blog – Page 5 – That T206 life

The Top 10 National League Pitchers of 1909 (in terms of WAR)

Luke January 22, 2017

Over 100 years have passed since the T206 set was produced. History has a way of simplifying events and legacies, sometimes to our detriment. T206 collectors generally put their cards into one of three categories: Hall of Famer, Southern Leaguer, or common. That last umbrella is far too large. If you haven’t studied the players, teams, and statistics of the deadball era, you would look at an Orval Overall card next to a Newt Randall and put them both in the “common category”. If you know who the Hall of Famers in the set are, you are well on the way to knowing who the best players of the era were. But, as I hope to show, there are a ton of other stars and interesting players whose stories have largely been lost to time. In this series, I’m going to take a look at the standout players from 1909, 1910, and 1911. You’ll know a lot of the names, but hopefully you’ll also learn something about some “common” player cards you own.

1. Christy Mathewson – 9.2 WAR for pitchers

“Matty” had a ridiculous season. His 1.14 ERA led the NL, and his 25 wins were second only to Mordecai Brown. He was first in hits per 9 (6.27) and walks per 9 (1.17). He threw 8 shutouts and finished 26 games. In 1909, ATC released his “Portrait” and “White Cap” cards, and “Dark Cap” followed in 1910.

2. Mordecai Brown – 8.7 WAR for pitchers

In a lot of seasons, he would have been the best pitcher in the NL. He sported a 1.31 ERA to go with a 27-9 record. He threw more innings than anyone, and it wasn’t even close. His 342.2 dwarfed Mattern’s 316.1. Mordecai matched Matty’s 8 shutouts and led the NL in complete games with 32. He even found time to lead the NL in saves with 7! In 1909, his “Portrait” and “Cubs on Shirt” cards were released. “Chicago on Shirt” was produced in 1910.

3. Nap Rucker – 7.8 WAR for pitchers

Rucker turned in an amazing season for the hapless Brooklyn Superbas. His record of 13-19 was underwhelming, but advanced metrics show how dominant he really was. Brooklyn went 55-98 that year, so wins were at a premium. His 201 strikeouts were good for 2nd in the NL, and his 309.1 innings thrown was third most in the league. He finished 28 games (3rd in the NL) and 6 of them were shutouts (4th). In 1909, his “portrait” card was released and “throwing” followed in 1910.

4. Orval Overall – 7.2 WAR for pitchers

Orval went 20-11 with a 1.42 ERA for the Cubs in 1909. He led the league in strikeout (205) and K/9 at 6.48. Rucker was a distant second at 5.85. He also led the NL in shutouts with 9. ATC released his iconic “Portrait” in 1909 and “Hand at Face Level” in 1910. His final T206, “Hands at Waist Level”, was released in 1911.

5. Art Fromme – 5.6 WAR for pitchers

Fromme went 19-13 with a 1.90 ERA for Cincinnati in 1909. He had gone 5-13 in 1907 and 1908, so his stellar performance came as a surprise to fans and the American Tobacco Company alike. He did not grace the front of a T206 in 1909, but after his amazing season, he was given one in 1910. He was a workhorse, starting 34 games (tied for 2nd in the NL) and finishing 22 of them. Fromme’s peripherals are mostly underwhelming compared to the rest of the hurlers in this list. However, his Hits/9 was second only to Mathewson at 6.28.

6. Earl Moore – 5.5 WAR for pitchers

1909 was the start of a sick 3 year run for Earl Moore. He was amazing for each of the years T206s were produced, and yet he was omitted from the set. It’s hard to fathom why. I do have a theory as to the reason, but it is a subject for another article. He had an 18-12 record to go with an ERA of 2.10. His 173 K’s was good for 3rd in the NL. He started 34 games and finished 24 of them.

