The Monster Podcast

Jay and Justin have a fascinating conversation with award-winning sportscaster, newsman, consummate card collector and baseball historian Keith Olbermann about his early days of collecting in the 1970s, the stories behind the elusive Honus Wagner and other T206 ultra-rarities, collecting during the COVID boom and more.

Jay and Justin chat with Luke Lyon of ThatT206Life.com about his collection's origin story, how to find hidden gems in the T206 set, collecting advertising backs, buying what brings you joy, trends in the hobby, and more. Some recommended reading: http://www.thatt206life.com/

In this installment, Jay and Justin discuss how to spot reprints, fakes, and altered T206 cards and avoid getting burned. There's also a short conversation about the future of T206 collecting.

Jay and Justin welcome special guest Paul Mifsud of SignedT206.com for a fascinating discussion about collecting autographed T206s, including their history, rarity, value and how to spot authentics and fakes. Recommended resources: Web: www.SignedT206.com Instagram: Instagram.com/SignedT206 (Producer's note: This episode was recorded via Skype during the COVID-19 quarantine).

Jay and Justin welcome former MLB pitcher Dean Kiekhefer (Cardinals, A's) for a fun discussion about his time in the big leagues and his quest to amass the ugliest T206 sets ever with his "beater binder" project. (Producer's note: This episode was recorded via Skype during the COVID-19 quarantine).

Jay and Justin discuss the benefits and drawbacks of grading companies' population reports and how to use them to guide decisions about collecting T206s. (Producer's note: This episode was recorded via Skype during the COVID-19 quarantine). Some recommended reading: https://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/pop-report-comparisons-of-pre-war-and-post-war-vintage/ https://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/while-helpful-population-reports-have-limitations/ https://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/t206-hall-of-famers/ PSA Population Report for T206s: https://www.psacard.com/pop/t206/ & https://www.psacard.com/pop/t206/?byback=1&pf=0 SGC Population Report for T206s: https://gosgc.com/pop-report Scot Reader's "Inside T206: A Collector's Guide to the Classic Baseball Card Set": http://www.oldcardboard.com/t/t206/InsideT206-Centennial-edition.pdf

Jay and Justin discuss collecting in the COVID-19 era and take a deep dive into the Big 4 (including the elusive Honus Wagner treasure) and the other limited run cards (aka "short prints") in the T206 set. (Editor's note: This episode was recorded via Skype during the COVID-19 quarantine). Some recommended reading: Scot Reader's "Inside T206: A Collector's Guide to the Classic Baseball Card Set": http://www.oldcardboard.com/t/t206/InsideT206-Centennial-edition.pdf http://t206resource.com/The%20Big%20Four.html http://www.thatt206life.com/2019/10/26/gettysburg-eddie-plank-and-his-t206-rarity-a-110-year-old-puzzle-solved/ https://prewarcards.com/2018/04/20/what-if-the-honus-wagner-t206-wasnt-a-short-print/

Jay and Justin cover the basics on what the different advertising backs on the reverse of T206 cards are all about, and why collectors care. Jay's back ranking from the episode is as follows: T206 BACK SCARCITY RANKING B.S. TIER Old Mill brown Lenox brown Blank back Ty Cobb SUPER TOUGH TIER Broad Leaf 460 Drum Uzit Lenox black Broad Leaf 350 Red Hindu Carolina Brights TOP TIER American Beauty 460
 Brown Hindu
 Cycle 460
 Piedmont 350-460 factory 42 TOUGH TIER American Beauty 350 frame American Beauty 350 no frame Cycle 350 EPDG Tolstoi PLUS BACKS Old Mill (plus Southern variation) Polar Bear Sovereign 150 Sovereign 350 series apple green Sovereign 350 series forest green Sovereign 460 SWEET CAPORAL FACTORY VARIATIONS Sweet Caporal 150 factory 649 overprint Sweet Caporal 150 factory 25 Sweet Caporal 350 factory 25 Sweet Caporal 350-460 factory 25 Sweet Caporal 350-460 factory 42 Sweet Caporal 350-460 factory 42 scroll COMMONS Piedmont 150 factory 25 Piedmont 350 factory 25 Piedmont 350-460 factory 25 Sweet Caporal 350-460 factory 30 Sweet Caporal 150 factory 30 Sweet Caporal 350 factory 30

Jay and Justin present a blueprint for building the complete T206 set on a budget.

Jay and Justin sit down with the Library of Congress's Peter Devereaux for a conversation about the T206s featured in his new book, GAME FACES: Early Baseball Cards from the Library of Congress. The book features rare and colorful baseball cards from the Library of Congress's Benjamin K. Edwards Collection, bringing to life an era of American history that saw the game explode in popularity. AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Game-Faces-Baseball-Library-Congress/dp/158834634X SMITHSONIAN: https://www.smithsonianbooks.com/store/history/game-faces-early-baseball-cards-library-congress/

Jay and Justin visit the Library of Congress for a conversation with Sara Duke, curator of Popular and Applied Graphic Art in the Prints and Photographs Division. Among other memorabilia, Sara is responsible for the LOC's collection of baseball cards, including a near complete T206 set. We discuss the history of the collection, Sara's role at the LOC, and what earns T206s a spot in American history. They also discuss the LOC's current exhibit, Baseball Americana, that is on display through Summer 2019. Read more at: https://www.loc.gov/exhibitions/baseball-americana/about-this-exhibition/

Jay and Justin introduce the podcast, discuss what T206s are and why they're special, and tell their T206 collecting origin stories.