1912 Boston Garter - Matty

Boston Garters were issued over a three year period between 1912 and 1914 with very different styles used each year.

The inaugural issue, pictured here, is by far the most attractive. It is not argued by many that the designs suffered from one year to the next with the final year's offering being little more than a black and white photo with a little Boston Garter ad on it.

This example of Christy Mathewson's card has always been one of my favorites. The image is fantastic with Matty relaxing before the day's contest. Perhaps contemplating how he will handle the afternoon's line up.

But what I love most about this card, is that while Matty sits in quiet solitude, he seems completely unaware of the blatant bludgeoning of the player just outside of his window. I always wondered why the artist decided to show a player being beaten by a baseball bat so clearly in the background. I could see if it was an ump, but another player?

I just wanted to share this observation with any of you who hadn't seen it before.

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

What a Deal!

Well, I'm pretty upset that I missed this one folks.

Actually, I'm more upset that I didn't put a snipe on it as I would've beat this winning bid for sure.

While perusing eBay last night I saw this card, and since I like to pick up beaters for cheap, I decided to take a closer look at the listing. As you can tell from the front, it's not much to get excited about.

However, after scrolling down into the listing, I noticed what makes this such a steal.

At first I thought there's no way this could be for real. I must be missing something here. But it all looked good.

The best part about this card is the back. It wasn't listed anywhere in the listing, but the back is a Red Cross back making this not a T206, but a T-215 instead. And, from what I can tell from the image, the caption at the bottom of the front is brown and not blue making this a Type I example, that's the more rare of the two if you're keeping track.

I'm certainly not an expert on these, but I know they are in damand and they command much more money than the same T206 pose in the same condition.

This one did sell for more than what it's common T206 counterpart would have, so I have to assume the bidder knew what he was looking at.

The closing price including shipping: $42.83

Nice job to someone out there. This is just another example of a good deal on eBay. Their out there if you just keep looking for them.

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

Mellomints Tin Bothers Me

This old tin for Mellomints candy was auctioned off in REA's 2004 auction and the description has always annoyed the crap out of me.

Every time I am flipping the old 2004 catalog and I see this tin I get a little more perturbed. The description reads in part:

If you think your Mello Mint collection is complete, think again! Offered is a circa 1910 Mello Mint tin, measuring 8 inches tall and 10 inches in diameter, designed to be used by candy stores to dispense the presumably very delicious Mello Mint treats.

While I can't argue that this particular tin did contain Mellomint treats, they were certainly not the same thing that is related to the rare E105 Mello Mint cards. They have nothing in common other than the similar name.

The cards were distributed with Mello-Mint (notice the hyphen and so "s" at the end) gum, not sugar confections as the tin advertises.

The backs of the cards have the logo of the gum pictured and it clearly states, "Smith's Mello-Mint, The Texas Gum" and it further clarifies that the card are, "wrapped with each 5¢ package of SMITH'S MELLO-MINT GUM". This seems pretty clear to me that these cards were never packaged in tins like the one pictured above and sold in the REA auction under the premise of being related to the cards.

How could this tin possibly be listed as it was in such a respectable auction house's catalog? That really annoys the hell out of me. What the hell?

Thoughts anyone?

Enjoy the hobby all...

New Pick Up

I went for a trip to the local antique mall with my wife this afternoon and picked up a nice little piece.

There are several very attractive advertising peices for Tuxedo Tobacco which feature several different stars of the deadball era, most notably Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson. I've included images of two ads featuring these two hurlers for reference here.

No, I didn't find one of these advertising pieces. That would've been like hitting the lottery. But I did see a familiar looking item up on a top shelf of a vendors stall.

There, mixed in with a bunch of uninteresting items, way up on the top shelf, was a Tuxedo Tobacco Tin. The exact same tin that is featured in these ads. This one is a bit damaged, rusted, dented, etc., but I just had to have it.

So, I wanted to share my new pick up with you and see what you think. Let me know, leave me a comment of shoot me an email. These tins aren't worth a whole lot, but I don't usually see the Tuxedo ones at the antique malls that I've been in. It was a nice little thrill on a rainy day, when it was just my wife and I spending some time together.

