One of the Big 4 on eBay

There is a decent SGC 1.5 T206 Eddie Plank on eBay right now.

It's a BIN or Best Offer right now with the BIN at $53,999.00.  I know there is a T206 Walter Johnson PSA 9 on the Bay at auction that is currently at $80,100.00 but I'm more interested in the Plank. 

I've always been fascinated by the Eddie Plank because it's such a nice looking card that just doesn't show up all that often.  I understand the PSA 9 Johnson is rare too in that condition, but I still like the Plank more.

 

The back bothers me a little bit as it has some clear writing.  You know I like back stamps but this writing doesn't do anything for me.

 

 

I'd still like to see if this one sells.  I can't imagine it would sell for the asking price when they have the offer option.  Maybe I'll do a follow up on the Johnson when that auction ends.  At least we'll know what the hammer price is there.

 

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



Some Random Pick Ups

Figured I would share some new pick ups I recently acquired.

This is just for fun really, but I trade cards with a bunch of guys and I recently received this card in a batch of others.  Its a 1966 Topps of Bill Faul, but what I love about it is the added details.  The scars, glasses, big tooth and goatee.  I love vintage cards like this that have writing all over them. 

 

Just look at this beauty,  I love it.

 

Earlier today I decided to pick up some 2018 Topps packs that were on sale for $1.50 each.  I wasn't expecting much more than just the fun of opening some packs.  But I was fairly excited to find this Evan Longoria jersey card.  I know it's not some huge hit, but any relic card is a cool pull for me. 

 

 

The only modern cards I really collect are the relic cards so I'm happy with this one.  I generally give away the rest of the cards to other guys I trade with. 

 

Lastly I was excited to pick up this new E93 Fred Clarke for that set.  This card puts me at 50% completion on the set. 

 

 

So those are some of my recent pick ups guys. A rather eclectic mix this time I think.  But all well loved cards. 

 

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





New Beckett Vintage Collector

I recently received the current issue of Beckett Vintage Collector.

It was actually gifted to me by a friend (hi Linda) because it had an article in it related to T206 back stamps.  I was thrilled to get it and read the article.  It even pictured several card images that I have featured in my Great T206 Back Stamp Project including one of my very own cards. 

I was a little surprised my project wasn't mentioned in the article at all, but that's not a big deal.  I was just happy that back stamps were getting recognition.  The article focused on a few specific stamps like the F Scott Fitzgerald stamps, Jefferson Burdick, Date stamps, and quite a bit of focus on the Howe McCormick collection of Ed McCullum.  That collection is amazing and I've very happy it was featured in the article. 

Then as I read more articles in the magazine, I started reading about the 1912 T207 set and noticed something.  The article was written by our friend Anson Whaley.  Nice article Anson.  Gave me more appreciation for the set that I didn't really have before.

So if you get a chance to pick up the issue, here is an image of it for reference.  I would recommend it.

 

 

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

ID Help - What are these?

I recently picked up these two very interesting cards of Frank Chance and Frank Baker.

As you can see, they are orange and blue and picture pretty bad images of two players.  They are labeled on the bottom front with the player's last name and a number.  And on the back with the players last name. 

 

 

But what are they?  Nobody seems to know exactly for what they were made.  Many think they were part of a board game and were attached to some sort of base that allowed them to be moved around the board.  Let's look at the details.

 

They are all different sizes and are not cut uniformly as seen below.  The examples below are not mine but represent all the ones I know of that exist other than my two.

 

 

As you can see they are cut rather haphazardly which, to me, shows they were not produced for a commercial board game with any sort of quality control.

 

They also all have similar paper loss on the bottoms, front and back, where they seems to have been some adhesive brushed on.  This obviously suggests they had something attached to them.



If you look closely you'll notice that there is another Chance printed on the bottom back of his card. 

 

This would suggest that multiples were meant to be produced.  But why print the front and back on the same side.  Perhaps they were meant to be folded over for some reason. 

 

Perhaps the most interesting trait is the fact that the heads are cut and pasted on the body of a single player and many of the cards show the same body for each player.  The bodies have been identified in photos of the 1910 team photos for the Chicago Cubs and the Philadelphia Athletics.  These two teams faced off in the World's Series that year.

 

 

If you look at the image used to Chance, you can see the player (Sheckard) who's upper body was used was actually sitting in the original photo.  So to create the players in the set, the creator had to use Sheckard's upper body, someone else's legs, and each player's head all pasted together.  For the Baker (and other players with the same body) they just pasted each player's head on the body.

 

Some collectors have shown suspicion that the font on the backs could be of a later date than 1910, however the font has been identified as Recut Caslon which has been in use since at least 1907 so it could've easily have been in popular use during 1910 when I think these cards were produced.

 

So what do you think?  What are these cards?  When were they produced and why?  I'd love to hear from you.

 

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

 

New Back Stamp

Just a quick post showing a new back stamp I found with a special date.

