Although I’m VERY new to this whole blogging thing (this is my first ever post), I am not new to collecting. I’ve been collecting for around 28 years, or roughly since I was 5. My collecting tastes have ranged from set building to player collecting to high end only and back again with wax busting mixed in over the past 15 years or so. I suppose it could be said that I have a card collectors equivalent of A.D.D. One thing that has never wavered though is the joy i feel when finding that last card to complete a set or picking up a beautiful auto or patch for my recently defunct Frank Thomas collection.
My two most recent conquests were finding the last couple of cards I need to complete a 2006 Ultimate Collection baseball set, including all the rookie autos. Although the base cards are numbered to a relatively common 799, it took the better part of 12 months for me to find who I needed at non-crack head prices, an Ichiro and a Kenji Jojihma. (if you need any, I’ve got about 200 extras!)
My other collecting smiley-face went to finishing a 2009 Topps Chrome football refractor master set. Lee Evans Chicle avoided me for approximately 8 months, but when I found him I was NOT letting go, paying roughly 6 time more than any other “common” I picked up from that set. This guy was numbered to only 100, so obviously a fairly tough find, even with COMC, The Bay and all the other sites available to us these days.
I’m sure if you asked 100 collectors what they’re “in to” as far as cards go, you’d probably get 90+ different answers. So let’s do exactly that…
What are you into?
Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw, Russell Martin, Ginter, Vintage, and a whole assortment of other players.
And patches. You can never go wrong with a good patch.
I have lived in Michigan my whole life. I am a Detroit sports collector (Tigers, Lions, Red Wings, and Pistons). I have a small collection of cards from guys that played at UofM and MSU. I also collect Kellogg’s 3-D cards, since Kellogg’s is based in Battle Creek, MI.
Recently, I started building sets. I am 5 cards away from completing the 2006 UD Artifacts Auto-Facts Signatures set.
Astros, ’78 Topps, Nolan Ryan and Allen & Ginter sets… all baseball, no other sports…
Hot Packs, Its like buying a guaranteed winning scratch off lottery ticket. As funds are at the moment, I have spent as little as $5, to as much as $250. The past month, I have made about 40 purchases, mostly at low prices on Mariano Rivera, the greatest and my fave player. Jersey cards, patch cards, autos, and again got a Rivera/PapleBLOWN double jersey card for $2.49, I thing an auto patch card was $79 with shipping. I change it up. Right now, have over 3000 signed personal checks up on the Bay, from $50,000 for a Ruth, even thought there are others for a 1/10 of that price, to one of my old time favorites, Oscar Gamble for $4!!!!! Change it up, and have fun, its worked for 35 years for me
Mostly Oakland A’s and Canadians ballplayers
Jim Thome (Indians uniform only !) all Cleveland Indians cards, Jim Abbott (any team) and sample cards.Not the ones marked “sample” ( although I do have a few of those).I try to get a sample of every set I can including base cards, parallels, inserts, relics and auto’s. I have about 5000 different cards so far from the 1930′s to 2011. Baseball only.
Yanks, A-Rod, Halladay, and sets I’m working on.
Jose Canseco only for baseball. I’m at like 1500 different cards maybe. I haven’t spent a ton on cards so I’m missing a lot of autos.
I also have a small post elway broncos QB card collection. I just pick up what I find at flea markets garage sales etc.
Donnie baseball, I have over 1500 mattingly cards not including doubles. Over 1000 jerry rice, around the same for the admiral, and marty brodeur.
I put a Topps set together every year for myself and my oldest son. I was doing Upper Deck for the youngest, not sure what will replace that this year, maybe Chrome. I also put together Yankee team sets, the “subsets” (league leaders, highlights, etc.), Guidry, Nettles, O’Neill, and Tino. Miss having more than one manufacturer, but it’s saving me a ton of money.
Icollect Nate Schierholtz, Matt Cain, and Giants hofers.
I’m closing up a binder on Walter Payton – over 400 different cards including his rookie and all of his original base cards. I also collect John Smoltz (my cousin roomed with him in college), Drew Brees (I went to school with him) and Jarrod Parker (I covered him in high school). I’m not afraid to add a Cubs HOF player to the collection, either!