Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Largest T206 Collection Now on Display

There are 5,257 known possible card combinations in the full T206 set. Combinations consist of players, poses, and advertisers on the card backs. I have approximately 20!

Card collector, David Hall, has a collection of over 5,000 of these combinations, the largest collection known. The collection is estimated to be worth over $10 million.

Later this week, a few of the rarest cards in the $10 million collection will be on display at the Long Beach Expo.

Hall, the President of Collectors Universe, began attacking the T206 set with a vengeance just nine years ago, chasing not only each of the more than 500 subjects in the famous tobacco issue, but each of the different advertising backs.  No other collector as assembled even 3,000 different. 

 . . . . .
The collection includes 55 Ty Cobb cards (out of 57 possible), all 31 Walter Johnson possibilities, 40 out of 41 Christy Mathewson, 38 out of a possible 39 Cy Young cards and two of the four possible rare Eddie Plank variations.

“I was an animal about this,” he joked.  “The dealers found out and would offer me cards. I advertised to buy and would go to the National and look at everyone’s cards.  Everyone knew.  I had a bit of a target on my back.”
 . . . . .

Hall said he’s hoping that the Expo will give collectors a chance to learn “how much fun T206s are” even if you don’t have the disposable income to build a collection like his. His advice?  “Do your homework and buy what you like,” he stated. “With the internet, prices are pretty transparent now.  Don’t buy what someone else tells you to buy. Just buy what you enjoy.”

Hall says he's close to being done and putting the collection up for sale since adding to it is nearly impossible now. At least it's a hobby where you can retain some value, not all wasted money, which is nice. That's what I tell my wife anyway.

You can read the full article here.


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