7. Howie Camnitz – 5.5 WAR for pitchers

Camnitz’s record of 25-6 matched Matty’s output for the 1909 season. His ERA (1.62) was 4th in the NL, and his BB/9 and Hit/9 were both in the Top 10. He started 30 games, 20 of which were completed. Six of those were shutouts. Like the first 4 pitchers on this list, Camnitz appears on three T206 cards. His “Arms Folded” card was released in 1909 and “Arm at Side” and “Hands Above Head” both came out in 1911.

8. Ed Reulbach – 5.4 WAR for pitchers

“Big Ed” turned in a 19-10 record to go with an ERA of 1.78 in 1909. It was his 5th straight stellar season, and he was only 26 years old. Looking at this list, you can imagine how dominant the Cubs staff was. Both his K/9 and BB/9 were top 10 in the NL. He started 32 games. 23 of them were CGs and 6 were shutouts. In 1909, his “Glove Showing” T206 was introduced, and “No Glove Showing” followed in 1910.

9. Vic Willis – 4.5 WAR for pitchers

As a 33 year-old, Vic Willis led the NL in games started with 35 (24 of them were complete games). He won 22 and lost 11 in his penultimate campaign. It was his 4th straight 20-win season for Pittsburgh. Willis’ “Portrait” was released in 1909 and features him with Pittsburgh. His “With Bat” and “Pitching” poses were both produced in 1910 and depict him in a St. Louis uniform.

10. Hooks Wiltse – 4.1 WAR for pitchers

In arguably his finest season, Wiltse went 20-11 with a 2.00 ERA in 1909. It was his 6th straight exceptional campaign. He sneaked into the Top 10 in strikeouts with 119 (10th) and his BB/9 of 1.70 was good for third in the NL. His “Portrait no cap” was released in 1909. “Pitching” came out in 1910, and “Portrait with cap” followed in 1911.

Auction Report: Memory Lane

Luke January 26, 2017 January 19, 2017

Memory Lane’s winter auction came to a close on Saturday night. Among the offerings were a group of T206 rarities that attracted some spirited bidding. It looks like a Chicago Cubs collector consigned a large group of cards to this auction. A majority of the significant T206s sold here featured Cubs players on their fronts.

Red Hindu Evers SGC 60 – $6,225
This is the second-highest graded copy of Evers Red Hindu, and it is a stunner. It seems like a strong price to me based on the POP numbers, but the same card sold for $10,158 two years ago in Heritage, so I’m sure the buyer is thrilled.

Chance Lenox PSA 4 – $3,037
This one was a great deal. The same card sold for $8,888 via REA in 2012. It’s the highest graded copy in either pop report and a nice looking card. If it had been in a shiny new holder with “Lenox” on the flip, I bet it would have sold for more. A very nice buy for the new owner.

Chance red portrait EPDG PSA 5 – $1,951
This is the highest graded copy at PSA, and it fetched a strong price. A front/back combo that’s sneaky tough to find, this one was definitely not ignored by collectors.

Evers portrait Hindu SGC 50 – $1,319
The new owner has to be excited to snag this card at such a great price. It’s a bit of a weak 4, and that, as well as the myriad other tough Cubs cards in the auction, may have depressed the price.

Tinker bat off shoulder Blank Back – $1,244
This is my pick for best deal of the auction. Printer’s Scrap and Blank Backs continue to see their values fall, but this price seems ridiculously low. I imagine a lot of back collectors will regret letting that one go for such a low price (I already do). The fact that this is Tinker’s least popular pose may have been partially responsible for the low hammer.

Evers Broadleaf 350 SGC 30 – $1,128
Another card that went a lot lower than I would have expected. In retrospect, I wish I had gotten in there. Besides being a very scarce front/back combo, this one also has tremendous eye appeal for the grade. No paper loss, and the lone crease is not too distracting.

Evers Cubs on Shirt Sovereign 150 SGC 40 – $580
This front/back combo is tough to come by, and there were clearly 2 or 3 bidders who really wanted this one. It’s a strong return for the consignor and a fair price based on the scarcity of the card.

