color sets to recommend?

Hello. I have been reading this website for a few weeks but just registered today. Very nice site!

I am still pretty new to pre-war cards. I bought my first one on ebay almost 6 months ago. It's a t206 John McGraw portrait and I love it even though it has some creases on the corners. Since then I've been trying to get more t206 hall of famer cards. I like getting the great players on a tobacco card and then looking up their stats on the net.

I wanted to ask something to the experts. Since I like the color cards (not a big fan of black and white cards) what other sets do you recommend I look into? I like the big names but probably can't afford to pay more than $50-$60 per card right now. I don't mind getting them in rough shape. I have been looking at some of the caramel cards and they are real nice but kind of pricey.

Thank you,
Aron

Welcome aboard and hope that you will be very comfortable here.


I have always liked the M116 Sporting Life set. Its not a tobacco card but they are all portrait cards with all the stars of the time.

some people say they don't like the colors (pastel and Bluebackgrounds) but i think that the pastels are actually different on most cards.

Also, the prices seem to be reasonable.

Mark

Hello Aron
Let me first say, welcome to Full Count VBCF.

You might want to look at the T201 set. It's a 50 card set with 2 players on each card. There are alot of Hofers in the set. You should be able to acquire some presentable slightly off condition Hofers for under $100.00.

You are right, caramel card Hofers would be more than you want to spend even in lower grades.

All the best
Jerry

Welcome aboard Aron!

If colorful cards are what you are looking for, you should check out the T212 Obak sets. They are tobacco sets that feature players from the Pacific Coast League and Northwestern League. There aren't a whole lot of HOFers since these are minor leagues from the time, but the images are spectacular.

Thanks,

AndyH

Hi Aron,

I like Jerry's recommendation of T201. It's how I started into vintage years ago and remains a fun set to play with. The cards are (relatively) inexpensive, and with a little effort and a reasonable budget, you can actually complete it.

Caramel cards from are fun to collect since the sets generally are smaller (25-50 cards) and most of the sets include a good percentage of Hall of Fame players. In recent years caramel cards have gotten very expensive, but there are still a few sets that are easier such as E93, E95 and E92 Dockmans and these are less expensive than other caramel sets.

save up for a few months and buy some T3's. Nothing shows off color like those!!!

Do you like players from the 1930s? If so, there are some nice colorful 1930 sets and they look good in any grade IMO. Here are some.

Oh man you guys where do I start. I'm excited because these cards are all so nice.

I really like that turkey red card. How big is it? And how much do those normally go for in crappy condition? I bet they are a fortune. I don't have a mathewson card yet so maybe some day.

I've seen the t201's, sporting lifes, and goudeys. Those are nice too. I haven't heard of some of the other sets like obaks but I will definately try to learn more about them. I am going to google them this weekend and will see what I can find.

Thank you all for your help!

T3's are big... 5¾ x 8" and make great display cards. Low condition commons you can get in the $125-$200 range. Bargains are out there too, two HOFer's (Bender & Waddell) just sold on ebay for around $200 each.

some I used to own...

If you like colotful, it doesn't get much more colorful than the t205 set. Plus, you get a bio and stats on the back. The bios are great reading as you can read what people thought about the player back then and what history thinks of them. The mainstream sets from the 30s are great too. Diamond Stars are my personal favorite.

Jay

I second Jay's motion on choosing T205's. Iv'e considered attempting the set myself since finishing the E90-1 American Caramel set,
just haven't got around to it. The color's you'll see in the T205 set is in my opinion unmatched with any other T & E set you'll find.
A close second are the T3 Turkey Reds but they're kind of in a class of there own.
Can't go wrong with either one.

Tony

t3s are going to be out the price range he looking to work with, especially when it comes to HOFers. They are spendy.

Jay

I third the motion on t205s
T201s are a good, inexpensive option too.
But t205s are the goods.

The guy ask for recomendations in the 50-60 dollar range for hofers and he's being showed T3 Cobbs & PSA 8 Goudeys. I don't think thats in his budget.

Aron if you are patient you can find good buys on hofers.

I got the Griffith for less than 50.00 and the Walsh was 72.00

Welcome Aboard Aron,

I have to recommend the T205 and T202 sets, both are attractive sets with right ups on the back and can still be had at reasonable prices. As most know T202s are my favorite, you get 2 players and a nice center panel action photo with coll write ups on the back. You can get commons that are presentable for the $20-$25 range, I would just make sure the back is clean so you can read all the writeup.

Let us know what you decide I am sure some of us can help with your purchases.

Lee

I think Lee was drunk when you made that post. Guess that's the price of working for a beer distributor

Jay

I just used those T3's as examples of how great T3's look in general... he can find low grade T3's in the $150-200 range which is close to his budget, just buy less cards.

I agree with Gil, Tony, and Jay. T205's have very distinctive gold borders. You can get a good common for 40-50$. I recomend them.
gfg.com

Bicem wrote:I just used those T3's as examples of how great T3's look in general... he can find low grade T3's in the $150-200 range which is close to his budget, just buy less cards.

Not to be rude, but people have budgets for a reason. If someone's budget is $50 per card, $150-200 per card is a HUGE. Budgets are usually set so that you can keep buying a few cards every week or so. It's a rare collector that has, or is willing to have a small collection. Most people want to have some sort of sense that they are making progress towards a goal. Increasing your the cost percard 3 or 4 fold and having buy fewer cards just doesn't work for most people.

It sucks when I make decisions to buy an expensive card because it means going months without being able to buy a card.

Jay

gotcha Jay, just throwing out some other options.

Vg/ex cards do look great, in general. But a fellow on a budget may not be able to afford those, and the ones which he can afford may seem less desireable.



Images courtesy of BowlingShoeGiverOuterGuy.

I agree with others if you're looking for deadball players. The T205 and T202 are best or coolest, IMO. Some don't like the multiplayer aspect of T202, which kind of applies to T201 too, so if you're one of those every guy has to have his own card collectors, then the T205s are the most colorful choice, I believe.

Still, T205s are portraits, and if you like the different poses, they may not work for you. I think King had some excellent ideas in the Diamond Stars and Goudeys--different players but just as many great ones--plus the art deco look of those Diamond Stars really makes them stand out.

I personally like the Cracker Jack cards, but they're mostly red. Funny, I really don't like the US Caramels much, and they're mostly red too. Without meaning to incite a riot, I'm not much into the color caramel cards, other than e90-1. Obaks are great as far as the art and color go, but the minor league player selection won't wow you.

Lots of good choices out there--and you can always change gears if something isn;t working for you---as everyone here will attest.

Todd, I'm like you on the CJ/US Caramel opinion. I think we probably think that way because the image quality of the player is much better on CJs and you better variaety of poses.

Jay

if you're on a budget nothing wrong with t206s at all...you can do a subset. cheap hof'ers can be had and they're colorful with cool poses...like the lajoie w/bat or the waddell throwing. i would recommend e cards but they're pricey and the hof'ers run you at the very least $100+.