True collectors

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Posted By: Brad Green

I collect only Lefty Grove cards, so you and I are both "player" collectors. If two cards are different in any way, I want examples of both cards. For example, there are two versions of the 1929 R316 cards. One has "Made in USA" on the bottom and the other doesn't. Despite that small difference, I want an example of each card. Some cards (the 1934 Batter-Up cards, for example) come in different colors. In cases like this, do you want only one card no matter what the color, or do you want to have each color -- even if this means having six 1934 Batter-Up cards of the same player? Well, I guess that comes down to your preference.

As a Lefty Grove collector, I want an example of each card that was made of Lefty Grove. In some cases I have chosen to get the different colors (the Batter-Ups, for example), while in other cases just one color is enough (the Uncle Jack's candy and W517's, for example). To me, it doesn't matter that the same picture of Lefty Grove was put on about 10 different cards. I view them as different cards and want one of each.

In the end, you have to make the decision of where to draw the line. Maybe you are content not buying a certain card because that card has the same picture as a card already in your collection. Nobody can fault you for this. It is your collection. And also, nobody says that you can't go back later and get those other cards that have the same picture.