My Collection Quest

Yesterday, I wrote about my intention to build the 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee Hockey set.

So, after declining that dealer’s offer for a set, sans-stars, I began my hunt for singles. Many were between 50 cents and $2. I also found 16 different W.H.A. cards for roughly $3 to $5 each (some were more, for obvious reasons).

I found 138 cards, giving me a total of 203 cards, which is 59% of the 340-card set.

Here are my favorite 10 cards from my set so far:

#137 – Tony Esposito (Chicago Blackhawks): Most dealers want $20 for this card. I found this one for $5.

#190- 2nd Series Check List: Yes, it is marked. But it was also only $5. This will do me good until I find a suitable replacement for not too much money.

#59 Guy Lafleur (Montreal Canadiens): A light crease (left of Guy’s head) resulted in a cost of only $10.

#129 – Bobby Orr (Boston Bruins): Probably the most expensive card in the set. But don’t worry–I paid less than low book for it 🙂

#58 – Bobby Orr on the Offensive (NHL Action): The other pricey Orr card.

#92 – Jacques Plante (Toronto Maple Leafs): His last card as an NHLer. Plante would retire for a year and then play one season in the W.H.A.

#340 – Gerry Cheevers (Cleveland Crusaders): The other pricey W.H.A. card in this set. I think this card may be either trimmed or a mis-cut, as it is 1/8″ of an inch shorter than my other cards in this set. But I could not pass it up for $10.

#76 – Phil Esposito Standing in the “Slot” (NHL Action): Brother vs. brother for the profit of another!

#253 – The Stanley Cup Trophy: Or “Le Coupe de Stanley” as it is known in Quebec.

Card #336 – Bobby Hull (Winnipeg Jets):  I love this card. Yes, you heard me. I LOVE this card, and I am not afraid to admit it. It is the most expensive W.H.A. card in the set, and it features a Chicago legend sporting an airbrushed jersey for a “rebel” team. So freakin’ cool.

Have you ever been on the fence as to whether you should buy a complete set or build it yourself? For sets from the 1980s and 1990s, it’s a no-brainer–buying a complete set will save you time and money.

But with older cards, it is not that simple. Complete sets of older cards are harder to find–and when you do find them, the dealer usually wants a premium because of the effort he has (supposedly) saved you.

Over the past few years, I’ve been causally picking away at the 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee Hockey set, accumulating 65 of the 340 cards. Most cost me $1, some a few more, but overall I did not invest much time or money.

In other words, I could still go either way. Or so I thought.

At the card show on March 16-18, an interesting opportunity presented itself. A dealer had a near-complete set of 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee cards–all near-mint or better. Really a top-notch set.

The drawback? All the big guns were missing. The dealer had acquired a collection, but the original owner put all the best cards in screw-down holders, and they were not included in the collection when the dealer bought it.

So, it was a near-complete set lacking Bobby Orr (both cards), Ken Dryden (both cards), Bobby Clarke, Guy Lafleur, Jacques Plante and all the other guys in the $40-and-up price range. (He did have the Bobby Hull WHA card, though).

Keep in mind that the Beckett value for this set is between $900 to $1,500.

What did you think the dealer wanted?

I probably would not find a set this close to complete or in this perfect of condition ever again.

But so what? All the best cards (except Hull) were missing. I’d still have to hunt down some cards–and they were the expensive ones.

The dealer wanted $1,000 for the near-complete set. Even if I talked him down to $800, I’d be paying a lot of money for a set that would still require lots of money to complete.

At that point, I decided that I would try and build this set myself.