Its been a long, slow slog but in some ways it has become more satisfying the fewer there are left on my want list. This week I added a couple of new ones.
The first was a big one, card #609 featuring Takeshi Koba. It is from the rarest series (Red Helmets) which, not surprisingly, is the one that I still need the most from. Over the past couple of years cards from it have become noticably harder to find. Normally there aren’t any to be found on Yahoo Auctions and they only pop up every once in a while. When this one showed up and was one I needed I had to pounce.
Its so satisfying to see it in its place in the binder.
I also picked up #378 which features four Dragons pitchers and is a nice center pocketer that completed the sheet it belonged in. That one leaves me just three short of having all the pink bordered cards in the set.
These are the remaining cards that I still need!
40, 44, 45, 47, 58, 61, 67, 72, 83, 106, 113, 124, 190, 193, 196, 203, 209, 213, 271, 311, 312, (star he no ayumi), 289, 295, 306, 321, 322 (Hiroshima series), 377, 477, 478, 481, 482, 483, 491, 499, 500, 525, 610, 611, 614, 616, 617, 620, 621, 622, 624, 626, 628, 629, 637, 643, 701, 742, 766, 790, 796, 803, 805, 807, 815, 828, 830, 838, 847, 848, 850, 852, 855, 894, 920, 923, 933, 936, 938, 939, 942, 943, 945, 946, 950, 951, 954, 955, 958, 959, 961, 963, 974, 1041, 1044, 1056, 1114, 1116, 1122, 1130, 1169, 1207, 1293, 1298, 1320, 1357, 1359, 1361, 1365, 1374, 1378, 1379, 1383, 1384, 1388, 1394, 1396, 1401, 1403, 1404, 1405, 1408, 1414, 1426, 1428, 1430, 1433, 1434
That's incredible! Good luck with the last 172 - it sounds like most of them are among the hardest.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Yeah of the remaining cards I need I figure about 50% are ones from rarer series (like the Red Helmet one I picked up in this post) and 50% are ones from easier to find series but just happen to be cards that I just haven't been able to find copies of.
DeleteMy arbitrary goal for 2024 is to try to add another 25 cards to the set!
Two cards down. Super stoked for you. Hope sometime this year you are able to find a large lot of these that will help you cross off a bunch of set needs.
ReplyDeleteThanks! At this point (nearly 90% there) I've stopped buying them in lots. Early on I would buy lots whenever I found them (usually 20-40 cards at a time) and it was great, but once you get passed about the halfway point you start getting more and more doubles and it becomes very inefficient. These days I just snag them one by one when cards I need show up!
DeleteCongratulations! I'm always amazed at how far you've gotten on this project
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm setting myself a 5 year target for getting it completed!
DeleteVery cool and congrats on whittling it down a few more. Excited to see it get complete!
ReplyDeleteThanks!!
DeleteThis is such a great example of patience and dedication that one can't help but root for your success.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot!!
DeleteThis is a tremendous accomplishment! Best of luck on the rest of journey. I recently came across your blog and have managed to go back and read quite a few posts. Your posts providing updates on your Monster progress have been great! I'm looking forward to continue to see your set progress.
ReplyDeleteI just checked and I have duplicates of 321, 691, and 728 that I could send to you.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot, I hope to complete it someday. And yeah, if you have doubles of those three I'd be interested. Are you working on the set too? I have a fair size number of doubles if you need some.
DeleteUnfortunately, I don't have the focus or determination to complete the Monster but would be interested in a swap to add to my small but growing collection. I have been plugging away at the '73 Calbee set, mostly by buying lots, and would like to get as far as I can with that set. I don't see myself getting many cards from the rare local series for that set though.
DeleteHa, yeah its a very long term project all right! I'm kind of in the same boat on the 1973 set (and also the 74-75 set) - I've been building the non-rare parts of those sets. With the 73 in particular the price of some of the rarities is just prohibitively expensive for me. I do have some doubles from the 73s as well though so might be able to help you out on that one.
DeleteYou can contact me at: seanmcginty26 (at mark) hotmail.com