The T206 150-Only Subjects

Luke January 19, 2017 January 15, 2017

There are 13 poses from the 150 series that were discontinued prior to the 350 series. Among them are Honus Wagner and the Sherry Magie error. These two were pulled from production early on and exist in very small numbers. The remaining 11 are generally referred to as “The 150-Only Subjects”. They are as follows:

Ames hands at chest
Browne, George Chicago (misspelled as Brown)
Brown, Mordecai Cubs on shirt
Burch batting
Donlin fielding
Doyle throwing
Evers Cubs on shirt
Pattee
Pelty horizontal
Powers
Reulbach glove showing

Each of these 11 subjects were printed with the following backs:

Hindu
Piedmont 150
Sovereign 150
Sweet Caporal 150 factory 25
Sweet Caporal 150 factory 30

Curiously, Powers was also printed with Sweet Caporal 150 factory 649 overprint. For most of these poses, Hindu is the scarcest back with Sovereign 150 close behind. Hindu backs will fetch the highest prices.

American Tobacco Company’s decision to pull this group of cards from production early is hard to understand. Browne, Pattee and Powers were logical candidates to be pulled early, but the same cannot be said for the other eight players. Browne was claimed off waivers by Washington in May of 1909. The caption was changed on his card and he was featured in the 350 series as a member of the Washington club. Pattee played only one season of Major League Baseball, in 1908. Once it was clear he was not going to play in 1909, it makes sense that they wanted to omit him from the 150 series. Powers, likewise, was out of MLB in 1909. He is a curious inclusion to begin with. A journeyman backup catcher and first baseman, he had a career average of just .216. Powers played just one game in 1908 as a 38 year-old. I’m a little surprised he made a strong enough impression in 1907 and previous seasons to be included in the set at all.

I can’t think of an explanation as to why the other eight players were pulled from future printings. Ames, Brown, Donlin, Doyle, Evers, and Reulbach were stars. It makes no sense to stop production of their cards prematurely. Pelty was a solid and dependable starter for St. Louis, and Burch finished the 1909 season 5th in the NL in hits. Each of these eight players are featured on another card that was released later in the T206 print run. The reason for their omission will probably remain one of the mysteries of the T206 set.

Because these 11 poses were not printed with any 350 series backs, they exist in far fewer quantities than a typical 150-350 series pose. As a result, they show up for sale less often, are harder to find in nice condition, and sell for a premium.

T206 Player Bio: Harry Lumley

Luke January 12, 2017

During his short MLB career, Harry Lumley was one of the most feared sluggers in the game. He played only 5 full seasons in the Majors, and his stats are staggering. He was sidelined by injuries, rheumatism, and a tendency to put on weight. If he had remained healthy, it’s not hard to imagine him as a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

In 1903, Lumley played for Seattle of the Pacific Coast League, which was an outlaw league at the time. He led the league in batting average with a .383 clip. Following that season, the PCL joined organized baseball. As a result, all of Seattle’s players were eligible for the Rule 5 Draft, and Lumley was selected by the Brooklyn Superbas. As a 23 year-old rookie in 1904, he led the National League in both triples (18) and home runs (9). He put up an average of .279 with an OPS of .759. It was an incredible rookie season, but he was just getting started.

In 1905, Lumley’s average climbed to .293, though his triple (10) and home run (7) totals dropped a bit. His 7 HRs were still good for 3rd in the NL. 1906 was his best year by far. His batting average jumped to .324, good for 3rd in the NL behind only Harry Steinfeldt and Honus Wagner. He led the league in slugging (.477) and was second in triples (12) and home runs (9), trailing only his teammate Tim Jordan.

1907 was another great year for Lumley, but sadly it was the last season he performed at a high level. He hit 9 home runs, good for second in the NL and slugged .425, which slotted in just behind Wagner and Magee on the NL leaderboard. Near the end of the season, he broke his ankle while sliding, which ended his season after 127 games. The injury lingered into the 1908 season and made it tough for him to keep his weight down. Prior to the season, he was named team captain. He played 127 games in 1908, but only hit .216 with 4 home runs.

