Me too, so I figured I’d write a post about it. This is a phenomenon that most advanced collectors are aware of. However, I don’t think there hasn’t been much written about it.
In case you have no idea what I’m talking about, I’ll get right to it. Some cards from the 350 series have an unfocused, “washed out” look to them that is easy to notice once you know what you are looking for. Not all cards with 350 backs can be found with the washed out look. From what I have seen, only poses from Print Group 1 have exhibited this print anomaly. So, in theory, there should be 146 subjects that exist with a washed out image. The way I arrive at that number is taking the entire checklist of Print Group 1 (thanks to t206resource.com for the checklist) which is 159 subjects, and subtracting the 13 subjects that are 150 only poses.
“Washed out” images can be found on fronts with these backs:
- Old Mill
- Piedmont 350
- Sovereign 350
- Sweet Caporal 350 factory 25
- Sweet Caporal 350 factory 30
It’s really unclear at this point how this may have happened. Not all Print Group 1 cards with the above backs have washed out images. I talked with a friend recently who has a theory that there were three distinct print runs in the 350 series and that small changes were made before the printing of each. I’m very intrigued by this idea and I plan to look into it further. If I’m able to find anything of substance, I will be sure to write about it. This theory would explain the washed out image phenomenon pretty well. It would explain why some Old Mills from Print Group 1 have great focus and vivid colors, while others are unfocused and have muted colors. It seems that at some point during the 350 series run on Print Group 1, that the printing presses got out of whack for a little while and created this washed out look. That could have been at the tail-end of the 350 print run of PG1, or at the beginning and the printing presses were fixed for subsequent print runs.
I find it hard to explain exactly what we are looking at. The Old Mill Overall at the top of this post is clearly missing some of the darker colors. The red, blue, brown and black are all darker and more crisp on the SC 150/25 copy. Meanwhile, the Hahn Old Mill below actually looks darker than it’s Sov150 counterpart. Both Old Mills clearly have the same washed out look however. If anyone who has a better understanding of the printing process can shed some light on what created this “washed out” look, I would very appreciative.
Many collectors actively avoid these cards, preferring 150 backs with crisp images. I may be the only one, but I really like the washed out look. If these cards ever gained popularity, I think we would find that they are somewhat tough to find in general and that the really extreme examples are quite scarce.
