I’m excited to bring you another guest article from fellow T206 aficionado Scott Gross!
T206 Sweet Caporal 150 Factory 649 Overprints are a small (only 34 total cards) back printing sub-set. They were produced in the first printing of T206s in 1909 and are part of Print Group 1 (all Print Groups are based on the fantastic web site t206resource.com). Originally, they were produced as Sweet Caporal 150 Factory 30. The Factory 30 can be seen on some cards where the Red Stripe Over Print was misaligned. In fact, sometimes this back is called “Sweet Caporal Red Stripes.”
Due to Federal Tobacco laws, these cards were shipped from Factory 30 (2nd District NY) to Factory 649 (1st District NY). Although there are only 34 cards, there is a nice variety, which includes 7 future Hall of Famers. There are also a few commons that have interesting printing anomalies.
The following table is based on the PSA Population report, which shows the backs that were printed for each player. There are two exceptions: First, PSA has not graded a Bates with a SC 350 / 25 back. It is theorized this card “should” exist, and the other day, a knowledgeable T206 friend of mine said he has seen one. Secondly, whereas PSA has no graded Gilbert listed, he is confirmed on T206resource.com.
| EPDG | Hindu | Old Mill | Pied.150 | Pied.350 | Sov.150 | Sov.350 | SC 150/25 | SC 150/30 | SC 150/649 | SC 350/25 | SC350/30 | |
| Alperman | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | ||
| Bates | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | y | x | |
| Bransfield | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | ||
| Bresnahan, portait | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| Clarke, J.J. | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |
| Davis, George | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| Davis, H. | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | ||
| Delehanty, Wash. | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |
| Ewing | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | ||||
| Gilbert | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | z | x | |
| Goode | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |
| Griffith, Portrait | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| Johnson, Portrait | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| Jones, St. Louis | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | ||||
| Killian, Pitching | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| Lajoie, Throwing | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |
| Lake, New York | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | ||
| Liebhardt, Glenn | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |
| Manning, Batting | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |
| Marquard, Hands Thighs | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |
| Mathewson, White | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | ||
| McIntire, Brooklyn | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | ||
| McQuillan, ball in hand | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |
| O’Leary, Portrait | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| Owen | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |
| Pastorius | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |
| Powers | x | x | x | x | x | x | ||||||
| Ritchey | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |
| Schlei, Catching | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |
| Schmidt, Pitching | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | ||
| Sheckard, no glove | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |
| Spencer | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | ||||
| Wagner, Bat Left | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |
| Wilhelm, Pitch | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
Let’s look at what these cards have in common. Actually they ALL have a lot in common. ALL can be found with Hindu backs. That would make sense, as Hindus were also produced at Factory 649. They also can ALL be found with the following backs: Piedmont 150, Sovereign 150, Sweet Caporal 150 / 25, and Sweet Caporal 150 / 30.
Cards produced with El Principe De Gales backs are kind of hit-or-miss. The majority of them, 22, have EPDG backs. I can only assume the 12 that do not have EPDG backs just “didn’t make the cut” for this back run.
All but one player (Powers, which will be discussed later) were produced with Piedmont 350 backs. However, only ten have a Sovereign 350 back. Once again, kind of hit-or-miss who made the this cut. On one hand you have very talented and popular (future HOFs) cards like Roger Bresnahan, George Davis, Clarke Griffith, and Walter Johnson, but not Napoleon Lajoie, Rube Marquard, or Christy Mathewson. Commons-wise, Glenn Liebhardt (who was printed with Sovereign 350 back) was a very good minor league pitcher, but nothing to brag about in the majors.
OK, now let’s look at the few anomalies:
First, we have Mike “Doc” Powers. Powers was a medical physician, thus the nickname, and was mainly a back-up catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics. He has no EPDG (as suspected, just didn’t make the printing). More importantly, he has NO 350 series backs. The reason for this: He was one of the very first cards pulled from T206 production. He also has no Old Mill back (which probably was pulled early, also). This is sadly understandable in that he died on April 26, 1909, just after the production began. The romantic version of his death is he died running into the stands after a foul ball on opening day. Partly true; he actually died from complications following surgery resulting from injuries sustained on that day. His full catcher’s-gear image is a favorite of many collectors, including myself.
Three other “odd” cards are Bob Ewing, Tom Jones of St. Louis, and Tubby Spencer. Like Powers, they neither have Old Mill backs, nor do they have Sweet Caporal 350 backs. The explanation is that they were pulled from production early. Not as early as Powers, but right about the beginning of 350 Series production. This timeline is not only based on the absence of Old Mill or Sweet Caporal 350 cards (or Sovereign) but also the fact that they are very short-printed, and extremely tough to find with Piedmont 350 backs. They both fall into the category known as The Elite 11*, which all have the same back distribution.
By the way, I have collected all 34 cards. It took about a year. I can’t say any one is anymore difficult to come by than any other. That includes HOFers, commons, and anomalies. It’s a FUN and doable sub-set, give it a try!!!!!