Enjoy the hobby all, it's a really neat one...

The Great T206 Back Stamp Project

I am very happy to be making the Official Announcement of my new project to you all...

The Great T206 Back Stamp Project

For a long time now I have been very interested in the various stamps that appear on the reverse of many T206s. If you follow my blog then you know that I have recently picked up several cards with my favorite type of back stamp, the purple number stamp, and that I have decided to focus my T206 adventure primarily on only picking up new cards that have a stamp on them.

Well, I have also decided to begin documenting all of the various back stamps that I come across along the way, whether I ultimately own them or not is of no concern here. So, with the help of all of you and all other collectors who are introduced to the project, I hope to create a database of as many examples as we can. I'm hoping some interesting patterns may emerge and some cool stamps will be found.

My purple number stamps are already featured as their own type within the project, and I have another type coming soon (with an unbelievable number of examples collected already). This is just one way that I am enjoying this wonderful hobby. And I'm hoping that my fellow collectors will join me in this adventure.

There are two online parts to this project; the BLOG and the WEBSITE.

The Blog: The blog is where all new cards will be posted. Any updates to the project will be posted here whether it is a new card, or the announcement that a new type has been determined and a new page added to the website.

The website: This is where I will be archiving all of the images that I get. I'm hoping that my fellow collectors will participate and send me scans, whether you own the card or just find the image somewhere.

Please take a moment to check out both parts of the project and let your collector friends know about it too. The more people that participate, the more amazing the archives will be.

Enjoy the hobby all, there are so many ways...

One "Big Four" Deserves Another

Our friends over at Sports Collectors Daily have just posted a story about another of the "Big Four" cards from the T206 set, the Doyle Nat'l error card.

I just can't rob their story, so here's the link to their story.

I did want to mention, however, that this is one of the many bits of hobby knowledge that you should really have if you are going to be taking part in the vintage baseball card hobby.

Some unscrupulous sellers might try to pass of the several other Doyle cards that say Nat'l on them as the very and coveted error version. Below is a little visual for you.

Notice that all three of these Doyle cards have the same caption at the bottom: DOYLE, N.Y. NAT'L.

Some beginning collectors may have heard of the super rare Doyle error that says Nat'l on it and be fooled by one of these cards. Now look at the more common version of the Doyle that has an error.

Notice that this version does not have the NAT'L after the N.Y.

This is the common version. Feel free to try to find the error out there in the hobby somewhere. Really. I mean it. Good luck. Let me know if you ever find it. Ever.

The late great Larry Fritsch, one of the great hobby veterans, the first full time mail order dealer spent years looking at hundreds, if not thousands, of Doyle's in search of one before he found a single example. And that was before the rest of the hobby was privy to the fact that it was an error. In other words, nobody else was seeking it or keeping it from him because they thought the one they had was rare. It just doesn't show up anywhere.

I'm very excited to see this one is going to be auctioned off in an upcoming REA auction. I can't wait to see what it brings when the hammer drops.

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

Another New Wagner!

Wow, people, another new T206 Honus Wagner has entered our hobby.

Philip Weiss Auctions of Long Island, NY will be auctioning off a newly discovered example of the iconic card commonly referred to as "Holy Grail" of the baseball card world. Following is the description from their website:

Honus Wagner. T-206. Graded. SGC Graded Honus Wagner 3. This is a Golden Opportunity to own a "Fresh to the Market " example of the "Holy Grail" of Baseball cards. Found in the basement of an Oceanside home, this card has been in the possession of the same family since it was printed. It is impossible to say how many more of these reside unknown in basements or attics but now is the chance to add this to your collection. With the price of this card steadily on the rise, do not miss this opportunity to purchase a beautiful example of this card. Please view the scans carefully or examine in person, some believe this might even be graded on the conservative side.

They have estimated the value between $500,000 and $900,000, which seems like a pretty big spread if you ask me. It is a very nice example of this card, which is usually found with several flaws commonly in the form of multiple creases. Click here to see the actual listing.

Just for fun, here is a link to a nice collection of images of the Wagner card: The Wagner Gallery

The lesson here is to always keep your hope alive, you just might find the next big hobby gem in your neck of the woods someday.

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