Prior to the 1909 season, Brooklyn owner Charles Ebbets named Lumley manager. He skippered his squad to a 55-98 record, which was good for 6th in the NL. That doesn’t look too good at first glance, but in 1908 the club went 53-101 and finished 7th, so it was a nice, if small, improvement. As a player, Lumley appeared in 55 games, but injuries and weight gain had sapped him of his effectiveness. He put up a decent average (.250) but didn’t hit a single home run.

After the season, Ebbets replaced Lumley with Bill Dahlen as the new manager. Lumley started the season with the club as a player, but he only played 8 games before being released in June of 1910.

If the T206 set had begun production in 1904, Lumley might have been featured on three or four cards. As it was, he made the cut to be included mainly because he was the current manager of the 1909 Brooklyn team. Fans no doubt were hoping for him to return to form, but injuries had taken their toll. Lumley is one of the more compelling players in the T206 set, and I am very happy he was included, even if we only got one card of him.

I want to thank baseball-reference.com for the stats and leaderboards and Tom Simon for his great article that can be found here. Both of these resources were a big help to me in telling the fascinating story of Harry Lumley.

T206 Piedmont 350-460 Factory 42: An Introduction

Luke February 9, 2017 January 9, 2017

When I first got into collecting the T206 set, I read somewhere that Piedmont Factory 42 backs were rare and valuable. They look almost identical to the other Piedmont 350-460 back, which is from Factory 25. Because of this, they sometimes fall through the cracks and can be found at bargain prices. For the next few months, I checked the bottom of every Piedmont back I saw on ebay, hoping to find my first Piedmont 42 (sadly, I didn’t find a single one). At the time, I didn’t realize the Piedmont Factory 42 back was only possible on certain fronts (76 different fronts to be exact). I wish someone had told me early on which cards to check the backs of and which cards to not bother with. I figured it might be helpful to write an article about this topic, since I wasted a lot of time checking back scans of poses that couldn’t possibly have possibly been from Factory 42.

These are the most important things to know:

Piedmont 150 backs are all from Factory 25
Piedmont 350 backs are all from Factory 25
Piedmont 350-460 backs can be found with both Factory 25 and Factory 42 backs
Piedmont 350-460 Factory 42 backs are very scarce and sell for a large premium over their Piedmont 350-460 Factory 25 counterparts

So don’t bother checking the factory numbers on Piedmont 150 and 350 backs, because they are all the same.

The Piedmont 350-460 Factory 25 checklist consists of 109 poses. The majority of those 109 also were printed with Piedmont 350-460 Factory 42 backs, but not all. Here is the entire 76 card checklist of Piedmont 350-460 Factory 42:

These 76 poses are the only ones that exist with Piedmont Factory 42 backs. It’s not clear why the other 33 poses printed with Piedmont 350-460 Factory 25 were left off the Piedmont 350-460 Factory 42 print run. These are the 33 poses that exist with P350-460 Fact. 25 but not with P350-460 Fact. 42:

Now that we’ve gone over which cards to look for, let’s talk about value. Prices seem to be down a bit recently, but they still command a large premium. Cards in the poor-fair range have been selling for $150-$200 and the gd-vg range for between $250-$400 lately. By the time you read this, the market could have changed, so make sure to check completed ebay sales and other online auction houses to get a better idea of the current market value.

Lastly, there is one slight visual difference between Factory 25 and Factory 42 backs. The printing on the bottom of the Factory 42 backs takes up more space from left the right. Knowing this and keeping an eye out for it can help you spot these cards. Check out the image below to see what I mean.

Thank you to t206resource.com for the use of the above checklists.

T206 Wildfire Schulte front view Piedmont 350 – Is it a 1 of 1?

