Why collect T206?

coolshemp · #1 03-18-2015, 08:10 PM

Great stories! When I was around 14, I ordered my first T206 from trade magazine (can't remember the name) and received the Bresnahan batting - a card I still have today- as a gift from my late mother. For sentimental reasons, I could never part with it.
I then became penpals with a collector in PA - he would send me 3 cards at time to look over, and if i liked then, send him back a money order. If not, return the cards. I cut grass at my church in the summer and shoveled in the winters to pay for his cards. Imagine a honor system with T206's like that today? 1990 was a great innocent year...

xplainer · #2 03-18-2015, 08:13 PM

Great stories guys. I know there are more. Post them so we can all enjoy.

-Jimmy

Edit: I wanted to say that I still am working on Aaron and Yaz runs. So, I guess I am not COMPLETELY sold out to T206. But that's all I do.
If you need/want a PSA 10 Josh Hamilton RC, let me know.

Bpm0014 · #3 03-18-2015, 08:18 PM

Great pictures
Mixture of great poses
Great coloring
Fairly inexpensive
1909-1911 was a great time for baseball
Loaded with great HOFers and interesting characters

To name a few....

wonkaticket · #4 03-18-2015, 08:33 PM

I've said before and I'll say it again....for the chicks no other reason.

Sportsguy20 · #5 03-18-2015, 11:06 PM

Is he holding a Ray Demmitt?

frankbmd · #6 03-18-2015, 11:11 PM

Why collect T206?

Simple, so you can have a Monster Number.

BicycleSpokes · #7 03-19-2015, 03:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wonkaticket

I've said before and I'll say it again....for the chicks no other reason.

"Is that a graded Demmitt St. Louis in your trunks, or are you just happy to see me?" (Asked just before the dude whipped out the PSA slab in the pic.)

T206Collector · #8 03-19-2015, 07:29 AM

Because they're beautiful; because they have the widest variety of awesome players from the dawn of Major League Baseball; and because they look amazing when signed by the player!

Howe�s Hunter · #9 03-19-2015, 08:44 AM

Just because I covet someone elses collection.

Cozumeleno · #10 03-19-2015, 08:59 AM

I never collected vintage cards growing up. First pack of cards was a 1986 Topps rack pack I received at a birthday party and I collected up until the mid 1990s when I got to college. Jumped back in as an adult and had my first foray into vintage stuff starting to build a 1948 Bowman set - because, you know, that was the first set listed in Tuff Stuff at the time. Became fascinated with more vintage and jumped into 1951 Bowman and 1933 Goudey, and suddenly even hobby mainstays like a Griffey 1989 Upper Deck card seemed like heaping piles of garbage to me.

Began on T-206 this year and am up to about 75 cards. I'm utterly amazed that so many are still in existence to be honest. To last over 100 years, survive two World Wars, etc...it's pretty amazing to me that you can readily find Piedmonts and Sweet Caps of just about anybody on eBay.

Here are my top five reasons (in no particular order) why I'm becoming a T-206 junkie:

1. Back story - The Back story on how/why they were created by the tobacco companies, their demand by kids (who couldn't legally even buy the cigarettes), etc., is all fascinating stuff to me.

2. Back combos - While collecting an entire set (minus the big four) is my goal, I don't know that I'll stop there. To get players with different backs really makes this a project you can work on your entire life. Collecting every back combo isn't a realistic proposition, but the thrill of finding new combos later in life is something that makes it about more than just collecting a set.

3. The HOFs - So many great cards of unbelievable players that we've only ever read about. Cobb, W. Johnson, Mathewson, Keeler, etc. And the sheer number of HOFers that many people haven't even heard of gives you a history lesson if you're willing to dig for info on those guys.

4. The Sox - I didn't get my first real taste of the Black Sox until the incredible movie Eight Men Out. To get cards of guys like Cicotte and Gandil somehow makes that whole thing even more 'real' to me.

5. The artistry - Call me crazy but the players just look so lifelike. Pictures of these guys are out there, obviously, but seeing Christy Mathewson with a glove on this little piece of cardboard just makes him look cool as anything I've ever seen. That's maybe my favorite in the whole set.

(Bonus) The size(s) - Two final things. Just another cool feature that makes them stand out from today's cards and even larger cards like the Goudeys that came later. Again, these things are so tiny and frail that I remain surprised that there are still so many around. Also, the sheer volume of the set at over 500 cards makes it such a challenge, even in a lower grade.

