For the past few months I've been trying to fill every last space in my boxes and binders with low-end base and insert cards. Many of my small Sportlots purchases have been assembled around picking up the last two or three cards I need to complete a set. In some cases (like 2023-24 Upper Deck hockey and 2018 Panini Classics football) I don't bother with the short-printed rookies. A complete base set will do.
These sets always seem to have a gremlin or two, and some singles arrive in such bad shape that I need to immediately order a replacement. That said, my full set building wantlist is once again under a dozen cards.
Not counting the 1956 Topps baseball set, that is. I consider this the Final Boss of my card collecting life. The latest addition is this Braves team card, purchased from the Baseball Card Exchange on eBay. My eBay sales - direct and through my California friend - are climbing back up to a level where I can cover these cards. I could have skipped the card show and just bought them with that cash, but where's the fun in that?
The journey to 75% completion is taking a few twists and turns. I actually sold a card, and tossed another in the discard pile - though technically it is still in my possession. My Jim Gilliam had a print line across the front, so I sold it along with some other slabbed singles. Probably a foolish move to upgrade now, years before the set is even complete. Regardless, I'm now at 73.5% completion.. or 73.1% completion.. or 73.97% completion. Let me explain.
There are 340 cards in the 1956 Topps set, plus two unnumbered checklists. I have two cards sitting in my COMC inventory yes, I still have to shop there, grrr.. and I still own the creased Frank Thomas card I mentioned in a previous post. Could I manipulate the numbers in such a way that it equals 75% completion?
Can't quite get there yet. Guess I'll stick to discarding the Thomas and counting only what's in my possession toward the 342-card set.
This set would be my magnum opus, and I've operated under the assumption that it would be my final set build. Perhaps the last card I need to complete the set will be the last card I ever purchase. Ever.
But... maybe not. Even though my budget has been streamlined and my collection space is nearly full, I have found ways to make room for a couple more boxes. And I'm getting the set building bug again.
But... maybe not. Even though my budget has been streamlined and my collection space is nearly full, I have found ways to make room for a couple more boxes. And I'm getting the set building bug again.
While I've lost interest in modern baseball, I definitely want to complete the 1994 Leaf set through boxes and packs. 2001 Donruss Studio is calling to me (I have complete sets of 2003 and '04 Studio) and I'm tempted to fill in gaps of Topps factory sets with missing years 1989 blecch and 1992.
There's no room for any basketball or hockey sets at the moment, but I moved some things around and put those new binders to use for my latest football set project:
Got a nice stack of 2023 Score base cards from Johnny and decided to complete the 300-card veterans portion only. But the rookie cards are so cheap that I might go for the full 400 card set. Bryce Young was $2 at the card show. A-Rich I refuse to call him AR15 was $1.25 on COMC. The others were 20 cents each on Sportlots.
Initially I thought that Josh Allen (the QB) and Justin Jefferson were the last two base cards I needed, but after purchasing those from a slow but cheap eBay seller I found that two more were missing: Russell Wilson and Darren Waller. Those two, along with a few more 2023 Draft Picks, are on the way via Sportlots. Just in time for the 2024 Draft!
Initially I thought that Josh Allen (the QB) and Justin Jefferson were the last two base cards I needed, but after purchasing those from a slow but cheap eBay seller I found that two more were missing: Russell Wilson and Darren Waller. Those two, along with a few more 2023 Draft Picks, are on the way via Sportlots. Just in time for the 2024 Draft!
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| So much for my tidy 12-card wantlist |
There's no chance that I'll finish 1956 Topps before I finish 2023 Score, but there is a chance that completing newer, cheaper sets rekindles my interest in building more sets. 1985 Topps (baseball or football)? 1993 Upper Deck (football or basketball)? 1983-84 O-Pee-Chee hockey?
Who knows, maybe the last set I complete will be the polar opposite of '56 Topps... like Pro Set:
Who knows, maybe the last set I complete will be the polar opposite of '56 Topps... like Pro Set:
Do you have a card collecting 'Final Boss' that would complete your collection enough to acquire and retire?
Thanks for reading!
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Total 56T count, 1 (Al Rosen) and I picked that one up this past weekend at a show. Slowly working my way through the 60s sets and saw it there and said, well, you can guess, and got my first one out of the way. 341 to go. But for a "Final Boss", IDK, I haven't reached that thought point yet I guess. Have so many sets working it's crazy as it is.
ReplyDeleteWow, I can't imagine having even close to 75% of something as old as '56 Topps! You always know best when it comes to how much you want to collect of something. I also love some of those Studio sets and 2001 looks amazing. I'm glad I'm not the only one who says "blecch" at the thought of '89 Topps. And I haven't completed any football sets as recent as '23 Score but considering all of the Wolverines that should get drafted this year I may try to put together (or buy) a complete set of something.
ReplyDeleteAs for your final question, I've largely moved on from set collecting to collecting players because like you I don't really care for most modern stuff, and buying unopened boxes/packs of the stuff I DO like (90s/early 2000s) is mostly out of the question now.
I don't have any intention of letting one set bringing my set collecting to an end. However if I somehow manage to finish 1967 Topps baseball, I'll consider it.
ReplyDeleteLOL! I consider it every year.
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ReplyDeleteI'm not building it... but maybe one day I'll start working on the 1956 Topps set too. Being my all-time favorite set... if I were to acquire and retire after any set... it would be that one.
ReplyDeleteI don't see retiring from collecting. The one set that would push me to it...don't think it exists. As soon as I completed the final set, I'd find something else to do.
ReplyDeletePfft. I keep discovering sets and finding the older stuff actually accessible. I doubt I'll ever stop. I do need to start weeding out some sets or batches that don't capture my attention, just for the sake of storage space.
ReplyDeleteNo specific card would end me collecting, there is always something more I want. However landing that elton john auto last year could have been my final boss
ReplyDeleteI was very close to being done with collecting around this time last year, but seem to have found a new lease since then. I'm enjoying it quite a bit right now, and for the time being can't really think of one thing that I could get that would be my collecting swan song.
ReplyDeleteNo final set for me. I plan to keep on accumulating in some form or fashion.
ReplyDeleteIf it means anything, I've been seeing discounted fat packs of Score at the Walmart.