Luke January 10, 2017 January 2, 2017

Prior to 2012, it was assumed that Schulte front view was a 150-only subject. However, in REA’s Spring 2012 Auction a near complete (517/524) T206 set was auctioned off that included a low-grade Schulte with Piedmont 350 back. The partial set went for $44,438. It contained many other cool cards including a Cycle 460 Cobb and a Red Hindu Gandil. Still, the price tag was pretty hefty. The Schulte was the crown jewel of the collection, and it no doubt drove the strong bidding.

This new find was quite the head-scratcher for T206 back collectors. This made Schulte front-view an incredibly tough card to categorize. It definitely couldn’t be a 150-only subject anymore, but it didn’t fit neatly into any other category either. At the time, collectors looked to a group of 150-350 series poses referred to as the “Elite 8*” subjects to try and find a fit.

At the time, the Elite 8 subjects consisted of these poses*:

Dahlen Boston
Ewing
Ganley
Jones, Tom
Karger
Lindaman
Lundgren Chicago
Mullin horizontal

These 8 poses are unique in that they shared many traits with the 150-only subjects. They were not printed with Old Mill, Sovereign 350 or Sweet Caporal 350 backs. However, each of the 8 was printed with El Principe de Gales backs and Piedmont 350. They are all very tough to find with Piedmont 350 back (some more so than others – probably a subject for another article). Each of these poses was pulled from production early in the Piedmont 350 print run, creating scarcity.

With this new discovery, some people felt Schulte should be the 9th member of this group. The awesome name “Ninja 9” was even floated as a potential moniker. The big problem with putting him in this group is that he wasn’t printed with an El Principe de Gales back. Some collectors posited the theory that this Schulte card could be a proof or printer’s scrap never meant to be released. That is possible, but in my opinion it looks like it was factory-cut. Tough to be sure because the card is in such rough shape, but it doesn’t have any telltale signs of being hand-cut.

For now, Schulte front view is a pose that defies categorization. Until another example with Piedmont 350 back shows up, collectors will be split on what to make of the lone copy. Keep your eyes peeled. Maybe you’ll be the person who finds the next one!

*Today this group is generally thought to include either 11 or 12 poses. Schaefer Detroit, Shaw St. Louis, and Spencer have been added to the 8 mentioned above. Some consider Schulte front view the 12th member of the group.

Examining the T206 Joe Tinker Hands on Knees “Chicago” Variation

Luke December 27, 2016

T206 Tinker hands on knees PSA Chicago variation — This is the third copy that surfaced, and by far the nicest. Originally sold by REA in Fall 2013 for $11,850

The T206 Tinker Hands on Knees “Chicago” variation is one of the more valuable errors/variations in the set. For a card that has repeatedly sold for five figures, it seems to fly under the radar in terms of notoriety. It’s a relatively recent discovery, which could be a contributing factor. The first copy surfaced in March 2011 on ebay. A thread was started on net54baseball.com to discuss it. There was a lot of skepticism initially. However, a few long-time T206 collectors stated that they thought it was legit. On April 15th of 2011, Bob Lemke posted that the card had been graded by SGC and was deemed a legitimate variation.

At the time the first copy was being discussed, it was known that an early proof of Wildfire Schulte front view had “CHICAGO” written
across his jersey rather than “CUBS”, lending credence to the idea that perhaps Tinker was originally slated to have “CHICAGO” across his
jersey as well. The Schulte proof, which is one of the coolest T206 cards in existence, is owned by Keith Olbermann. He wrote an article about proofs and variations in 1997 for the Vintage & Classic Baseball Collector magazine which included a scan of the Schulte proof. I’m less sure about the timeline of the discovery of this Tinker photo, which legitimized the variation for anyone who was still skeptical. It’s clearly the photo that was used for Tinker’s Hands at Knees T206 card. You can see why they didn’t want to copy it exactly, since his jersey is unbuttoned and it’s hard to read the letters across his chest. Why they chose to remove “CHICAGO” and add “CUBS” rather than just touch it up so “CHICAGO” was legible is anyone’s guess. Every Chicago Cubs pose released in the 150 series features”CUBS” across the jersey. It’s possible all Cubs were initially slated to be printed with “CHICAGO” on their jerseys. It’s also possible that Schulte and Tinker were changed to “CUBS” to fit in with the rest of the team.

