Post WW2 - Pre 1980 Cards Collecting - In General

[jingram058]

I am new to these forums, but in looking over the posts here, seems like you folks are a lot like me. How many share a story like mine? I was hot and heavy into buying packs between the years 1967 to 1972. I had Topps complete sets, and then some, 1967-68-69 and 70. I had some 1971 and 72, but not full sets. Then I moved on to other interests. As time went by, I moved into my own apartment, and then went into the Navy. Mom asked me many times, what did I want to do with my baseball cards, comic books and Hardy Boys books. I told her do whatever. So she did. Gave it all to Goodwill. I came home on leave in the 1980s, and my best friend finds a box of his cards in the attic of the house he grew up in. All of his favorites from long ago, that he thought were long gone. With me, he takes them to a dealer of baseball cards (at that point, I had never heard of such a thing), and sells all of his Mantle, Mays and Koufax cards, plus a bunch of old Topps and Bowman cards from the 1950s picked up along the way, and sells them all for something like $300. I remember the dealer practically salivating over Louis's stash of cards. So for decades now, I have been attempting to recreate my collection. I have, but at ridiculous cost. These old cards don't sell for 5 cents a pack. And I don't have any full sets, just certain cards from sets I like or had as a kid. This has now expanded into the 1950s, and even a couple of Goudey, Play Ball, and even 2 old tobacco cards. Some were given to me by various nephews, and a brother-in-law who ran a card store that went out of business. Some were bought in the 1990s when you could get good cards relatively cheap. Finally, some have come via trade. I am retired from the Navy (2007), but still work. I can afford to acquire an occasional card now and then. So I have again what I once just walked away from.