Getting that feeling...

[mrvster]

Thanks my friend! YOU are great and supportive yourself!

I always look forward to your emails

[mrvster]

tHANKS MY FRIEND! YOU ARE BECOMING AN EXPERT fast!

[vintagebaseballcardguy]

Ok, you T206 collectors, let me ask you this: do you feel compelled for all of your T206s to reside in a PSA/SGC slab at the time of purchase? Like post war card collectors, I have seen some of you all post pics of your T206 purchases with some slabbed, some not. Much like dealing with the big post war star cards, I would assume the big stars would be slabbed due to concerns over trimming, doctoring, etc. What about the commons? I mean, if you collected 150s how would you handle that? Slabbed or not?

[trdcrdkid]

Originally Posted by vintagebaseballcardguy

Ok, you T206 collectors, let me ask you this: do you feel compelled for all of your T206s to reside in a PSA/SGC slab at the time of purchase? Like post war card collectors, I have seen some of you all post pics of your T206 purchases with some slabbed, some not. Much like dealing with the big post war star cards, I would assume the big stars would be slabbed due to concerns over trimming, doctoring, etc. What about the commons? I mean, if you collected 150s how would you handle that? Slabbed or not?

I know I'm in the minority among T206 collectors, but I prefer to collect them raw, keeping them in toploaders or CardSaver IIs. For one thing, it's almost always possible to get them cheaper that way, and I can put them in plastic pages, hold them in my hand if I want, and display them however I choose. All but a handful of my 250+ T206s are raw, including all of my 30+ Hall of Famers, and in fact I've cracked out a few that were slabbed when I got them. If I want to get some or all of them slabbed at some point down the road, ahead of a sale or whatever, I can do that. Part of this is because I started seriously collecting T206s (and other T cards) in the early 90s, before the grading companies were a major factor. (I know PSA was founded in 1991, but in its early years, as I recall, it was only used for very high-end cards, of the type that were way out of my league.) But I'm also a big advocate of buying the card, not the holder; I look for cards that have good eye appeal but are reasonably priced, and I'm never thinking about a card's resale value, just whether it would look good in my collection. It helps that I have never dealt in the really high-end T206s, having seldom paid more than $100 for a card until just recently. (Though some of the cards I got 15-20 years ago are worth quite a bit more than that now.) If I were to spend $500 or $1000 or more for a card, I might be more inclined to go for a slabbed card, but the TPGs are far from infallible, as most people here know. For the cards I buy and am interested in, my own eyes and experience are enough to evaluate a card.

[Bocabirdman]

Originally Posted by vintagebaseballcardguy

Ok, you T206 collectors, let me ask you this: do you feel compelled for all of your T206s to reside in a PSA/SGC slab at the time of purchase? Like post war card collectors, I have seen some of you all post pics of your T206 purchases with some slabbed, some not. Much like dealing with the big post war star cards, I would assume the big stars would be slabbed due to concerns over trimming, doctoring, etc. What about the commons? I mean, if you collected 150s how would you handle that? Slabbed or not?

It depends on your comfort level. I have been handling T206 since the 70's. I can just tell by looking most of the time if a card is short, by eye. When buying off the 'Bay, I always err on the side of caution. If he card is shaky and I do not have a relationship with the seller, I will move on.

Lately though, I have been "stabilizing my collection" by buying slabs and getting rid of the raw. If II was immortal, I would leave them raw but for ease of liquidation for me or the wife(). Sale of Slabs less is less opinion-driven.

[vintagebaseballcardguy]

David and Mike, thanks for your thoughts. In different ways you brought up important points. Most of my buying will be online, either through the B/S/T or ebay. That makes me gravitate toward slabbed cards. There are a few dealers I have bought postwar stuff from that I would probably trust but not that many. I am a collector first and foremost, and I don't buy to sell but you never know. I have to think a PSA holder makes the potential sale a little simpler. It is vital to buy the card, not the holder. One can get a lot of eye appeal in lower grades. In a perfect world, I like them in their natural state, but...

[Bocabirdman]

Originally Posted by vintagebaseballcardguy

David and Mike, thanks for your thoughts. In different ways you brought up important points. Most of my buying will be online, either through the B/S/T or ebay. That makes me gravitate toward slabbed cards. There are a few dealers I have bought postwar stuff from that I would probably trust but not that many. I am a collector first and foremost, and I don't buy to sell but you never know. I have to think a PSA holder makes the potential sale a little simpler. It is vital to buy the card, not the holder. One can get a lot of eye appeal in lower grades. In a perfect world, I like them in their natural state, but...

Robert, I do not know how old you are or what the value of your collection might be. I too am a collector, first and foremost. At some point you start adding up the $20 cards, the $40 cards etc. and the number shocks you because it is likely more than you expect. My wife is a willing enabler with my collection and will offer opinions. She enjoys these bits of cardboard more than I ever expected. However, I have no heirs to even consider leaving the collection to. Anything I do from here on out (I am 56 so I hope it is for decades yet) will be with an eye towards that day when I change the direction of the flow of cardboard from inbound to out. The wife would be cussing me if I go first anyway so I don't want to add fuel to the fire by saddling her with a pile of raw tobacco cards to sift through.....

[vintagebaseballcardguy]

We do all have to consider our own mortality...comforting thought .

I have been looking for a focus of sorts where I might get started without totally losing my mind. Although they can be plagued by tobacco stains, I am really liking the Polar Bear backs. Is that a reasonable goal/place to start?