Ryan

I am thrilled to report that I have finally completed the 1971 Topps baseball set. It's one of my all-time favorite designs.

The #MNTwins have major issues with their defense and their bullpen. No hiding it.

@Phairwarning Lol. I like the coins, I have some, but I'm not going to go for the master set.

@TxRyanCards You need the 71 master set - coins and scratch off game also ;)

I am thrilled to report that I have finally completed the 1971 Topps baseball set. It's one of my all-time favorite designs.

@CraigMilburn5 Many years. I can't actually recall when I decided I was going to commit to building the entire set.

@TxRyanCards How long did it take you to complete the 1971 set?

@Brian_Chovanec I think so. At least until they annoyingly started simulating high number short prints in modem releases.

@TxRyanCards Is 1973 the final year that high number limited print were a thing?

@hgomez27 Nice to see Eloy Jiménez back in the MLB. Seemed like he had so much potential when he came up with the White Sox.

Promedios al bate de los dominicanos en esta temporada: - Jorge Mateo ATL .368* - Leody Taveras BAL .368* - José Tena WSH .364* - Juan Soto NYM .355* - Otto López MIA .342 - Miguel Andújar SDP .341* - Eloy Jiménez TOR .333* - Vladimir Guerrero Jr. TOR .315 - Oneil Cruz PIT .302 - Luis Campusano SDO .300* - Ezequiel Durán TEX .289 - Ramón Laureano SDP .288 - Deyvison De Los Santos MIA .286 - Ángel Martínez CLE .279 - Teóscar Hernández TOR .273 - Elly De La Cruz CIN .265 - Jesús Sánchez TOR .262 - Willy Adames SFG .262 - Amed Rosario NYY .262 - Jeremy Peña HOU .256 - Fernando Tatis Jr. SDO .253 - Junior Caminero TBR .250 - José Fermín STL .250 - Jerar Encarnación SFG .250 - Ronny Mauricio NYM .250 - Gary Sánchez MIL .237 - Agustín Ramírez MIA .233 - Luis García Jr. WSH .231 - Víctor Robles SEA .231 - Geraldo Perdomo ARI .229 - Ketel Marte ARI .215 - José Ramírez CLE .215 - Rafael Devers SFG .212 - Julio Rodríguez SEA .205 - Starling Marte KCR .200 - Manny Machado SDP .197 - Yainer Díaz HOU .186 - Marcell Ozuna PIT .185 - Austin Wells NYY .184 - Jorge Polanco NYM .179 - Nasim Núñez WSH .177 - Juan Brito CLE .176 - Santiago Espinal LAD .143 - Samuel Basallo BAL .140 - Noelvi Marte CIN .138 - Heriberto Hernández MIA .137 - Jeimer Candelario LAA .111 - Carlos Santana ARI .083 - Wenceel Pérez DET .045 *Nominal

@SilverMoonShot7 My Reggie is upgrade eligible because I don't like the centering. But it's a great photo of him. Also featured on this page is HOF RC of Bert Blyleven, along with his future battery mate Phil Roof.

@TxRyanCards Reggie!

@MikeBilleci Many, many years.

@TxRyanCards @CardPurchaser Nice! How long did it take?

@argent_631 In general, I very much dislike landscape cards. But this one had to be that way and is probably my favorite card in the set.

@TxRyanCards I recall the Munson card as being the first sideways regular card I ever saw.

@Brian_Chovanec I found that buying high number LOTs worked best. While a LOT can seem expensive, the per card cost was better than buying one at a time. However, there are SP high numbers that are rarely found in lots.

@TxRyanCards How difficult was it to get all the high number common cards? I’m working on sets from the late 70s but curious how much extra lift the different high number releases create if I ever choose to start pursuing early 70s sets.

@AK8mile Some of the High Numbers are definitely the most difficult. Particularly the Dusty Baker / Don Baylor RC, also Dick Allen, the iconic Munson, Ryan, Mays, Clemente, and Aaron.

@TxRyanCards Was it hard to? What are the tougher ones

@gil_hodges14 @baseballbart88 I once pulled a 1971 OPC Pete Rose out of a box of 2009 UD OPC (yes, they inserted OPC originals in that product). Gorgeous card, I should have kept it, but I ended up selling that one.

@baseballbart88 @TxRyanCards Really like the 71 OPC back

@ibedawn Here are some of the keys. The Clemente has a rough corner, but it presents well I think.

I love the Roberto Clemente from that set!!! (The Nolan Ryan is a tough card to find from that set!)

@EminemAndMnMs Carew is really nice because I'm a Twins collector. I have a separate 1971 Twins team set that is NM+, so this was one of my duplicates.

@TxRyanCards How's your Carew

@GigEmJD Yeah, I was lenient on the edges/corners and focused more on well- centered cards with vibrant color and focus. Tough set to be sure.

@TxRyanCards Great looking cards. 👍Most of the ones I see are rough thanks to the black borders.

@AKParlayAllDay @CardPurchaser I've been slow rolling 1961 Topps for years as well, down to needing just 24 cards. I'm also at 91% of 1973 and about 2/3 of both 1969 and 1972. Vintage is the way to go these days.

@TxRyanCards @CardPurchaser Congratulations! Glad to see this in a binder and not sitting in a box. This is how it’s done. What’s next?

@soflaSluggo @PostWarCards No doubt. I was aiming for mid-grade with nice centering. No beaters, writing, or creases. I had to be lenient on edges and corners.

@TxRyanCards @PostWarCards Great job. Tough set to find in decent condition

@KardHoarder @CardPurchaser Many years. I wasn't too aggressive, just sort of picking them up a few at a time whenever I found good deals.

@TxRyanCards @CardPurchaser Congratulations! Great looking cards. How long did it take?

@DubMentality @BigShepsCards You nailed it. Everyone knows that buying singles is the best for (1) getting what you want and (2) getting value for your $, there is no need for anyone to preach this. The point is... we miss the joy of ripping our own box/packs. A joy that doesn't exist in the hobby today.

I went in to the shop today with the mindset that I was going to splurge on a box for the first time in a long time. I didn’t put any restrictions on myself. They had a lot of boxes. I bought $225 in singles and left. Cheaper than any box they had on the shelf. Hank Aaron, Roy Campanella, and Ernie Banks among the vintage I got. But I do like the excitement of ripping. Just can’t justify it. It’s not the budget, it’s the product value. Just crazy.

Over the past 3 years it’s better to just buy the singles you want rather than buying any wax, even retail You get exactly what you want, your money grows farther & you pay the current market price You’re collection will be deeper & you won’t have that sick feeling you lost $

Buying boxes is almost dead for the average collector. I get that high end boxes and chrome are expensive. But Archives and Allen & Ginter are NOT $200+ boxes……