Question for Player Master Collectors

ajw · May 22, 2004 10:49AM

I have learned an awful lot about rare and interesting cards while reading these boards over the past few months.

Some of the most interesting things have been from player master set collectors, as I never knew about the Venezuelan 1968s and Puerto Rico 1972s that the Ryan and Schmidt collectors are after.

So, if you are a master set collector for a player, what are the most interesting cards in the master set? Which cards do you really like? Which ones are you afraid you might never find? Which are the ones that are impossible to find in a good grade?

Share your stories...even if they might not be that interesting to you, they will be to me and many others...

sjeanblanc · May 22, 2004 11:29AM

Hi Ajw,

The way I looked at starting my Nolan Ryan set was to try and grab as many of the more expensive cards in Mint 9 as fast as possible. Then I looked for the main Topps, Donruss, and Fleer cards of the 80's in Gem Mint 10 or Mint 9. That left me with a mix of mid to late 80's and early 90's cards that I knew I could find inexpensive wax or sets of and do my own submissions for those.

A few cards have been and will continue to be problems, because they just don't show up very often in any grade or in Mint 9 condition. Among these are the OPC's and the Venezuelan issues for Nolan Ryan. OPC's before 1978 are very difficult to find in high grade, when they show themselves you have to be prepared to grab them, and dollars to doughnuts they don't come cheap. Some of the MSA disc's are also tough to find, let alone in high grade. Almost every player collector who has a player that played in the late 80's to 90's will also have to deal with low production run cards and inserts which can be a pain.

Collecting Nolan Ryan has been alot of fun, and a bit frustrating at times, but he was one of my dad's favorite pitchers and we actually got to see him pitch in California 1973. This collection is a tribute to my dad as he started it, the PSA 8 1968 Ryan rookie came from his cards, from a lot of about 50 cards that he had separated from the rest of his collection. One that his mother threw out when he was in college.

When my Nolan Ryan Master set is complete, I will put a dedication to my dad in the description, because if it wasn't for his patience and leadership I wouldn't be where I am today.

The Nolan Ryan saga continues....

Scott Jeanblanc
jeanblanc@iconnect.net
Ebay UserId : sjeanblanc
--------------------------------------------
Collecting Nolan Ryan cards (68-94)

speeder · May 22, 2004 11:30AM

i`m a johnny bench collector
I enjoy the test issue items and venezuelan issue cards. (1) they are hard to find. (2) they are hard to find in good condition.
my two tough issues to find are the 1973 topps comic and the 1968 kahns wieners (rc) .
my sweet finds were (1968 venezuelan topps (rc) psa-5), (1974 topps deckle edge psa-10), (1977 venezuelan league sticker psa-1)
(1973 topps candy lid psa-6) all of the cards that i have just listed are the highest graded cards in their category.
the 1974 deckle edge card was purchased on ebay for $48.00 (ungraded) he had it listed as just a 1974 topps. i had it about 2 yrs.
and then sent it in to psa, i was very happy with the results !! (1 of 3 psa-10s)
see registry link (plenty of scans)
your friend, lee

#1 ~ALL TIME FINEST~ JOHNNY BENCH MASTER SET

Mantlefan · May 22, 2004 11:31AM

In the Mantle Master set there are several very difficult cards. In addition to the obviously difficult Mantle rookies, the Stahl-Meyer cards from the 50's are mostly found in grades 1 or 2. The 59 Home Run Derby card is also very difficult. Throw in the Post Cereal, OPC and Venezualian issues and you've got one heck of a tough set.

ajw · May 22, 2004 11:38AM

Thanks, guys. Hopefully more collectors will share insights about their collections.

If you guys could share some pictures of the cards you mention, that would make it even better...as I have no idea what some of these cards even look like.

Thanks again...and don't be shy. Tell us about your great collections...you deserve to brag!

Bighurt4 · May 22, 2004 11:50AM

As a relatively (5 months) new set collector and someone that is putting together a huge set, I am going for bulk now. I will try to get rare and oddball items after I get as much of the regular issues graded and put in my set. As an example, I submitted about 40 Thomas', just the best looking ones I had. About 15 weren't even in the Master Set. While my completion percentage will rise, so will the total # of cards needed. I think it is safe to say this applies to most, if not all current/recent player sets.

