Thinking about starting a new PSA set - 53 Bowman Color

I'm in a bit of a quandary about what to do and hope some of the more experienced PSA set guys(or anybody for that matter) could chime in. 1960 Topps in PSA7-8 is my main set. I feel like I found the sweet spot with 7-8's in that I can get really nice cards while not having to pay premium prices. 69 Topps in PSA 8 has been what I call my backup set. I'd get tired of the 60 set for a while so I picked up a few 69's as change of pace. While I love the 69 set, I decided that 664 cards in a set is just too much for me. The 572 in the 60 is more than enough. I started looking at smaller sets and 53 Bowman Color caught my eye. I've always loved the simple, clean design and beautiful photos but had considered the set out of my reach financially. I did some figuring and studying the prices and I can comfortably do the set in PSA 5. I consider 5 to be a fairly low grade for a post war set. I know there are some centering issues with the set but seems to me the 'sweet spot' of the set to be 6 or 7. Even with only 160 cards, a PSA 6 set is out of my reach. Here is my question, if PSA 5 is all I can afford, would I be better off doing the set raw? Will a 5 set hold its value? I'm not looking at the set as an investment but I would like my wife get something out of it when I'm gone. I bought a few commons in PSA 5 to get a feel for the look of the card in that grade. I paid close attention to centering. I think there is still great eye appeal in that grade. Sure the corners are rough but I think the beauty of the set is still able to shine through. I would appreciate any opinions on the matter. Sorry for the long post.

ive always appreciated the large COLOR photos of the '53 Color Bowman Set

as for 5 vs raw......id say go for 5's, but NICE 5's, as not all 5s are created equal.

is your wife involved in the hobby? if not, then graded is the absolute best way
to go for sure, as they are so much easier to move in my opinion. Having sweet
raw cards in the hands of non-knowing family members when youre no longer
around just screams of "rip me off" when they are trying to sell them

In my opinion the nicest set of all time. I bought most of my set raw and the big stars landed at PSA 2-5. I have not graded any lesser player cards so I suspect some would be 6's +/-. PSA 5s do not bother me at all and I think this set will always hold it's value. I just love these cards and that is/was my main motivation for collecting this set.

I made out ok with my Berra and Mantle, paying a reasonable price for each and both landed at 3



Here are a couple of my other biggies.....





Full set can be seen here.....

http://s49.photobucket.com/albums/f289/ ... ?start=all

TBP
You bring up a really good point about my wife. I have left instructions about the best way to liquidate my gun and knife collection but I have forgot all about my cards. A graded set would be much easier for her to deal with. Hopefully that will be 40-50 years down the road but you never know!

MaineMule
That is a beautiful set. Thanks for showing it. The 53 set has so many images that instantly come to mind when I think of the player. Berra goofing around, the obvious joy on Musial's face, the Braves patch on Spahn's jersey and of course the Reese card.

Thanks for your comments!