I recently found this new back stamp on eBay and thought it was pretty cool.  It looks like it says, "Geo R Tucker Voted Nov. 8, 1910".  It reminds me of the "I Voted" stickers that they hand out when you vote nowadays. 

The special part is the date though.  It is my birthday.  Of course, not the 1910 part, but you get the point.  Anyway, I just wanted to share this one with you all.  It has been added to the back stamp project online collection of back stamps as well. 

 

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

Recent Pick ups

Some of my latest pick ups...

First off is my newest E79 Scrappers of Rawlins delivering a right hand.  This is a nice horizontal card from the set.  There are several horizontals in the set and I love them.

 

Next up is a card I actually picked up for my Father.  He is a Rutgers alumnus and I thought he would think this was kind of cool to display on his bookshelf in his office.  It is a 1961 Nu Card of Steve Simms.

 

 

Last is my favorite pick up so far.  It's a 1910 E98 Russ Ford.  I have a few E98s and I'm always happy to add another, even with a missing corner.

 

 

Not a lot to show off really, but some of my latest pick ups to share.

 

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





REA Spring 2019 Auction

The 2019 Robert Edward Auctions Spring Auction is now open for bidding and I wanted to share a few of my favorite items with you.

I've gone through the cards that interest me in the current REA auction and pulled a bunch of cards (and a photo) that are some of my favorites.  Lets start with the photo shall we.

This is an original Type 1 photo of Negro League legend Josh Gibson that was used for his 1950-51 Toleteros rookie card.  I'm including an image of the actual card (also in the auction) for comparison.

 

 

Here is the 1893 Just So Jesse Burkett Rookie.  This card is interesting in that is has been restored, but it is so rare (2 known) that it doesn't really matter.   When it was originally discovered it was just the photo part of the card. The entire mount was missing.  The owner found a different Just So of an actress card and had professional restoration done attaching the original photo to the actress mount.

 



 



I don't necessarily collect 19th century cards, but I do like a lot of them.  I particularly like the N172 Old Judge Mike "King" Kelly cards.  Here are two nice examples side by side.  An SGC 6 and SGC 3.5.  I actually like the image on the 3.5 more than on the 6. 

 

Another awesome 19th century set is the 1887 N175 Gypsy Queen set.  They are more rare than their Old Judge counterparts.  I like the Gypsy Queen logo at the top of the cards.  This example is a really nice one as it is a horizontal, two player and HOF card all in one.  It features HOFer Tim Keefe with his teammate Danny Richardson.  It has a nice strong image as well which is another big plus for these cards.

 

 





Now let's move on to the 20th century and the prewar cards that I like in the auction. 

This one would fit right in to my collection as it is a nice low grade card.  I still won't win it, but I'd love to own it.  The 1911 E94 Hans Wagner gold background version.  I'm drawn to the gold versions of this set. 

 

Another set that is related to the E94s is the M131 Baltimore News Newsboys set.  This set uses the same images and checklist as E94 but all the cards have the blue background.  They also have additional type on the reverses that say "The Baltimore News Newsboys Series" at the top.  Here are the four examples in the auction.  Click the image to enlarge it.

 

 

 

My favorite Ty Cobb card, the 1909 E102 Anonymous issue.  The pose with Cobb leaning on his bat and the striking background color make for and amazing card in my opinion.

 

 

Well, let's get to the more common (or not really) T206s.  First up would be a couple southern leaguer Dutch Revelle cards that would be a great start to a back run for someone.  First, the blank back example.

 

 

Then the uber rare Brown Old Mill example.  What?!  Talk about a rare card.

 

 

Also, one of my favorite HOF poses is the Clarke Griffith with bat and this particular example has the rare Cycle 460 back.  This back seems to be a bit more rare than it is given credit for at the present time.  And I happen to like it quite a bit. 

 

 

Last but not least are a couple of my favorite Zeenut cards.  First is a very historically important and rare card of Jimmy Claxton.  This 1916 Zeenut is the first American issued baseball card featuring a black player.  It was a great timing of events that resulted in the issuing of this card as Jimmy was only with the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League for one week in 1916.  That week just happened to be the week that the Zeenut photographer was with the team taking pictures and he got a shot of Claxton that eventually made it on the featured card.  This is not the most well known card in the hobby, but has great significance making it a favorite of mine.

 

 

The next Zeenut that is one of my favorites is the 1922 card of legendary athlete Jim Thorpe.  This is one of only a few cards of Thorpe from his playing days and his only card featuring him in the Pacific Coast League.  He is pictured with the Portland Beavers. 

 

 

Well, there you have it folks.  Some of my pics to showcase some of my favorite cards in the current REA Spring auction.  Here is a link to the auction so you can peruse the offerings yourself.  REA Link.  I highly recommend taking a look at the auction, even if you don't plan to bid you'll see some amazing items.  Now, I just focused on the cards portion of the auction, but there is amazing memorabilia as well if you're into that stuff. 

 

Let me know what your favorites are.  I'd be interested to see what I missed.

 

Enjoy the hobby all...it's an amazing one.