Breaking up is hard to do

For a short time I wondered which vintage set I would complete first: 1956 Topps, or 1961 Golden Press. 

This set was never a priority, just something I've been plugging away at, bit by bit, because I thought the cards were very appealing and undervalued. There was a chance I would complete this set first without trying too hard, because it's only 33 cards. Basically, Golden Press selected the 32 greatest players of the first half of the 20th century*, plus Manager John McGraw. 

*Ted Williams was not included, presumably because he'd just retired - or perhaps it was a licensing issue. 

Here's what I have as of today:

One more card would put me at exactly 2/3 completion. These are the cards I need:

Ruth, Gehrig, and DiMaggio??? Uggghhh. The only low-hanging fruit left is Baker. Or maybe Dean. 

As much as I love this set, priorities have shifted and collecting focus has narrowed as a result. 

I still plan to finish the 1956 Topps set. I'm about 40 cards away and a good chunk of those are team cards, league presidents, and the two checklists. All of the non-players (and most of the remaining players) are much more expensive that I realized, even in low grade. I could understand the checklist - most kids wrote on them or threw them out. I could understand Will Harridge, he's card #1. 

But why is the White Sox team card $50+, graded or ungraded?!?!

My collection is just about where I want it, in that I've sold or traded nearly everything that had more financial value than sentimental value. If I'm going to tackle those pesky team cards and miscellany, '61 Golden Press will have to go. 

I can put together another consignment order, ship it out to 4 Sharp corners, and have my money in time for Black Friday if I send them out this week. But which ones do I part with?

"Jimmy" Foxx is the only Red Sox single, so that's an easy choice for the 'keeper' pile. 

I've got a lot of Giants and Athletics, (obviously from before their Bay Area era.) Definitely want to keep one from each team. Carl Hubbell and Lefty Grove are Mint 9s, so they'll stay. Then it's a tough call between Nap Lajoie, Mickey Cochrane, and Al Simmons. 

The rest of the 9's - George Sisler, Charlie Gehringer, and Pie Traynor - should probably go in the 'sell' pile, since they're the best chance I have to make any decent money. But I might keep one of them. 

Rogers Hornsby and Walter Johnson are arguably the biggest names in my set build. If they were a grade higher I'd have to consider selling them, but I'll hold onto them for now. 

The catcher cards are nice, and I'm tempted to hold on to either Cochrane or Gabby Hartnett. Still haven't completely committed to collecting catchers though. 

After looking over the entire collection I've decided to sell 2/3 of my 2/3, which means these seven will stay:

 

Once the other fourteen sell, I'll split the funds evenly between Christmas gifts and '56 singles. 

There might be another surprise or two on the way before then ;)

Thanks for reading!



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