Sets to collect for a Newbie???

Hey guys, so I myself am doing the 1911 T-205 Set and yes it has a few big names through the set Cobb,Johnson, and Mathewson. What I would like to know is your opinion of some other sets that are reasonably priced for a newbie to collecting. I have a friend who likes what i have going so far and said maybe I will try a set but doesn't know what set to go after. Here are a list of what he is looking for below maybe we can help him pick a set to work on.

WANTS
[/b]1. Has to be a Pre-War Set or pre-1950 will say.
2. Cards are in Mid-Value Range(Set prices similar to t-205)
3. A smaller Set would be better but is fine if its not
4. Has to be BASEBALL (DUH???)

So fellas list some sets he could go after. I may help him with doing the set with him or even have a race to see who can complete one first. Thanks for the help. We need more collectors so lets try to drag another one into our sick addiction.

My suggestion for your friend would be to eventually pursue a caramel (E card) set. They are fairly easy to find with some effort (but not super common either), the sets are usually manageable in size (25-50 cards on average), and most tend to be relatively affordable. Especially with the economy the way it is now, caramels seem to have really dropped in price, making it a good time to hunt for them.

Here are a few suggestions:

E96 Philadelphia Caramel: 30 cards. No Wagner, Matty, or Cobb to worry about spending thousands on. Attractive cards, among the easier caramel sets to complete. No big rarities. You can find lower grade non-HOFers in the $50-75 range.

E90-2 American Caramel: only 11 cards. All Pirates. Three background colors (Red, Green, Blue). One very expensive card (Wagner) and one semi-expensive one (Clarke). The remainder can be found in low grade for $100 or less. Tougher than E93/E96 but not too tough. Neat little set, and when that's done, you can tackle E90-3 which is a similar Cubs only set.

E93 Standard Caramel: 30 cards. Easy to find, but has some pricier cards in it, including Wagner, Cobb, Matty. Great player selection; chalk full of HOFers...18/30 cards feature hall of famers!

E90-1 American Caramel: 118 cards. Along with E107 (which is an insanely tough set) this is the caramel "monster". Very interesting set with many intricacies and a handful of tough cards (Mitchell, Walsh, Duffy, Graham, Speaker, Stahl, etc), big $ cards (Joe Jackson's first major league card) and many beautiful colorful cards too. This one is probably for more advanced collectors. Contains all the major HOFers of the day, sometimes several variations of the same HOFer (Wagner has two poses, as does Keeler and Joss).


I'll stop there. My last suggestion would have been E95. I'm sure others will have useful suggestions as well. If I had to pick one for a prewar noobie to get started on, I'd go E96. But before committing to a set, I'd recommend picking up low grade examples from several sets and deciding first hand which one you like the most. Better not to jump into a commitment like that without having some first hand experience with the cards.

A good set to cut your teeth on is the t201 set. No rare cards although people will tell you Daugherty/Lord is tough, but it's not. Nothing real expensive either. The Cobb, Mathewson, Johnson, etc don't get the crazy prices they get in other sets. This mainly due to the fact that for some of the HOFers, like Cobb, the card has to be folded in half to see the whole figure.

You could also do a low number Diamond Stars set. You really don't need the high numbers since all of the players are already in the low numbers.

t201 all the way!!! 50 cards 100 players full of hofers fairly cheap easy to find... good luck BOB

Personally, I would choose one of these American Caramel sets from the 1920s - E120, E121/80, E210/120, or E126 - depending how large a set one wants to tackle. I say this because I prefer cards with real photos, and I am not adverse to b & w cards. However, each of these sets includes Ruth & Cobb cards, which runs up the cost.
Val

I like the T202 Set, Sizable set but undervalued and beautiful Cards IMO

I agree with the T202 set, great looking set and with patience can be got at reasonable prices. Heck you can get decent looking Cobbs for under $500.

Lee

thanks guys ill see what he likes

I agree with everything above except with my good friend Val. The 1920s caramel sets are too large and contain Ruth and other big names. And the E126 set is just too darn hard to complete.

T201 or E96 are great starters and can be easily obtained piece by piece.

Sorry Val, you selected great sets but not easy completions.

i think he may do the E96 which cuz its 30 cards no big name players and fairly priced. I think im going along for the ride with him. So thanks guys and he said if this goes well and he likes it he may sink his teeth into the t201 set.

It will be tough for me to do the 3 sets all at once but ill at least attempt the E96 if its only 30 cards. The t205 isnt that easy as I thought it would be but still fun and entertaining as all. I have since say about a month and a half ago i have 36 in hand of the 208 Not to shabby

Good call. You can find some pretty good bargains on E96's these days if you're patient. Check out this decent looking low grade E96 Jennings that sold on ebay for a mere 50 bones. Not bad at all for a HOFer.