A Couple Sweet Strip Sets

Strip sets seem to get a bum rap in the hobby.

I understand why some of them are looked down on.  I mean look at the W9316 set for example.  They are just plain ugly.  But there are some strip sets that I am really drawn to.  Why do they call them strip cards to begin with?  Well, they were originally issued is strips of cards that were meant to be cut apart into individual cards.  Because of this many of them are torn apart terribly and the condition is horrible. 

Some kids back in the day would tear them apart instead of cut them.  High grade examples are rare because of this.  Even when they are cut really well, the TPGs will label them as Hand Cut with or without a numerical grade.  Since they are all hand cut from strips I have no problem with them grading Authentic without a number.

Let's start with the W519-1-1 numbered set.  Here is a nice group picture of the set courtesy OldCardboard.com.

 

I really like the various portraits and player selection.  It's not full of the same old players that are in every other set.  There are only two cards that aren't portraits.  And I'm really drawn to all the different colored backgrounds.

 

The next set I really like is the W520 set.  Again, here is an image of the set courtesy OldCardboard.com.

 

 

What I really like about this set is the mix of portraits and action  shots.  The colorful backgrounds look awesome when they are all together as well.  There are actually two examples of Zach Wheat in this set for some reason.  One portrait pose and one action shot.  There is a really nice Babe Ruth card in this set showing the Bambino throwing.

 

Another interesting thing about the W520 set is that it is exactly the same as the W522 set but numbered differently.  W520 is numbered 1 - 20 while the W522 is numbered 31 - 50.  In my experience the W522s seem to show up for sale more often as well. 

 

So don't disregard all strip sets equally when you think about them.  Some of these sets are really nice, small sets that have several HOFers.  I mean both of these two have Babe Ruth in them. 

 

What do you guys think about strip sets?  Not just these ones, but any strips in general.

 

Enjoy the hobby all...it's a sweet one.



Cards You Should See

Here are some cards I thought you should see if you haven't already seen them.

First up in the 1887 Four Base Hits Mike "King" Kelly.  This is a sweet card that I believe there are only two known examples. 

 

The cards in this set are 2-1/4 x 3-7/8 and there are 14 known cards in the set.  This is my favorite pose from this set (which is why I'm sharing it with you).

 

The next card I want to share is another Mike Kelly.  His nickname was $10,000 Kelly and one this N172 Old Judge card he is actually noted as such,  The clarity on this card is amazing and the grade of SGC96 reflects this.

 

 

I'm not sure about the price tag on it, but it's certainly worth a pretty penny.  You just don't see Old Judges with this much clarity all that often so this is a real treat.

 

 

Here is a third sweet card to see.  This is just a really nice high grade example of a 1915 Cracker Jack Walter Johnson.  Of course it is more likely to see a 1915 in high grade like this than a 1914 since they could be ordered without being packaged in the candy.  This kept them from getting the caramel stains typical on the 1914 cards.

 

I just wanted to share these cards with you since I find them so awesome.  I hope you liked them too.

 

Enjoy the hobby all...it's a great one.





Worst Call In History

A couple umps were asleep during this play...

I know, I know, I've been on a video clip trip lately, but I just figured out how to embed a video and I'm loving it.

Anyways, back to the post at hand.  Check out this missed call by these two, yes two, umps in a Mexican League game.

The batter clearly swings fully through at the pitch and the catcher notices that the ump doesn't call a strike and he asks him about it.  The ump behind the plate then confers with the first base ump to see if the batter actually swung or not. 

Then the first base ump actually calls the batter safe and claims he didn't swing! 

How can both umps completely miss this call?  The batter completely swung through the pitch.  What do you guys think?  Have you seen a call worse than this before?  Let me know.

Mickey Mantle Races Roger Maris

Here's some fun story time with Mickey Mantle.

I saw this video posted on Net54 and thought I would share it with you as well.  This is a funny story about Mickey Mantle racing Roger Maris in a swimming contest. 



Even though this isn't about prewar baseball cards and the Mick isn't a prewar star, it's Mickey friggin' Mantle talking on camera!  I am just fascinated listening to him tell a story. 

Enjoy the hobby all...it's a super one.

Recent Pick Up

Recently picked up some new cards and wanted to share them with you.

I picked up another couple E90-1s and another T205.  I only have a scan of one of the E90-1s right now so you'll have to wait to see the other one, but here is the one of which I do have a scan.

 

There are two Tannehills in the set, Lee and Jesse.  This is Lee's card.  The very first caramel card I ever bought was this card many years ago but I sold it a while back.  So I'm very pleased to have this one to replace it (even with the 3 written on it).

