CamaroDMD
Insert Cool Title
I will admit I am someone with about a million interests and sometimes my focus tends to waver. As a result, I have been doing a lot of reading and researching about various vintage sets. I want to assemble a vintage baseball card set and I'm trying to decide which one is best for me.
I'm thinking late 50s/early 60s is the sweet spot for my interests. Those years have a lot of teams in different locations and they have the majority of the legends of that era (Mantle, Aaron, Mays, Kaline, ect.).
1963 Topps is probably my favorite set from that time. I love the design and the colors...but the big turn off for me a this time is the Pete Rose RC. It's hideous and it's extremely expensive. I don't see myself being willing to shell out the money needed for it to complete the set and I think shooting for an incomplete set would not be enjoyable for me. So, for now I think I will forget about 1963.
So, I started to read about the 1962 Topps set. Every since I was a kid, I thought 1962 was interesting. Something about the design has always drawn me to it. Yes...it's ugly, but it's sorta retro 60s ugly. I think the uniqueness of the design makes it stand out.
I also think the set is from a special time in baseball history. The set makes a lot of references to the 1961 home run chase which is a great story. Because of that, Roger Maris is the #1 card in the set.
It's a big set, 598 cards officially. But, if you start to look at all the varieties it's over 700. The entire second series (cards 110-196) have two versions due to a printing problem. There are also a bunch of players with different portraits on their cards. For example #190 exists in both a portrait and batting pose version (and then both of those exist in a "normal" and "green tint" printed version). It's a crazy set.
The set lacks any REALLY expensive cards. It has the typical key star players (Mantle stands out), a couple big rookies (Lou Brock and Gaylord Perry), and a high numbered SP series (including Bob Uecker RC). The real challenge is tracking down all the varieties.
The set is prone to condition issues because the faux-wood boarder likes to chip. I'm OK with that, if I do attempt this set it will probably a VG set.
One nice thing, I already have the Mantle.
Maybe it's a set worth considering.
I'm thinking late 50s/early 60s is the sweet spot for my interests. Those years have a lot of teams in different locations and they have the majority of the legends of that era (Mantle, Aaron, Mays, Kaline, ect.).
1963 Topps is probably my favorite set from that time. I love the design and the colors...but the big turn off for me a this time is the Pete Rose RC. It's hideous and it's extremely expensive. I don't see myself being willing to shell out the money needed for it to complete the set and I think shooting for an incomplete set would not be enjoyable for me. So, for now I think I will forget about 1963.
So, I started to read about the 1962 Topps set. Every since I was a kid, I thought 1962 was interesting. Something about the design has always drawn me to it. Yes...it's ugly, but it's sorta retro 60s ugly. I think the uniqueness of the design makes it stand out.
I also think the set is from a special time in baseball history. The set makes a lot of references to the 1961 home run chase which is a great story. Because of that, Roger Maris is the #1 card in the set.
It's a big set, 598 cards officially. But, if you start to look at all the varieties it's over 700. The entire second series (cards 110-196) have two versions due to a printing problem. There are also a bunch of players with different portraits on their cards. For example #190 exists in both a portrait and batting pose version (and then both of those exist in a "normal" and "green tint" printed version). It's a crazy set.
The set lacks any REALLY expensive cards. It has the typical key star players (Mantle stands out), a couple big rookies (Lou Brock and Gaylord Perry), and a high numbered SP series (including Bob Uecker RC). The real challenge is tracking down all the varieties.
The set is prone to condition issues because the faux-wood boarder likes to chip. I'm OK with that, if I do attempt this set it will probably a VG set.
One nice thing, I already have the Mantle.
Maybe it's a set worth considering.
