T-206 HOFer's/Prewar Advice

[MBMiller25]

I re-entered this hobby in 2008. Prior to that, I like many, collected and grew up in the mid 80's era of cards. When getting back into the hobby, I have focused primarily on Post War HOF RC's. As I get close to owning most of the Post War HOF RC's that I want, I find myself wanting to venture towards Prewar cards now. This is where I am asking for advice. I know very little about Prewar/ T-206 cards. I would like to acquire some cards of Primarily the following: Young, Cobb, Johnson and Mathewson.

Keeping in mind that I am on a budget and don't have unlimited funds, what should my focus be? I know some backs are tougher tha others. Should I focus on low grade with harder to find backs, or slightly higher graded copies with easier to find backs? Should I focus on T-206's or something else? I want depth to my collection, while keeping in mind that would prefer there be value or future value to the cards I am purchasing.

Thanks in advance for your responses, I really appreciate the board that Leon has put together and the resource this community is.

[christopher.herman]

Matt,
Welcome to pre-war. My advice is to get a few low grade examples of a few different types and see what you like. Perhaps instead of "a set" like T206s, you might want to be a type collector and just focus on HoFers. As far as "what you should do", there is no right or wrong answer.
1. Collect what you like. (If that includes "backs", so be it)
2. Buy the best condition examples that you can afford.
Hope that helps. Good luck.
Christopher.

[MBMiller25]

you might want to be a type collector and just focus on HoFers.

Thanks for your response, can you expand on what this means?

[mintacular]

Based on your past post-war posts it seems like you are condition-sensitive which makes collecting pre-war on a budget more of a challenge. Make sure you find a grade that has enough eye appeal for your liking and stick with that grade. Then figure out which cards you want in that grade and voila there you go. Back collecting if fun but very expensive, figure out whether you personally value the different backs or would that $ be better spent on nicer grade/star players, etc. HOFERs are always a safe bet. Type collecting from my understanding is a category of collecting such as "HOFERS" "HINDU BACKS" "CATCHERS" "PITTSBURGH PIRATES" I.E. a subcategory of collecting a certain set

[phikappapsi]

Best advice I have as someone that transitioned to pre war a few years ago. Buy a "hodgepodge" of HoFers from multiple years, sets, sizes, colors etc and eventually you'll settle into what really draws you in naturally. For me, it was signed 1939 play balls (love ink against the black and white) and higher grade T206...

Who knows, maybe you'll fall in love with E121, exhibits, goudey, T cards etc etc... Remember, there's basically 40 years of baseball in "pre war" so cards come in many eras, shapes, sizes, styles... And not one of them is the "right" answer for everyone.

But I'd recommend doing your "browsing"/test buying on HoFers, this way, once you figure out what you really like, you can recoup your investment on the cards you no longer feel fit your niche.

[teetwoohsix]

Originally Posted by phikappapsi

Best advice I have as someone that transitioned to pre war a few years ago. Buy a "hodgepodge" of HoFers from multiple years, sets, sizes, colors etc and eventually you'll settlement what really draws you in naturally. For me, it was signed 1939 play balls (love ink against the black and white) and higher grade T206...

Who knows, maybe you'll fall in love with E121, exhibits, goudey, T cards etc etc... Remember, there's basically 40 years of baseball in "pre war" so cards come in many eras, shapes, sizes, styles... And not one of them is the "right" answer for everyone.

But I'd recommend doing your "browsing"/test buying on HoFers, this way, once you figure out what you really like, you can recoup your investment on the cards you no longer feel fit your niche.

+1 and great advice. That's actually how it happened with me (except no focus on Hof'ers, just different types of pre-war cards).

Sincerely, Clayton

[GregMitch34]

I thought "type collecting" was getting one (or more) example of as many different issues of cards as possible.

[Leon]

As a fairly focused type card collector of baseball cards from 1900-1949 I think what you are doing is going to be fun. I had the same question when I started; should I try for higher grade cards or more cards? I chose more cards. One thing you might consider, and what I primarily do, is get cards that have really nice eye appeal and are not technically high grade. That way you get the best of both worlds....and your budget can go further. A card with a blank back and paper loss on it (who really cares) might grade a 1-2 but have a 5-6 front. Those are great cards for me to own. Also, and very importantly, there are a ton of collectors that collect just exactly what I described, so guess what? When you go to sell them there will be a lot of demand. At the end of the day, as almost everyone and myself say, collect what makes you happy. If I can ever help please let me know. Also, my type card collection can be seen at

http://luckeycards.com/personal.html

there is a scan under every description. best regards


.
.

[ethicsprof]

welcome to the wonderful world of type collecting!
I focus on 1900-1939 and look for one card per issue.
I use the ACC & Old Cardboard as my major sources for choosing issues.
Leon's guidance is first rate.
all the best,
barry

[Runscott]

I did type-collecting using catcher poses - quite fun.

Collecting the T206 set, but working on a mini-type set of favorite cards;e.g-T3 Speaker, T205 Cobb, 1914 CJ Baker, '33 yellow Ruth, Delong Gehrig, E92 Wagner throwing, various Bowmans of Williams and Mantle, '88 Donruss Griffey....whoops, how'd that happen?

[glchen]

I think you should go for the best key card, with the best image, at the best grade that you can afford. The thing about pre-war is that there are a huge # of issues, and many of these are very popular, so it is not like post-war with just Topps and a few secondary issues. For example, I love the image on the 1914/1915 Cracker Jack Ty Cobb. However, a bunch of other collectors love this also, so this card is insanely expensive. If you can't quite afford this key card for Cobb, you can look at another one whose image you like. In T206, Red and Green Cobb's are very popular with the Green more expensive. You can pick the one that you like, and then look at the backs. As you know, there are many backs, and there are huge # of resources here on T206. The reference t206resource.com will give you a listing of all of the backs and which cards are present for each back. There are also scarcity lists for each back on this board, and you can also look at the pop reports to get some idea. You may determine that you like the eye appeal of a specific back more, or you may back with a certain scarcity. Obviously, the scarcer the back, the higher the price. There are a tremendous # of options that you have, and you need to decide which most appeals to you.

[mrvster]

Try a t206 freak / error.....or t206 rare backs......forget about condition and go for rarity....t 206 has held or historically appreciated over the past 100 years, driven by wagner....


g'day govenah!!

Peace

Johnny

ps

finally you figured it out.....pre war or specifically t206 is the way to go..

[MBMiller25]

I appreciate evryones varying opinions as to how to tackle prewar. There are some great ideas. I think I am goingto tread lightly and try to make my first purchase at the National. Going to spend some time looking at multiple issues and multiple years to pick cards that I enjoy, and then employ the buying the most I can afford method. I don't think I will focus on backs at this time, until I am a little less ignorant.

Again, Much Thanks!