Long term trends

[T206Collector]

Signed T206s and tough HOFers from the Goudey set are getting ridiculous prices in the latest auctions. Signed T206 commons like Snodgrass and Doyle went for ~$400 six or seven years ago, and now are all $1,000-$2,000.
Even Marquard reaches those price points. The fact that the T206 Speaker went for over $30,000 in the latest Goodwin is a scary omen for those of us who want to keep adding these beautiful rarities to our collections. It is important to recognize that the fact that a signature appears on a common set is actually the appeal -- a familiar image with a signature; as opposed to a random rarity signed, which is neither familiar or likely to appreciate. People want the sigs on Topps, not Mother's Cookies.

For me, the signed T206 set is a great way to move forward because the last player to die was Marquard in 1980. That means no signatures during the 80s craze, which certainly infused a massive supply into the market. Anyone who wants one can get a Hubbell, for example. There is no reason for those to go up in value. If you stick with HOFers who died before 1980 on standard issued cards like Topps, Bowman, Goudey, T206, etc., I think you'll be just fine in the long term.