Your top 5 pre-WW2 sets in terms of....

As you may have noticed, I'm big on the top 5 lists (John Cusak in "High Fidelity anyone?). Rank your top 5 sets in each of the following categories:

- Design
- Historical significance
- Value for dollar

Include some of your reasons why. Here are my rankings:

DESIGN

1. N162 Goodwin - the color and lithography simply cannot be beat.
2. T204 Ramly - love the ornate design, gold borders, and oval player portraits with an embossed gold frame.
3. T202 - not one of my favorite sets overall, but the three panel design with the stop action photography in the center panel is really unique. And the detailed writeup on the back is really well done.
4. E92 Dockman/Cocoa/Nadja - So many classic poses with great color and detail. The backs are also neat looking, especially the cocoas.
5. Cracker Jacks - Great design with the striking red backgrounds and player poses, nice creamy card stock, and great bios on the back.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

1. T206 - The set everyone knows about. Significance to the hobby as a whole more than anything else.
2. N172 - The original monster. Hundreds of players, thousands of poses, the possibilities are endless in the Old Judge set.
3. E107 - Bridge between the 19th and 20th centuries. First cards for loads of HOFers.
4. 1933 Goudey - Gotta have this one on here.
5. M101-4/5 - Ruth rookie, the quintessential set from the teens.

VALUE FOR DOLLAR

1. Nicer strip sets (W590, W575, W517, W502)
2. T206 - Great looking cards, great player selection, always available and affordable in collector grades.
3. T205 - ditto
4. Buchner Gold Coin - most don't like these but I think they look great and are among the more affordable 19th century issues.
5. Can't think of another. Everything is just so dang expensive these days!

DESIGN

1. N162 Goodwin - the color and lithography simply cannot be beat.
2. T205- I love the gaudey colors and design
3. T3 - Grea color, great pictures, great backgrounds
4. Diamond Stars - Love the art deco style
5. T204 Ramly - love the ornate design, gold borders, and oval player portraits with an embossed gold frame.


HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

1. T206 - THE set. Period
2. N172 - The first major set of baseball cards.
3. E107 - First set of the 20th century
4. 1933 Goudey - The first true gum set.
5. M101-4/5 - bridges the gap between the tobacco era and the gum era

VALUE FOR DOLLAR

If I told you I'd have to kill you so that you don't run up the prices on me.

DESIGN

1. N162 Goodwin-- as purdy as they get
2. T204 Ramly-- ornate, high brow pieces of art
3. T202-- if they didn't exist I'd put T205 here, but since they use pretty much the same pics, I prefer T202.
4. Delong- God I wish they would have made this set larger, like 100 cards.
5. Diamond Stars - whether the creativity was natural or the result of hallucinogens, these cards were ahead of their time.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

1. N172- A testament to the pioneers of the game.
2. T206- Covers the deadball era stars--early cards from the two leagues that still exist
3. M101-4/5- my personal fave. The beginning of the black and white photo action sets that would dominate for more than a decade, and with Ruth, Cobb, Shoeless and Honus. Yowser!!
4. 1933 Goudey- tribute to the kids of the Depression, captures another great era of ballplayers and the first large color gum set
5. T212 Obak- some love for the minor leaguers from a time when they were as important, or close to it, as the Big leaguers. Would not look out of place on the best designed list either.

VALUE FOR DOLLAR

Oh no you don't

nolemmings wrote:VALUE FOR DOLLAR
Oh no you don't

sabrjay wrote:VALUE FOR DOLLAR
If I told you I'd have to kill you so that you don't run up the prices on me.

I guess I shoulda known better huh?

DESIGN

1. N162 Goodwin - same reasons as everyone else
2. N142 Duke - beautiful large pictures...
3. S81 - Simple, with all the focus on the player
4. T202 - Innovative...
5. Cracker Jack - Love that red background!

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

1. T206 - the monster!
2. N172 - how would history have changed if these cards weren't made?
3. E107 - the real start of E cards.
4. 1933 Goudey - because...
5. Zeenut - 28 years of cards - gotta be significant

VALUE FOR DOLLAR

1. T206 - plentiful, but cheap!
2. T205 - still pretty cheap
3. E91 - going up, but not like the other E cards
4. B18 - even the stars aren't outrageous...
5. PSA 8, 9, & 10's - buy these so you don't have $ to buy the cards I want