Just the method of my madness,
Brent

CON40 · May 22, 2004 12:04PM

It's nice to read posts about what puts the fire in their belly regarding a certain player... for me, Ryan has been "the man" for over 20 years, and here in New England it was a lot of fun collecting his stuff because no one else wanted it! By the late 80s, I had all his Topps, Donruss, Fleer cards issued to date along with every oddball I could get my hands on (including an intact 1970 Transogram box!)...

Now, I love getting older, rare, oddball items like the tough MSA discs (love my PSA 9 Wiffle Ball disc!!) and things like the 1976 Laughlin Diamond Jubilee and the 1992 MooTown Snackers with tab (I pulled from a cheese bag back in the day!)... they may not be the most valuable, but they are a heck of alot of fun to look at, they bring me fond memories, and they are not easy to find now.

sjeanblanc · May 22, 2004 3:44PM

Here are some pictures of some of the harder to find Ryans in high grade.

onegaucho · May 22, 2004 11:50PM

For specific players, I really only collect Gwynns.

Some of the tougher ones from the master set are:

1984 Mother's Cookies
1984 Smokey the Bear Fire Safety issue
1985 7-11 Slurpee
1985 KAS Potato Chips
1985 Thom McAn

Tough high grades for any set include:
1983 OPC
1986 Topps (One just ended for $306!)

Here's my Gwynn master set - lmk if you can help!)

>> Edited to fix links

peterredshoes · May 23, 2004 4:50AM

My Trammell master set collecting is currently a project of raw cards, only, and most of his really tough oddballs have never been submitted. Either way, the toughest Trammell oddballs in my experience are as follows (listed in chronological order):

'85 Thom McAn
'87 7/11 Disc (anyone know why these seem to be tougher than other 7/11 issues?)
'90 U.S. Playing Cards Silver Edition
'92 Stadium Club Atlanta National Promo

There's probably other toughies I'm forgetting about--Jim can probably catch those. And of course the '78 Burger King issue is of considerable interest as his oldest solo card, though a bit easier to track down than these.

Peter G.

ajw · May 23, 2004 5:26AM

<< <i>My Trammell master set collecting is currently a project of raw cards, only, and most of his really tough oddballs have never been submitted. Either way, the toughest Trammell oddballs in my experience are as follows (listed in chronological order):

'90 U.S. Playing Cards Silver Edition

Peter G. >>

Peter, it's interesting that you mention the silver edition playing cards. I'm a Will Clark collector, and I agree that the silver set is tough. In fact, many collectors don't even know if its existance. I did come across two sets in a comic shop some time ago. I don't know if I still have them, but I should dig around for them sometime. It's an interesting set because it's pretty much impossible to tell the difference withouth holding the raw card. This is one case where getting a card graded and slabbed could be a bad idea, as you don't get to enjoy what it is that makes the card interesting.

Kid4hof03 · May 23, 2004 6:45AM

ajw,
I have collected Clark on and off for years, just pulled out my box of his cards last week to consider adding some more. Are you collecting his graded cards? Do you have raw extras you'd want to sell or trade? You can PM me if so.

As for the actual point of the thread. I collect Gary Carter. His most difficult items are 1976 and 1977 Red Path sugar packets. These have a photo and stats on the back side of a suger packet given out at a Montreal doughnut shop. I have only seen one, it was in a lot on ebay a few months ago. I set my snipe thinking that I'd be able to get it, but my $300 wasn't enough. Other than those, the 85 OPC mini's are kind of tough, but not legendary.

Pinchdatail · May 24, 2004 1:49PM

The toughest Maravich card that I can't seem to get anyone to part with is the 1972 Comspec #21.

'72 Comspec #21 Maravich

However, I just found out that Keds included a Maravich trading card in some of the boxes of his endorsed shoes. Never seen or heard of it before just recently, but it has to be pretty rare also.

Besides that, Dr. Bryant and the Museum of Sports History seem to have the greatest network of connections for the highest grade Maravich cards in existence. My only hope is that more than one PSA 10 comes available that they don't already have.

As for other oddball, non-gradeable stuff, I think I have almost everything out there. I do wish that PSA would grade Star cards!!!

Question for Player Master Collectors

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