My $500 Challenge

 

As I eye the final 50 cards to complete my 1972 set, I’ve been scouting prices online to see the damage. Everyone—including my dog—loves to warn me that those high numbers are "tough." I used to think "tough" meant they were rare and hard to find, but I’ve quickly realized that in the collector world, "tough" is just code for "expensive."  I get it, many of these are supposed to be short prints but there’s no shortage of the cards I need; the only thing "tough" about them is the price tag.

If you eyeball the list below, you'll see what I mean.  36 of the 50 cards are high numbers!  So I'm issuing a challenge to myself to see if $500 will complete this set.

When you think a $10 avg per card should be enough, well think again.  Three of those high numbers are Frank Robinson, Joe Morgan and Bobby Bonds.  Have you seen what a decent card of Joe Morgan sells for nowadays?  Its difficult to find a decent rookie card of Tom Hutton/John Milner/Rick Miller (card 741) for under $20.  And it's a good thing that Thurman Munson isn't considered a high number.  

And I'm not talking about buying graded cards.

So if 3 of those high numbers set me back $40 each, and the other 32 high numbers I somehow land for $10 apiece that leaves me $60 for the rest, which should be doable.

So will $500 be enough?  Boy this could be tough.

I will publish updates as this challenge progresses.  Let the hunt begin!