In REA’s Spring 2012 Auction, a second copy of this variation surfaced, selling for $18,960. This one was noticed by an SGC grader who spotted it while grading a submission. The owner promptly sent it to REA and cashed in. Soon after, the first copy was auctioned off in Greg Bussineau’s Summer 2012 Auction, where it fetched $33,720. The second copy is in much nicer shape, even though the grades are identical. Waiting until the second copy sold turned out to be a wise move for the owner of the first copy.

In 2013, the third copy of this variation surfaced. This one is by far the nicest. It was graded a 2.5 by PSA due to some slight surface wear on the back but looks a lot more like a 5. A distinct pattern had developed, as this card (in addition to copy #1 and copy #2) featured a Sweet Caporal 150 factory 30 back. The third copy was auctioned off by REA in the Fall of 2013 and went for $11,850. The same card was recently sold via Heritage Auctions in their August 2016 Platinum Night Auction. This time, it fetched $22,705.

T206 Tinker Chicago Sweet Caporal SGC 20 — Copy #1, sold by Greg Bussineau for $33,720 in Summer 2012

Only 3 copies of this variation are known, but a number of Tinker Hands on Knees cards show remnants of the darker “CHICAGO” text. The theory is that when the printers swapped “CHICAGO” for “CUBS”, they initially left “CHICAGO” underneath but reacted quickly to erase most of “CHICAGO”. The partial remnant can be found on cards with Hindu, Piedmont 150, Sovereign 150, and Sweet Caporal 150 backs. I am not aware of any 350 series backs that feature the remnant, so they must have cleaned it up for a second time following the 150 series print runs. Copies with the remnant are not particularly tough to find and don’t seem to sell for any premium.

Next time you come across a copy of Tinker Hands on Knees, make sure to give it a close look. There might be another one out there just waiting to be found!

Thanks to Robert Edwards Auctions, net54baseball.com, Bob Lemke’s blog, and Heritage Auctions for the reference materials for this article.

tinker-sc-and-sov150-with-remnant — Sweet Caporal 150/30 and Sovereign 150 examples featuring the remnants of “CHICAGO” in black behind “CUBS”

T206 Player Bio: Harry Krause

Luke December 21, 2016 December 21, 2016

T206 Krause portrait — Krause won the AL pitching title in 1909 with a 1.39 ERA

In 1909 the Philadelphia Athletics rotation was absolutely stacked. Co-aces Eddie Plank and Chief Bender were flanked by Cy Morgan, Jack Coombs and a 20 year-old rookie name Harry Krause. Plank went 19-10 with a 1.76 ERA and Bender was 18-8 with a 1.66 ERA. Morgan won 16 and lost 11 with a stellar 1.65 ERA. Coombs went 12-11 and his 2.32 ERA was just about league-average. Krause managed to outperform all of them. The left-hander went 18-8 and led the American League with a 1.39 ERA.

It comes as no surprise that the American Tobacco Company rushed to include him in the 350 series print run. In 1910, they released not one, but two cards depicting him. We know them as the portrait and pitching poses.

Prior to his incredible 1909 campaign, Krause has only started 2 games in Major League Baseball. Just as quickly as he achieved stardom, he lost it. The Athletics were World Series Champions in 1910 and 1911, but Krause did not play a huge part in either title. Due to arm trouble he started only 11 games in 1910 and his ERA rose to 2.88. In 1911, his last full year in the majors, he went 11-8 with a 3.04 ERA. In 1912, he struggled and was sent to the Minor League Toledo Mud Hens. After a couple months, he was purchased by the Cleveland Naps, where he appeared in 2 games, posting an ERA of 11.57.

