What was your "Everest" of 2012?

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Wow!

I am quite humbled to have been flooded with so many positive comments as hardly a day goes by where I am not in awe of others' accomplishments and knowledge on these boards.

Thanks John, Chris, Steve, Phil, Sean (yeah, picking up the Matty was pretty satisfying), Clayton, Mike C., Jason, calvindog, Nelson, Jay, Brian, Peter, Scott (yes, I have very fond memories of some of our transactions), Rich and Tony for the nice comments.

Leon, it was great meeting and speaking with you at the National. What you provide to this community is invaluable!

Jon, I agree with you that the red against the black of the SGC holders is quite esthetically appealing, but I have never had great luck in crossing cards over and "maintaining the grade". I might consider it in the future, but for now I am just basking in the "red glow".

Steve, it has been great sharing this experience with you. I am sure 2013 will be the year that you "summit" and complete the 1915 set.

Several questions came up regarding when I started collecting this set....

I decided to start the 1914 CJ's after completing the 1933 Goudey set. Although I loved putting that set together, it was relatively straightforward. Money was the real obstacle, not the availability of the cards. I thought the 1914 CJ's would represent a very tough, but doable project and was anticipating it taking 10 years. From the beginning, I knew the Del Pratt had the reputation for being the most difficult card to find and when I saw one pop up on eBay one Saturday as a BIN, I jumped at the opportunity. My first 1914 CJ purchase was the Mordecai Brown (PSA 4) purchased on 5/11/08, so it took me about 4 1/2 years to complete the set. The Pratt was probably one of the first 20 cards in the set that I owned. I focussed my purchases heavily on rarity, using the combined populations on the SGC and PSA reports as my guide. Although the Pratt is the least populous card, there are probably 35 cards that have combined populations fewer than 20. The Matty, Jackson, Johnson and Cobb were the priciest, but I could count on them being available several times each year. Many of the rarest cards would go years between recorded sales in any grade.

Probably the most satisfying aspect of assembling the set, though, was the acquaintances and friendships that I have forged along the way. For that, I am truly grateful!