Early Christmas - 1940 Play Ball set....DONE.

PlayBall

In the most recent Leland's auction, I was able to buy the one card that has alluded me for the past year, a Shoeless Joe Jackson PSA 7, which completed my set!

It has been annoying sitting at 99.58% for the past year, but I was waiting to get a nice one "at my price." Now that I have one, the wait was well worth it.

This was the first set I started collecting in PSA form in 1999, and I picked it because of the great diversity of HOFer's at a reasonable SMR price. Granted, it is not the most aesthetically pleasing set, but the aren't many pre-war sets out there with Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, and Jimmie Foxx in the same set with Shoeless Joe Jackson, Honus Wagner, and Christy Mathewson.

My GPA is not eye-catching at first glance, but when you look at the POP report for this set, it isn't so bad. There are a total of 774 PSA 8's, or an average of 3.2 per card. There are 23 with 0 PSA 8's, 43 with 1 PSA 8, and 38 with 2 PSA 8's, which makes upgrades a real challenge.

There is only person I can give major thanks to, and that is Sgt. Jim Filippello, who has traded, bought, and sold to me, and has been my main motivator. He doesn't contribute to the boards, but I know he reads them. Thanks also goes to Griffins. Anthony is the ONLY person who has initiated a deal with me to help me upgrade.

I am in the process of adding pictures of all the cards, but if you'd like to check it out, here it is...

1940 Play Ball - Bernie Carlen

Thanks for letting me share my excitement.

KING KELLOGG

Atta boy Bernie!!!

Great job!!!


Nice little gift for your holidays...





Larry

ZodiacMindwarp

Congratulations on a very impressive accomplishment. That's an excellent GPA when you see how few 9s exist. I would love to see what that 1 PSA 10 Ted Williams looks like.

Davalillo

Bernie,

Congratulations--completing a set like this is a tremendous aacomplishment. It is the essense of vintage card collecting. Hope to join you there sometime soon.

Jim

LuxuryWines

Bernie,

First of all congrats on building a great set. Most of these pre World War II sets are tough to complete in almost any grade. To have an extremly solid NM+ set is a great accomplishment...I have always thought some of the B&W issues from the 30's/40's are the most undervalued sets around.....

However, As someone who works on a lot of issues that are thinly graded like this I think you need to become more aggressive in chasing cards if your desire is to upgrade this set.

My first suggestion would be to post on the vintage trading board a list of cards you are looking to upgrade and the price you are willing to pay. The more aggressive you are with your pricing the more responses and opportunites you will get to buy the upgrades you desire. A lot of people who do not post read these boards. Some may have the cards you desire.. Just hoping someone see's your set and comes to you with the cards you want is like finding the proverbial needle in the haystack.... Sure it happens every so often but it involves a whole lot of luck.....

Second, If you take my advice on the above, make sure you have the cash to pay for the cards you ask for...

Third you have traded with #2 SGT JIm have you tried reaching out to trade with the people farther down the list?

Finally , watch who wins the EBAY auctions. Both raw and graded. These people may be your enemies when it comes to biding .... but they may have cards you need and vice versa...You can contact them through EBAY's ask a member a question form. Remember even the Yankees and the Red Sox have made a trade from time to time....


Again great set!!!! I love the black and white Stuff!!!!

Vargha

Congrats! Shoeless Joe is a cool card to have. I always preferred the photography on the '39s, but you have completed a tough set.

Griffins

Bernie-
Congrats on completing the set-I know how hard it is to finish one this old that is so big- thats why I took the easy route and went for '41's!
For anyone considering dealing with Bernie it was one of the easiest transactions I've had.
Now that you're "done" what are you on to next?

David-
Do you know if there was one photographer for the '39's, and was it George Burke (or is his name George Brace?). I always really liked the photography on that set.

Best wishes to everyone for the holidays- hope to meet many of you in Cleveland next summer.
Anthony

Tipem

Bernie,

Congratulations on a truly amazing accomplishment.Good luck on your next venture.

Vic

The53Kid

Bernie,

I think your completed GPA for this set is outstanding! Like Griffins, I really liked this set but decided to go after the 41's instead. A smaller set with a good following of collector's. And more readily available.

But I do watch the 1940's on a consistent basis and they are extremely tough to find. Very few 8's ever hit ebay. I've contemplated just trying for the 1940 PB HOF set, and just getting the stars. What a lineup on this set!

If I ever decide to part with my Doerr 8 I'll give you a call.

1940 Doerr

Congrats! Bruce

RayBShotz

Bernie,

Merry Christmas and a huge congratulations! Amazing Set!

Warm regards,

RayB69Topps

PlayBall

Thank you guys for the kind thoughts. I was able to lay the complete set out on the kitchen table yesterday, and what a great site. The nice thing about the black & whites is that it is hard to tell the difference between a PSA 5 and a PSA 8 from a few feet away. No print defects, deep vs. faded color, or snow to worry about.

Jim,

At the present, a PSA 8 set is not possible, so you may have to wait awhile. However, at the beginning of the year there were 32 without a PSA 8 example, and now there are 23. Maybe with time there will be a PSA 8 of every card. We can only hope.

Jeff,

Thank you for the advice. However, cash is usually the obstacle. I would love to be able to put wantlists out there to dealers, but I'm always afraid they'll actually find a big lot, and I won't be able to buy it. It would make me feel kinda foolish. But I'll definitely keep chuggin'.

1941er's,

The color and size does make the set more attractive and popular, but for me it just didn't have the star power. I prefer to collect sets with the most players that I am interested in, rather than sets that are usually regarded to have better eye-appeal. This is why I avoid 60's and 70's sets. The designs are much more attractive, but there is just too many players in those sets that I have no interest in. Maybe someday I'll start a 1939 and 1941 sets to have a nice little run.

Thanks again everyone, and may the New Year bring you all health and happiness.

Your collecting friend,
Bernie

theBobs

Congrats Bernie...

SUPERPUNK813

Bernie, I took a look at your set and it's awesome.........but then again any set with an SMR over $26k is awesome. Great set!


Paul.