1957 Topps Set Quest Update

I set some goals at the beginning of the year and the first goal was to do some work on my 1957 Topps set.  I really just started going after this set late last year when I picked up a few nice conditioned team cards at a local auction.  With some late in the year pick ups, I was down to needing 334 cards of the 407 card set on 1/1.  However, I decided to take a new approach to building this set and instead of trying to accumulate as many of the commons as possible to shorten the want list, I decided to try going after the bigger cards first.

I used the Beckett value as a guide knowing it wasn't accurate from a price perspective but generally reliable on which of the cards in the set are most valuable.  My want list included 30 cards with a book value of $100 or more and I decided I would shoot for 1 card per month for a total of 12 cards in 2019.  Since I stopped blogging during the middle of the year, I never did an update post on my goals and thought I would rectify that today.

This has been the goal I have spent the most time and money going after this year and I am happy to report that I have exceeded my goal and have picked up 14 cards from my want list so far this year.  I thought about breaking this up into multiple posts but who knows how long my blogging streak will continue so I will share them all today.  I have been keeping track of where I got them and how much I paid so I will share that with you as well.  Might give you an idea of what this set will cost if you decided to pursue it.

I have actually posted about two of the pickups:

1957 Topps Whitey Ford #25 - BV $160 purchased for $13.99 on eBay

1957 Topps Don Drysdale RC #18 - BV $500 purchased for $53.99 on Sportlots auction

The rest will go in the order I picked them up:

1957 Topps Dodgers Sluggers #400 - BV $240 purchased for $29.99 on COMC

1957 Topps Billy Martin #62 - BV $100 purchased for $20.25 on COMC

1957 Topps Warren Spahn #90 - BV $160 purchased for $15 on COMC

1957 Topps Larry Doby PSA 4 #85 - BV $100 purchased for $10 on Facebook

1957 Topps Richie Ashburn #70 - BV $160 purchased for 8.05 on COMC

1957 Topps Al Kaline #125 - BV $200 purchased for $25.65 on COMC

1957 Topps Eddie Mathews #250 - BV $120 purchased for $10.15 on COMC

1957 Topps Willie Mays PSA 3 #10 - BV $600 purchased for $70 at a local card show

1957 Topps Gil Hodges #80 - BV $100 purchased for $7 on Sportlots auction

1957 Topps Pee Wee Reese #30 - BV $160 purchased for $10.50 on Sportlots auction

1957 Topps Hank Aaron #20 - BV $600 purchased for $41.00 on Sportlots auction

1957 Topps Frank Robinson RC #35 - BV $600 purchased for $70 at CA LCS

 Overall I am pretty happy with each of my purchases and very surprised that I have made such great progress so far this year.  I still have biggies to get (Mantle, Yankee Power Hitters, Brooks RC, Clemente, Koufax and Ted Williams) but it has been nice to get a number of the higher dollar card off the want list.

I have picked up some commons but not a ton. As of right now I have 183 of 407 cards so my want list has shrunken from 334 to 224.  I feel confident this one will eventually be complete which is very exciting.  Perhaps my biggest question is which will be done first, 1957 Topps or 1972 Topps?

More Reject Pile Goodness

As I shared recently, I was able to pick up a decent chunk of the 1968 Topps Game insert set out of the reject pile at my LCS.  Most of the cards I picked up were the lesser players, basically most of the commons from the set.  I had pretty much decided to build the set but my trip the following week to the LCS solidified the pursuit.  I was able to pick up 9 more cards towards the 33 card set and this time the names were a little more famous and the players a lot more accomplished.  Here they are:

 Tommy Davis and Joe Torre are the only 2 players in this purchase that aren't HOFers and I would suspect Mr. Torre will make it as a manager quite soon.

 Here are a couple of pretty accomplished infielders.  I was surprised to see that Killebrew played almost as much 3B as he did 1B in his career.  For some reason he just seems like a 1B to me.

 Here are a couple of HOF outfielders, both spent time at 1B but are primarily known for their outfield prowess.

 The Robinson Bros from Baltimore both appear in this set and were part of this recent purchase.  The Frank is miscut quite a bit but if you look at the scans you will see that I am not super concerned about the condition of this set.

Finally the best pick up in my opinion. None other than Mr. 755 Hank Aaron.  During my recent trip to the Baseball HOF in Cooperstown I was able to go through the newer section of the museum dedicated to Mr. Aaron.  The display was under construction during my trip a couple years back and I was really happy to be able to enjoy it.

I am pretty happy with the progress on this set with 27 of the 33 cards.  The best part about this 9 card purchase from the reject pile?  The cards only cost me $3.25!  I have a want list for this set on my Set Want List Tab if you happen to have any for trade - I am working on a trade for a Mays right now.

Picking Up Some HOF Vintage

I couple posts ago I shared some finds from my LCS that I scored from the reject pile. The same LCS with that pile also has some nice bid board cards that I have been picking up. One of my targets has been vintage cards of HOFers.  I collect just about anything including an attempt to corral as many HOF Autograph cards as possible but this is an area that is fairly new to me.  I love baseball history and the cards are usually well priced so I am drawn to them.

With my set collecting, team collecting of the Giants and USC Football, and my numerous player collections there really isn't room to start a new side collection but I am going to continue to pick them up when the price is right. 

Here is a few that I have picked up over the last few weeks:

First up is a 1977 George Brett. This is about the most recent set I have been looking to pick up. I started collecting in 1979 but in the early 80s bought a 1978 vending box and built a set so this is really the newest set that pre-dates my collecting youth.  I have a few 70s sets but for some reason this set is my starting point when I think about picking up "vintage" cards.  Mr. 0.390 set me back $1.

This 1969 Joe Morgan was actually a reject pile purchase for a quarter.  As you can see it has a pretty significant crease and isn't in the best condition but I couldn't pass it up at that price.

 I already had this Gaylord Perry in my collection from 1968 but couldn't pass up another copy for $1.

This Frank Robinson set me back $3.  It is a little off center but overall in pretty nice space. It amazes me how different the borders are between cards in this set.  For s's and giggles I looked up the book value of this card and it is $30 - What a Bargain!

 This is the first of a quad of 1967 Topps cards.  This one features HOFer Lou Brock and the man credited my many for starting the fight for free agency Curt Flood. I have a move about Flood on my DVR and a book about him to read.  This card set me back $2.  I have been tempted many times through the years to go after all the vintage combo cards but never pulled the trigger.

 This very nice conditioned knucklerballer and former Giant Hoyt Wilhelm was $3. Kinda wish he was showcasing his knuckle grip.

 This Catfish Hunter was also $3.  I have several of his vintage cards. I am not sure why I am so drawn to him, might have something to do with the awesome A's uniforms.

The last of the 1967s is this Eddie Mathews card.  The Astros team name just looks wrong for this longtime Brave.  If I recall, his 500th HR came as a member of the Astros.  Again another $3 HOFer.

This final card to me was a very exciting find:

This is a 1957 Topps Robin Roberts. This card is in pretty nice shape and this is one of my favorite vintage sets.  This is another card that books for $30 and I picked it up for $5.

There was a lot of hassle, cost and frustration with the move but the combination of the swimming pool, a fairly enjoyable new job and a couple great LCSs has softened the blow.