The Joy of a Completed Set - 1975 Topps

We interrupt the normal Trade Posts and Weekly Contest info to bring you a very special message.  I  have finally completed my 1975 Topps set!!!!!

It was a fun and somewhat epic journey for me completing one of the older sets in my collection.  As a kid I searched and scoured card shows to finish the final few cards in the 1959 and 1960 sets my dad handed down to me.  I also bought a complete 1974 set a couple years back but this was more of a collecting journey and I really enjoyed it.

I thought I would share a little bit of the process then show the final cards that brought me to the promised land of set completion.  The quest to start the set started with some serious eBay searching for a partial set.  Full sets were too rich for my blood but I was looking for a fairly large chunk to get started.  I ended up finding a lot of 528 different cards that happened to include 1 of the 2 big rookies - Robin Yount - for under $100.  I also had a few stars and Hall of Famers already in my collection.

Next I hit up my LCS and picked up a big batch of commons for a reasonable price - he prices many of the stars at or close to BV and I was hoping to be a little more economical.  I kept my eyes open for stars on Sportlots auction site and was able to pick some up including the Nolan Ryan card.  I got a few in the Topps Diamond Giveaway as well.  I had my eyes open continuously for a George Brett rookie at a good price in decent shape and finally found one for under $25 shipped.  I got several cards in trade from fellow bloggers which was very cool and finally went to an online retailer and picked up a batch of 22 cards to get me within what I thought was 8 cards.

One day I was frustrated at my lack of progress and decided to hit up Sportlots and/or Beckett.com for the final few cards.  A Ron Santo I had ordered never showed up so I searched for the final 9 and here they are:

The Fisk and Santo were the only 2 player cards I still needed and both were fairly affordable despite their HOF status.  I was looking for Checklists that were unmarked and scored the final 2.  The most expensive card left was this card featuring 2 MVPs and 2 iconic cards from the 1957 set.

I also needed 4 team cards and was able to score all 4 in pretty nice condition.  Once they were all in I was so excited.  I had them scanned quickly and started writing the post to announce the completion to the blogging community when I decided I needed to do a quick check to make sure my want list was complete.

To my severe disappointment I was missing 1 card.  It was a card that I knew I had at one point in my collection and it wasn't the cheapest card to get.  I searched through my box of vintage singles and it was nowhere to be found.  I recalled trading a copy of it thinking I had two but the reality was I had traded away my only copy.  In a fit of semi-depression I jumped on eBay, sorted by Buy It Now and lowest price + shipping, excluded a couple in awful condition and bought the real final card for my set:

The disappoint of having to get a second copy of this card was quickly gone once I had my hands on this card and knew that I had completed the set.  My 1975 Topps Set is complete!

Next up is the "newest" Topps set I need in my collection - 1973.  I picked up a starter lots several months back at an LCS and have been making minor purchases and trades for a while but this one now moves to the front of the pack.  With some incoming cards I currently need fewer that 200 to finish it off but many are the higher numbers.  Should be a fun quest!