#11 03-18-2015, 08:15 PM

Three of the top five threads all dedicated to "The Monster", lol! I don't personally feel the same draw to it as many and actually have many more "E" cards than T206's but I appreciate that others do and that it represents the backbone of Pre-War collecting.

xplainer · #12 03-18-2015, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolshemp

Great stories! When I was around 14, I ordered my first T206 from trade magazine (can't remember the name) and received the Bresnahan batting - a card I still have today- as a gift from my late mother. For sentimental reasons, I could never part with it.
I then became penpals with a collector in PA - he would send me 3 cards at time to look over, and if i liked then, send him back a money order. If not, return the cards. I cut grass at my church in the summer and shoveled in the winters to pay for his cards. Imagine a honor system with T206's like that today? 1990 was a great innocent year...

That would never happen today. Thanks for sharing.

-Jimmy

GoldenAge50s · #13 03-18-2015, 08:35 PM

I've been collecting cards since the late '40's but didn't own my 1st T206 until I was 69 yrs old!---& I bought 134 of them at one time!

If it wasn't so late in life I would have loved to try & put a set together, as I absolutely LOVE these little gems & the endless possibilities of collecting them.

However, after around 65 yrs or so of collecting I have amassed a backroom so full of cards from all sports & nonsport that it has become time to start liquidating the bulk of them, including my boyhood treasures as well as the late-acquired T206's.

Those of you that frequent the BST auction section are familiar w/ what I have put up for grabs over the last few months.

It's a very TOUGH thing to do after so many yrs & so many memories my cards bring back to me, but I am resigned to NOT leave my wife w/ the burden if something should happen to me, so I do it & try to make it just as much fun as collecting.

Seeing my cards go to the good folk here at Net 54 gives me the pleasure of knowing they are in the hands of collectors that will enjoy them as much as I have!

7nohitter · #14 03-18-2015, 08:41 PM

Fred-

Since the 40's??????

GoldenAge50s · #15 03-18-2015, 08:51 PM

Bought or was given my 1st cards in 1948--some little B& W Bowmans! (I was 8 yrs old)

Fred · #16 03-18-2015, 09:02 PM

Wonk comes through again!

iwantitiwinit · #17 03-18-2015, 09:37 PM

I think there is something psychological about collecting t206's. If you think about it to complete the set in even say psa3 without the big four is still a fairly expensive endeavor. I would guess that when many start the process they are not in a position to spend what it would cost to finish it. I think however that making progress over time kind of mirrors becoming successful in your career. You work hard, hopefully advance and increase your earnings and disposable income. No use starting something you don't believe you can accomplish. To complete the set you have to have the means to do it.

mrvster · #18 03-18-2015, 10:10 PM

You picked the right set to collect......the list goes on about the positives of the set....the wagner will always keep the set in the spotlight and popular....with t206, it's tough to go wrong...

hello...I'm johnny and I'm a T206 addict

....but it keeps me going...

I'm 43 , and have been collectingbb cards my whole life.....I missed a wagner as a kid.....and I have been wanting one ever since...

..i started in the early 90's with the new shiny stuff, then abandoned them in the late 90's to collect T206 (mostly error T206)....

now I am a hardcore T206 scrap/ rarity collector

you will love collecting these cards sir....email me anytime with any questions

oldcardboard · #19 03-18-2015, 09:26 PM

It was 1979,I was an 8 year old at a local card show. Dad and I always went to as many as we could. He collected t206 and some "E" series sets,and cracker jack. I bought my usual pack or 5 of the usual baseball/football issues(78-79).

The highlite of my collecting though was my dads cards. They were like little treasures, I loved sitting at the table looking at his cards. He always said the old tobacco and candy series were the most beautiful cards made. I agree. He loves misprints,miscuts,and printing anomalies. I started in the late 80s collecting the same cards. I collect only HoFers and anomalies. My dad started collecting coins in early 90s and I slowly started "liquidation" process of his cards into my collection.

I am hooked for life. Love collecting t206.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
T206 guys what to collect. Please like opinions	kamikidEFFL	Net54baseball Vintage (WWII & Older) Baseball Cards & New Member Introductions	51	02-15-2014 02:41 PM
Why do you collect T206's as opposed to other cards/sets?	bcbgcbrcb	Net54baseball Vintage (WWII & Older) Baseball Cards & New Member Introductions	52	02-18-2013 07:19 PM
Way to collect t206	g_vezina_c55	Net54baseball Vintage (WWII & Older) Baseball Cards & New Member Introductions	12	07-03-2012 07:35 PM
Easiest subjects to collect all T206 backs?	eiturbe	Net54baseball Vintage (WWII & Older) Baseball Cards & New Member Introductions	12	02-10-2011 10:44 PM
Glad he did not collect T206 Funny	Archive	Net54baseball Vintage (WWII & Older) Baseball Cards & New Member Introductions	9	01-22-2006 02:16 PM