One of the most difficult quests one can embark on in the hobby is building a complete T206 set (minus the big four of Wagner, Plank, and the Magie and Doyle variations). "The monster" contains 520 tobacco cards from 1909-1911, making it a beast to conquer in any condition. Completing a set was virtually impossible until the last couple of decades, with the birth of the internet and online auctions allowing collectors living thousands of miles apart to communicate their haves and needs. Even said, amassing 520 unique cards that are eleven decades old and getting them all authenticated in PSA slabs is nothing short of an incredible accomplishment.
Presented here is a highly-ranked T206 complete set with an impressive 4.271 GPA and 4.266 PSA Set Rating, ranking it #17 on the current list. Every single card is graded in the VG 3 to EX-MT 6 range, making for a tremendously rare mid-grade collection of the hobby's most prestigious baseball card set. Primary backs are Piedmont and Sweet Caporal, but Old Mill, Sovereign, Polar Bear and Principe de Gales are also represented among the scarcer tobacco brands.
Thirteen cards come in at PSA EX-MT 6 led by Home Run Baker (Sweet Cap) and Frank Chance "Batting" (Piedmont). Six are graded PSA EX+ 5.5 topped by Chance's "Red Portrait" (Piedmont). Notable PSA EX 5 examples include: Chief Bender "Pitching, No Trees" (Sweet Cap); Hal Chase "Pink Portrait" (Sweet Cap); Larry Doyle "Portrait" (Piedmont); Sam Crawford "With Bat" (Old Mill); Hugh Duffy (Piedmont); Johnny Evers "Portrait" (Piedmont); Elmer Flick (Piedmont); Addie Joss "Pitching" (Sweet Cap); Willie Keeler "With Bat" (Piedmont); Rube Marquard "Follow Through" (Piedmont); Marquard "Hands at Thighs" (Sweet Cap); John McGraw "Portrait with Cap" (Piedmont); Tris Speaker (Piedmont); Joe Tinker "Bat Off Shoulder" (Sweet Cap); Hooks Wiltse "Portrait w/ Cap" (Old Mill); Rube Waddell "Portrait" (Sweet Cap); and Vic Willis "With Bat" (Sweet Cap).
The famous foursome of T206 Ty Cobb cards (all Piedmont backs except for Red Portrait w/ Sweet Cap) are graded as follows: "Bat Off Shoulder" PSA VG-EX 4, "Red" and "Green" Portraits both PSA VG+ 3.5, and "Bat On Shoulder" PSA VG 3. Other important cards include: Christy Mathewson "Dark Cap" and "White Cap" (Piedmont backs) both PSA VG-EX+ 4.5; Mathewson "Portrait" (Sovereign) PSA VG-EX 4; Walter Johnson "Hands at Chest" (Polar Bear) and "Portrait" (Piedmont) both PSA VG-EX 4; Cy Young "Portrait" (Piedmont) and "Glove Shows" (Polar Bear) both PSA VG-EX 4; Cy Young "Bare Hand Shows" (Sweet Cap) PSA VG-EX+ 4.5.
Other notables include: Eddie Collins (Piedmont) PSA VG-EX 4; Nap LaJoie "Portrait" (Sweet Cap), "Throwing" and "With Bat" (both Piedmont backs) all PSA VG-EX 4; Mordecai Brown "Chicago on Shirt" (Principe de Gales) PSA VG-EX 4; M. Brown "Portrait" (Piedmont) PSA VG-EX+ 4.5; Fred Clarke "Portrait" PSA VG-EX 4 and "With Bat" (Sweet Cap) PSA VG-EX+ 4.5; Joe Tinker "Hands on Knees" (Piedmont) PSA VG-EX+ 4.5; Zach Wheat (Sovereign) PSA VG-EX 4; Roger Bresnahan "Portrait" PSA VG-EX 4 and "With Bat" (both Piedmont) PSA VG-EX+ 4.5; and the two tough "St. Louis" variations (both w/ rare Polar Bear backs) of Ray Demmitt PSA VG-EX 4 and Bill O'Hara PSA VG 3.
*PSA VG-EX 4 of O'Hara "St. Louis" (Polar Bear) sold for $15,000 on 5/12/22
*SGC VG+ 3.5 of Demmtt "St. Louis" (Polar Bear) sold for $13,800 on 1/8/23
*PSA VG 3 of Ty Cobb "Green Portrait" (Piedmont) sold for $12,500 on 12/16/22
*PSA VG-EX 4 of Ty Cobb "Bat Off Shoulder" (Piedmont) sold for $12,000 on 11/17/22
*PSA VG-EX 4 of Ty Cobb "Red Portrait" (Sweet Cap) sold for $10,800 on 4/14/22
*PSA EX 5 of Cy Young "Bare Hand Shows" (Piedmont) sold for $10,200 on 5/12/22
*PSA VG-EX 4 of Cy Young "Portrait" (Piedmont) sold for $8,400 on 6/12/22
*PSA VG-EX 4 of W. Johnson "Portrait" (Piedmont) sold for $7,200 on 4/2/22
For a complete breakdown of the cards, grades and population, see this link in the PSA Set Registry:
https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/552683