.com

Best Wishes to you in Italy. We have visited Italy and Greece (where my relatives
live) quite a few times.

TED Z

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

SCOT

You asked....."Keep us in the loop about what's next for you and The Monster".

Next, I am considering an "all-Sovereign" set. Check me out on my calculation......

524 - 48 (Southern Lgrs.) - (Big 6) - Lundgren (Cubs) = 469 cards (total needed)

I have approx. 100 different Sovereign backs already, and 40 of them are from the
tougher 460-only Series, and about a dozen HOFers. So, that's a pretty good start.

TED Z

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Posted By: Pennsylvania Ted

Wish me Luck, guys.....I am starting a SOVEREIGN-only T206 set. The advantage of collecting
this Tobacco brand is that it can be 100% completed....as none of the "Big Six" are required.

T-Rex TED

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Posted By: Scot Reader

Ted,
Awesome. Keep in mind that Sovereign 460 is only available on 54 cards--the 48 460-onlys + the 6 350/460 superprints. I would love to see you get the complete set of (54) Sovereign 460s!
Scot

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

JOHN, you asked....."Did you keep track of the cost? Have any idea what it took to put that
together?"

I'm just getting back to you on this, as it has been quite complicated to figure out the cost.
Partly, because about 30% of these cards were carried over from my 2nd set. And, those
cards were acquired with "old $$$$", when T206's were much more affordable. For example,
the Green Cobb (that is shown in the above scan) cost me only $250 when I bought it.

The other factor that complicates the cost estimate on this set is that there was a lot of
trading going on in order to acquire many of these cards. And, translating those tranactions
into $$$$ is at best like playing with "funny money".

Anyhow, I cannot give you a $$$$ figure at this point; but, I will keep plugging away at this
and should come up with a realistic cost sometime soon.......actually, I'm curious to find out,
myself.

Thanks for asking.....TED Z

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

Shown here are the 6 "superprints" that you have identified in the T206 set.
Now, do I understand your premise correctly.....that these 6 cards from the 350/460 series
were printed with more Tobacco brand backs than any of the other cards in the set ?

I have these with varoius backs; however, I have never seen any of them with SOV 460's.
They must be really tough to find.

But, I do have the Chance with a LENOX back....how rare is this card ?

Thanks for confirming this, or providing a clearer defintion.....

TED Z

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Posted By: Scot Reader

Ted,

Yes, these six 350/460 "superprints" are available with a different and larger group of backs than can be found on the 350/460 "regular prints". More particularly, these six subjects can be found with all backs that appear on 350-only subjects as well as all backs that appear on 460-only subjects. I believe these six are indeed possible with Sovereign 460 (in contrast to the other 350/460 subjects, which are NOT possible with Sovereign 460). If you look at the survey data I provided I think at least a couple of these six were confirmed with that back. Hence, my earlier expressed hope that you will tackle the Sovereign 460 subset that includes the 48 460-onlys plus these six--for a total of 54 cards. While challenging, it should not be nearly as daunting as, say, obtaining all of the Piedmont 42s.

Your Chance w/Lenox is rare--but I can't say for sure that it is any more difficult than any other subject with that scarce back.

Scot