There are hundreds if not thousands of pre-war baseball card sets for collectors to complete, some fairly common and rather easy to assemble while others, especially some issues where the exact series checklist is in question, are virtually impossible. But one universally accepted notion to advanced hobbyists is that completing a T206 set (minus the "big four" of Wagner, Plank, and the Magie and Doyle variations) is the ultimate achievement in the hobby. Like climbers trying to reach the summit of Mt. Everest, many have given it their all but it's the expansive T206 set that has recorded far more wins than losses, which is why it is respectfully known as "the monster" within baseball card circles. Offered over a three-year period with multiple player poses and a total of 15 different ad-backs (not including the Ty Cobb with Cobb reverse or even the different factory variations), the chances of completing a set during the time period were virtually non-existent. But out of the many defeats emerges a victor, as presented in this incredible assemblage that ranks #12 on the PSA Set Registry and carries a set rating of 4.386. Although loaded with a cavalcade of Hall of Famers, this T206 set is paced by the quartet of Ty Cobb cards (portrait red PSA 5, portrait green PSA 3, bat on shoulder PSA 4, bat off shoulder PSA 3.5), two Walter Johnson cards (portrait and hands at chest both PSA 5), a trio of Christy Mathewson cards (portrait PSA 4, dark cap PSA 5, and white cap PSA 4), and three Cy Young cards (portrait PSA 5, bare hand shows PSA 4.5, and glove shows PSA 4) with the difficult variations of Bill O'Hara (St.Louis) graded PSA 2 and Ray Demmitt (St. Louis) graded PSA 3.5. The rest of the set is as follows: PSA 6.5 (one card) - Bay. PSA 6 (35 cards) with Eddie Collins. PSA 5.5 (6 cards) with Crawford (throwing) and Tinker (bat on shoulder). PSA 5 (217 cards) with Bender (portrait), Chance (batting, Sovereign back), Chase (portrait blue Tolstoi back), Chase (portrait pink), Chase (throwing dark cap), J. Collins, Duffy, Flick, Huggins (hands at mouth), Huggins (portrait), Keeler (with bat), Lajoie (throwing), Lajoie (with bat), Marquard (follow through), Marquard (hands at thighs), Speaker, Tinker (bat off shoulder), Wallace, and Wheat. PSA 4.5 (25 cards) with M. Brown (Chicago shirt) and Willis (with bat). PSA 4 (184 cards) with Baker, Beckley, Bender (no trees), Bender (trees in back), Bresnahan (portrait), Bresnahan (with bat), Chance (portrait red), Chance (portrait yellow), Chase (holding trophy Sovereign back), Chase (throwing white cap), Chesbro, Cicotte, Clarke (portrait), Clarke (with bat), Crawford (with bat), Evers (portrait), Evers (with bat Chicago shirt), Evers (with bat Cubs shirt), Gandil, Griffith (batting), Griffith (portrait) Jennings (both hands showing), Jennings (one hand showing), Joss (pitching), Joss (portrait), Keeler (portrait), Kelley, Lajoie (portrait), Marquard (portrait), McGinnity, McGraw (glove at hip), McGraw (portrait no cap), McGraw (portrait with cap), Tinker (portrait), Tinker (hands on knees), Waddell (portrait), Walsh, Willis (portrait) and Willis (throwing). PSA 3.5 (27 cards) with McGraw (finger in air). PSA 3 (24 cards) with M. Brown (Cubs shirt), M. Brown (portrait), Jennings (portrait), and Waddell (throwing). For a complete breakdown of this set, please visit our website for a link to the PSA Set Registry.
LINK: 1909-11 T206 #12 SET