1910 E98 Ty Cobb PSA 10 Gem Mint

 Leland's Auction, the Mint25 auction, has several great items in the small 25 lot auction.  But one card stands out to me.

With my affinity for the 1910 E98 set, I'd be remiss if I didn't post about this card.  I did a post about the E98 set here if you're interested to learn more about it.  

Here's a short version of that post:

E98 was issued in 1910 as a 30 card set.  The issuer is unknown even to this day as there is no name on the back of the cards.  The backs have a checklist and read, "This card is one of a set of the following 30 BALL PLAYERS" at the top with a checklist underneath.

Some cards can be found with an Old Put Cigar stamp on the back and this led to the set beings referred to as the Old Put set. but there is no evidence to support that this is an Old Put issued set.  An example of the Old Put stamp is shown to the left.

The set is loaded with Hall of Famers with 17 out the 30 players being enshrined in Cooperstown.  Some of the biggest stars of the day were included such as Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Cy Young and Christy Mathewson.

The other big news about this set is the Black Swamp Find of 2012.  Often referred to as BSF, the Black Swamp Find included hundreds of examples of E98s that were in superior condition to previously known cards.  Most of the cards graded out at 8, 9 and 10 levels.  

Well, here is one of those Gem Mint 10 examples.  A Ty Cobb with a red background.  This card is stunning.  Before the BSF, E98 was a tough set with cards commanding some good prices and not showing up for sale very often.  They were just more rare than most of the other E-card sets.  And certain color backgrounds were tougher to find than others.  

Then the BSF happened and the population of E98s grew considerably and their scarce status was changed to more of a commonly found issue.  Some collectors, myself included, like the pre-BSF cards more than the BSF cards even if they are in worse condition.  I just like the wear on a 112 year old card more than the pristine look of these PSA 10s.  How can a card this old be in such nice condition?  

Also, they pre-BSF cards are still as scarce as they were before the BSF so I consider them tough cards still.  Especially certain players like Vaughn and Coombs.  

But, even though I prefer the lower condition pre-BSF cards, I still think this PSA 10 Ty Cobb is stunning and should be shown off.  So here it is...

Image courtesy of Leland's Auction Mint25 Auction

Just look at the centering, the crisp white borders and the red that pops off the card.  It's a thing of beauty.  This card is being sold in the Leland's Mint25 Auction.  It is currently at $155,131 after nine bids with over 7 days left to go.  I'm curious what this will end at next week.  Only time will tell though.

This card must have been regraded as there is no mention of the Black Swamp Find on the PSA flip.  All the BSF cards that were graded have the Black Swamp Find pedigree named on the flip.  Also, this card is in a PSA slab that was not used in 2012, thus the regraded assumption.

Just for fun I want to share my E98 near set of 25 cards here.  I love this set and hope to complete it some day.  I know there are some that should be upgraded, but I don't care so much about condition.  That said, I am hoping to upgrade a few of them eventually.

Here are some closer pics of a few of them.

The Hal Chase above is an upgrade candidate, but I'll never trade or sell this one even if I do upgrade it.  I love that this was once owned by Lionel Carter so I won't get rid of it.  

What do you think about the E98 Anonymous Set of 30?  What are your favorite subjects/cards in the set?  

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