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