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My laziness finally conquered - scans of my T-68 set are up

joker73joker73 Posts: 497 ✭
in PSA Set Registry Forum
About a year ago, I solicited suggestions for an older, non-sports set to collect - preferably one that had a historical bent to it. I decided to go with the T-68 set, which is a 100 card set made up of 2 50-card series: Heroes of History and Men of History. The first series was released late in 1910, followed by the second series in 1911. The artwork is beautiful and the mini-biographies on the back are quite interesting (and amusing at times). Spurred on by the thread last week about registry scans, I finally set aside time over the weekend to scan them all in (front and back), so, for your viewing pleasure:

My T-68 set

On a related note, if anyone knows where I might be able to track down nice raw copies of cards from either series (PSA 5-7 quality), please let me know! These things are really hard to track down, especially in decent shape, even though the few hobby references I've seen on the set claim the cards are fairly common. Aside from Bob Marcy (who's been great in helping me make progress on the set), I've had trouble locating nice raw cards. My goal is to complete the set by summertime ... thanks!

Robert

P.S. I have 8 extras if anyone wants to join the fun and start the set ... PM/email me for details image.

Comments

  • dbj77dbj77 Posts: 499
    Man, that's a sweet set. Nice job!
  • bongobellbongobell Posts: 38
    Hey Robert,
    Great looking set of cards, thanks for sharing them with us. I personally think one of the best innovations for the hobby in general is the non-sports section of the set registry. Whilst I now concentrate mainly on sports cards I do have quite a few interesting non-sports sets which I plan to grade gradually over a period of time.
    I do see a few T68 cards here in the UK from time to time and will see if I can find any you need in decent shape.
    Good luck with your set,
    Nick
    UK based card nut currently working on several sports & non sports sets on the psa registry.
    ebay id: bongobell
  • jimtbjimtb Posts: 704 ✭✭
    Those are beautiful cards! great artwork. Nice jobs on the scans! Wouldn't it be nice if everyone scanned their sets? (my lazy self included)
    Collecting all graded Alan Trammell graded cards as well as graded 1984 Topps, Donruss, and Fleer Detroit Tigers
    image
  • AlanAllenAlanAllen Posts: 1,530 ✭✭✭
    Very cool. I just love those pre-WWI German inks.

    Joe
    No such details will spoil my plans...
  • spacktrackspacktrack Posts: 1,084 ✭✭
    Great looking cards! What are you looking at cost wise for some of these? Is an inexpensive set to complete or does the scarcity drive prices?
  • GriffinsGriffins Posts: 6,076 ✭✭✭
    What a cool set! thanks for sharing.

    Always looking for Topps Salesman Samples, pre '51 unopened packs, E90-2, E91a, N690 Kalamazoo Bats, and T204 Square Frame Ramly's

  • robstarrobstar Posts: 262 ✭
    Those are beautiful cards. The colour and artwork are simply incredible. I have a real appreciation for the non-sports sets. I'm considering starting one myself.
    The scans you put up are outstanding, I checked out most of them and Napoleon is my favorite (what a face image )

    Thanks for sharing this set and for your efforts with the scans.

    Rob...
    Collecting PSA Vintage Hockey
  • joker73joker73 Posts: 497 ✭
    You know, the issue of cost/value has been tricky for me. In fact, tracking down any information about the set has been challenging. The set is listed in the Forbes/Mitchell guide, and that write-up, along with an out-of-print article I tracked down from an early 90s non-sports magazine, filled in some info for me about backs, scarcity, etc. At least one of those pieces claimed the cards were fairly common, and gave a value of $5-$10 per card. On top of that, when I first started the set, the total graded population across both sets was only around 100 cards total.

    After about a year of collecting this set, here are my current observations. When the cards come up for auction, they tend to be in lots (rather than singles). My average purchase price for raw cards is around $2 to $3, and nearly all of my self-submissions were during the $5 non-sports special. About 1/2 of the cards in the set were self-submitted, so my overall average cost for most of the cards in the set is about $10. On the other hand, the other major submitter of these cards auctioned off a bunch a few months ago, and they sold for anywhere from $16 to $57. Condition played less of a role in price - the key was who was on the card. Presidents and Civil War figures tend to sell much higher than other cards in the set (for example, a PSA 4 Washington sold for $45, while a PSA 5 Alexander the Great only sold for $31).

    Just as with any set, I think the lack of much current demand keeps prices relatively low (though I'm guessing fairly volatile). The challenge is that, even after my submissions, less than 200 graded cards from this set exist (and some cards still have no graded examples). Most of my cards came from one lot I lucked out on (my first purchase actually), because it was a huge cheap lot in great shape (nearly all the 7s and 6s I have came from that lot). Everything since then has been in lesser condition (really nice for a 94 year old historical set, but not worth grading). If in fact there is are a ton of these cards out there, then this should remain a nice affordable set. But if, as I'm starting to suspect more and more, supply has been assumed to be larger than it is, prices for higher grade copies in particular should see steady growth. Who knows, maybe one day there will be enough data to include the set in the SMR image.

    Robert

    P.S. Nick - thanks for keeping an eye out for me across the pond!

    P.P.S. Thanks for all the kind words - the Registry has really revolutionized set collecting in letting you share with others so easily ...
  • SUPERPUNK813SUPERPUNK813 Posts: 351 ✭
    Thats a very cool looking set! Ive thought many times of starting a prewar non-sports set but i never have. My favorite non-sports set is the 1888 Allen & Ginter Pirates of the Spanish Main set and i may start one after i finnish the football sets im working on.


    Paul.
    Check out my new web site: Monsters of the Gridiron
  • yawie99yawie99 Posts: 2,575 ✭✭✭
    Cool cards! Thanks for sharing them.
    imageimageimageimageimageimage
  • aconteaconte Posts: 2,053 ✭✭✭
    too sweet!

    aconte
  • 1420sports1420sports Posts: 3,473 ✭✭✭
    I remember when you told me that you were starting the set, and I now I see why - very cool image

    Congrats and good luck on adding more.
    collecting various PSA and SGC cards
  • VirtualizardVirtualizard Posts: 1,936 ✭✭
    Robert,

    Thanks for sharing. I am doing a similar set (T218 Champions) and I have observed many of the same things that you pointed out with my set. This is the first set that I've attempted to complete where most of the cards will come from my own submissions. I've found that it is much more enjoyable to collect this way than just picking up graded examples on ebay (even though they rarely come up). It feels more "personal" when you know that the majority of your set has been completed this way, especially when you own the highest graded examples of many cards in a set that is nearly 100 years old! image

    The scans just make it that much better! image

    I include scans of every card in every set that I collect (front and back). I can't imagine having a set on the registry that didn't include scans. Without them, it's basically just a bunch of numbers. Who wants to look at that?

    Thanks again for the effort. It is appreciated.

    JEB.
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