T206 Set...Minus the Big Four, and other Subsets...Will values keep climbing?

[parkerj33]

I have been in this market quite a bit as a seller and buyer over the last 2 years. I believe a low grade (think 1-1.5) raw set will firmly set you back in the 90k range now. I agree some prices have pulled back (I think peak for general non-fancy cards was late last summer). Condition rarities or back rarities will continue to rise. the killer rise will continue to be the real short prints: demmit/ohara stl, lundgren chi, and elberfeld port wash. lundgren and elberfeld BEATERS are 1.5k..... I think southern leaguers have been softer lately, although ryan violat and shags will still set you back uncomfortably.

Goldin just auctioned off a full 520 set last week and it was thoroughly psa 1 caliber throughout....$100k hammer.

[asphaltman]

Originally Posted by parkerj33

Goldin just auctioned off a full 520 set last week and it was thoroughly psa 1 caliber throughout....$100k hammer.

I didn't see this auction...interesting, will have to take a look.

[FrankWakefield]

520 cards

that would be a card a week for ten years...

Keep in mind that if, in a single purchase, you buy multiple cards from the same seller, then you'll save a few dollars on shipping, compared to 520 single card purchases...

Obviously, on a week when you buy a common card that's ok... that would be a typical acquisition, but you need to have set some dollars aside, because many of the cards you'll be getting will case more than that ok common card.

So to get this done in 10 years, it'd take about $175 a week to get there.

15 years will be about $120 a week. (I've added a few dollars extra because the cards are likely to have increased in price more over a 15 year span as compared to 10 years.

And allocating $100 a week will get you close to a finish line in 17 to 18 years. And it'll take patience.

No one ever said that slaying a monster was easy.


If you decide that one Cobb card is enough instead of 'needing' all 4, then you shorten the journey by a couple of years. Or deciding you don't have to have Demmitt and O'Hara will save you time and money.

However long it does take; it'll take even longer if you start the journey three years from now, instead of starting by the end of this month. And knowing this from experience... starting, then stopping and selling, then restarting, is a really long way of doing it.

[Casey2296]

Originally Posted by FrankWakefield

520 cards

that would be a card a week for ten years...

Keep in mind that if, in a single purchase, you buy multiple cards from the same seller, then you'll save a few dollars on shipping, compared to 520 single card purchases...

Obviously, on a week when you buy a common card that's ok... that would be a typical acquisition, but you need to have set some dollars aside, because many of the cards you'll be getting will case more than that ok common card.

So to get this done in 10 years, it'd take about $175 a week to get there.

15 years will be about $120 a week. (I've added a few dollars extra because the cards are likely to have increased in price more over a 15 year span as compared to 10 years.

And allocating $100 a week will get you close to a finish line in 17 to 18 years. And it'll take patience.

No one ever said that slaying a monster was easy.


If you decide that one Cobb card is enough instead of 'needing' all 4, then you shorten the journey by a couple of years. Or deciding you don't have to have Demmitt and O'Hara will save you time and money.

However long it does take; it'll take even longer if you start the journey three years from now, instead of starting by the end of this month. And knowing this from experience... starting, then stopping and selling, then restarting, is a really long way of doing it.

Well said Frank.

[MR RAREBACK]

If only auction houses did 15 year loans

[MVSNYC]

"Will values keep going up? Over the short term, no clue. Over the long term, I believe yes- I have seen values go up steadily over almost 40 years of collecting, they aren’t making any more, and t206 is the most famous and collectible set out there - it’s the monster!"

I agree with Ryan. No one has a crystal ball, but like Ryan, I have been collecting T206 for almost 4 decades, and I've only ever seen them go up in value.

The wise Scott Levy once told me..."Try to collect the best players you can, from the best sets you can, in the best condition you can." I think in the case of T206 we can add to that..."with the rarest backs you can."

[Exhibitman]

Don't forget inflation. The real question is whether prices will rise faster than the rate of inflation over the long haul. Cumulative inflation over the last 25 years has been nearly 90%; a card had to just about double in price just to maintain its value. If a card was $20 in 1997 I would expect it to cost at least $40 today.