 

The next card I picked up is a T205 Danny Hoffman example.  This is a particular new favorite of mine as it is the Yellow Second Base variation.

 



The Hoffman T205 card actually has up to four variations depending on how you define a variation.  You can read about all the "errors" in the T205 set on Prewarcards.com.  There are 23 discussed there.

The four different Hoffmans are as follows:

1. Yellow Second Base (no stripe)
2. Yellow Second Base (with stripe)
3. White Second Base (detailed face)
4. White Second Base (face lacks detail)

The stripe refers to a wide lighter green diagonal stripe behind Danny's head.  You can see all four examples posted on Net54 by clicking here.  Eventually I'll try to pick up the others as well, but this one is a favorite right now.

If you have any of the ones I don't have yet and would consider selling it, please let me know.

Enjoy the hobby all...it's a great one.

PM8 Our National Game Pins

PM8 Our National Game pins many times come attached to a paper backing.

I was perusing an old auction catalog today as I often do and came across a lot containing a group of PM8 pins.  It reminded me of some thoughts I've had in the past about these pins.  What are the paper backings that are very often found with these pins?

 

I've noticed something over the years.  These backings are rarely found in anything but NM
condition.  So rarely in fact, that I would never buy one with a damaged backing.  Even a slight crease would keep me away since it seems to be so easy to find them in such good condition.

These pins were distributed 80 years ago in 1938.  The pins themselves are rarely found in NM condition.  At least I am used to seeing them with damage including dents and scratches.  Many times they are so badly damaged that you can barely read the player's name.

So how is it that the pin can be so badly damaged but the backing is so darn perfect?

It's my belief that these backings were all made far later than 1938 and that they were not issued with the actual pins.  How hard would it be to print up a ton of these paper backings? 

Do the pins sell for a premium with the backing?  I'm not sure to be honest.  If they do I think the premium is minimal if anything.

They aren't matched up to any particular pin so it's not like you need the Dizzy Dean backing to go with the pin.  The backings are completely anonymous so you can interchange them with any pin.  All they say on them is, "Our National Game A Baseball Hero". 

They aren't large pins measuring only 7/8" in diameter with a tab at the top.  The tab slides through a slit in the backing and that is how they are held together. 

So what do you guys think?  Am I crazy here thinking these aren't original to the distribution period?  Are collectors already all over this idea and that's why the pins with backings don't sell for much of a premium?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments.  I'm interested to know if I'm onto something or if this is old news and I'm behind the times.

Enjoy the hobby all...it's a cool one.

Hunt Auctions at FanFest

I saw a cool video of David Hunt of Hunt Auctions talking about some of the items in the Auction at FanFest.

This was a cool short video of David Hunt being interviewed by Rick Klein of ABC News at the All Star FanFest.  He is talking about a few of the items in the auction and showing them off from the display cases they are in. 

They talk about Walter Johnson items including some nice photographs.  And they also show a large collection of original photos that were used for the artwork in the T205 set.  It was very cool seeing some of those images. 

They also talked about some Mel Ott items that were consigned by the Ott family.  One interesting note was the photo of Mel accepting a War Bond Popularity Contest certificate with a cow behind him.  David had no idea why the cow was there.  If you do know, please share it with me in the comments.  I'd love to know why the cow was there.



Enjoy the hobby all...it's a cool one.

T206 PSA 10

There are some very high grade T206s coming to auction soon.

Heritage Auctions will be featuring several high grade T206s in their upcoming auction.  There are a lot of PSA 8s and 9s including names like Cobb, Mathewson, Young, Johnson and even a Magie error card.  But I wanted to bring attention to the ultimate graded T206s here.  That's right, there are going to be five PSA 10 Gem Mint examples.  These include the following cards:

1. McGraw (finger in air)
2. Chase (white cap)
3. Liebhardt
4. Oldring (fielding)
5. Bates

I've posted images of three of these (Heritage hasn't posted images of Liebhardt or Oldring yet) here.  You can view many of the other examples of 8s and 9s using this link. 

I have to say, I can't tell the difference between many of these 9s vs. 10s.  And I would think the centering would have to be perfect in order to get a 10 grade, but this is not always the case as you can see.  They are close to perfect, but even I can see they aren't exactly centered in some cases.  You be the judge.

I hadn't seen a PSA 10 T206 before this, so I wanted to share these with you all in case you hadn't seen them either.



Image Courtesy Heritage Auctions



Image Courtesy Heritage Auctions

Image Courtesy Heritage Auctions

Enjoy the hobby all...it's a great one.