Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Vintage just seems to be the way to go

I see it on a lot of blogs right now.  Bloggers are getting into the vintage cards more and more.  Posts about current cards and personal collection pickups are slowly being replaced by posts about vintage cards.

I'm part of the crowd for sure.  You've seen the posts lately about 1964 Topps and the cards I've acquired. 

Am I following the crowd?  Yes and No. 

Yes, because outside of the '77 set that I've been pursuing for a few months now, I had never really developed a love for older cards, especially those from the 50's and 60's. This was largely due to the fact that I've never thought I could afford them.  I've seen a lot of bloggers pick up cards from older sets lately, and that has really piqued my interest.  One blog that I've enjoyed reading over the past several months is The Adventures of Napkin Doon, especially his tales of auction night at Cleve's.  Seeing Napkin pickup cards on the cheap, especially of some classic 50's sets is always a great read, and is a quiet reminder (to me anyways) that older sets will never be built 200-300 cards at a time like modern sets are.  A card here, two cards there is the way to approach building the older sets.  If bloggers my age can start a set during their teens and still be working on it now, why in the hell can't I? 

My problem lies in the fact that I'm always looking big.  When I go after something, I don't just dabble like a lot of you do.  I have to dive in head first.  Kind of like the Cookie Monster going after a plate of cookies (I'm sure you get the visual there...) 

Factor in that I'm doing my best to stay within my budget, and I have had the mindset that the older sets were just too far out of reach.  Well, that mindset is slowly changing.



Patience.  A word that my wife will tell you is not in my vocabulary.

Well, the '64 Topps set is going to be the test of my patience.  Especially since 8 of the cards are priced in the magazine at triple digits or more.  The cookie monster in me sadly is still scouring eBay and other places for cheapo auctions.

I came home after errands on Saturday to find 5 envelopes in my box....damn.  One of them had probably what will be the best buy that I will likely pickup during my quest to finish the '64 Topps set. 




eBay auction, (10) '64 Topps cards for $1.99.  I still can't believe it myself.  You can see on a couple of cards that they have creases, but other than that they're perfect for me.  That might be the biggest group of cards I will be able to grab at one time.

I enjoy this set more and more each time I pick up a card or two towards it.  The sheer simplicity of the set I believe is really what grabs me the most.  Plain white borders, team names in big block letters at the top, player name and position in a single colored stripe at the bottom of the card.  Nothing fancy, simple.

Seeing these cards reminds me....Anthony, I still owe you a Moe Drabowsky...I haven't forgotten you!

This was post #300 for me....a big thanks to all who read my insanity regularly, or once in a blue moon

- Robert

11 comments:

  1. Robert, congrats on the milestone and the pickups. I have to get those Senators cards.

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  2. Congrats on #300! Love the Colt. 45s card.

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  3. Congrats on 300. I'm very much like you...I'd love to put together a vintage set, but I'm not patient enough. I'd overspend early. I did the 1968 Topps game set waaay too fast.

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  4. Nice! It does seem like people are spending less and on less new stuff.

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  5. Congrats on the milestone and thanks for the plug. Now that I know you are after 1964 cards ill keep am eye out at auction for you.

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  6. congrats on 300, and i know what you mean on 2 fronts... i always dive in "all out" on a product, and lack the patience that old sets requires. i've also been grabbing old cards - all mets, really - on ebay lately... i'm not sure exactly what my "grand plan" is - but it is definitely something i am enjoying right now... except for the fact that the shipping adds so much percentage-wise to the price of the cards...

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  7. Congrats on #300. I do admire those of you that have the patience to build a set. I remain a dabbler. I've added a bunch of cool items to my collection in the past year but almost nothing new. My mantra seems to be, "Better than what I would get from buying a blaster." Of course this has something to do with not having beaucoup funds but it's always a value thing. Some really nice cards for 2 bucks bucks by the way. And you still have 90% of your blaster cost left for more!

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  8. Congrats on the 300th! Tonight, we dine in Hell!!!! But seriously, I completely agree that the '64 set has a great initial classic feel. Good luck on completeing the set.

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  9. One of my ultimate card collecting goals is to complete at least one full vintage set. I find myself with little money and even less patience. :\

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  10. If you're early into a set, lots are really the way to go. The only set I've really done by onesies and twosies was 1974 OPC, and what a pain that was. After a while, the lots won't have enough that you need, but it's a great way to get started.

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