He threw his last pitch in the majors in 1912, but went on to have an impressive career in the Pacific Coast League. In 1913, he won 17 games for Portland with an ERA of 2.28. In 1917 he joined the Oakland Oaks, with whom he would play for the next 12 seasons. His stat line from 1917 is hard to believe. He threw an astounding 428.2 innings, winning 28 games and dropping 26. Despite that ridiculous workload, he put up an impressive 2.35 ERA.

When he finally hung up the cleats at the age of 40, he owned a 249-220 record and 3.22 ERA in 16 PCL seasons. After his career ended, he was inducted into the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame.

Thank you to baseball-reference.com for all the stats.

Beware of Expensive “Missing Red” T206 cards

Luke December 19, 2016 December 18, 2016

T206 Beck missing red — Legit and very cool Beck missing red ink

A few years back, T206s that were missing a certain color got very popular and expensive. For a combination of reasons (printing process, the inks used, the way our eye processes colors, etc.) red is the easiest color to notice the absence of. During this “Missing Red” fad, a lot of cards were sold for high prices.

Some T206 were legitimately printed without red ink, while others were printed normally, and altered in the years after their production. The legit “missing reds” are cool cards and certainly worth paying a premium for due to their rarity. The problem is that neither PSA nor SGC is holdering missing ink cards at this time. There are a lot of cards out there in holders noted as “Missing Ink”, but they were all graded a few years back. So, if you want to add a T206 with missing red ink to your collection, you have to do the research to determine if it is legit on your own. In addition to doing your own homework, I highly recommend asking the opinion of someone you trust. I’m always happy to answer any questions you may have.

T206 Oakes Missing Ink — Adhesive residue covering the entire back

So, why are many of these “missing red” cards suspect? Red ink on a T206 is very prone to fading under certain conditions. Sunlight has been shown to fade red ink completely, while not altering the other colors nearly as much. If you see a card that is advertised as “missing red ink” but has a pinhole at the top, that is a very good indicator that the card was tacked to a wall and the red faded due to sunlight exposure. Also, many cards that appear to be missing red ink will have adhesive residue on the backs, or paper loss indicating that the card was once adhered to a scrapbook or some other surface. I believe that certain adhesives used back in the T206 era would cause the red ink to fade. It’s based on looking at thousands of scans and seeing patterns, but it is just my opinion. It’s also possible that all the “faded red” cards that we see with back damage or adhesive residue were displayed in the sunlight for years. If that is the case, then the sun is responsible. I think that exposure to sunlight and to certain adhesives are both likely causes.

T206 Huggins and Scott collage — Auctioned off in 2012, this awesome collage shows the effect that sunlight can have on a T206

The above collage was auctioned off by Huggins and Scott in 2012. Besides being an incredibly cool piece, it’s also very useful in that it shows us the effects of sunlight on T206 and other cards from the period. Take a look at the above Pickering, Grimshaw, and Lennox. Those three (and plenty of others) make it pretty clear that red ink can fade from the front of a T206.

There has been a lot of confusion over the years about these cards. Trustworthy sellers have sold faded cards as missing red and trustworthy grading companies have mistakenly slabbed faded and altered cards as “missing red”. Nobody’s perfect, and everyone makes mistakes. The grading companies have stopped slabbing these cards as “missing ink” and I don’t think we will see those same Auction Houses offer them for sale in the future.

T206 Griffith faded red — Paper loss, adhesive residue and fading

It’s important to use common sense when looking at cards that are touted as “missing ink”. These cards were printed over 100 years ago. A lot of things can happen to a piece of cardboard in 100 years. Occam’s razor applies here. If a card appears to be missing red ink, but it also looks a little faded, and maybe has some back damage, those are big red flags.

The main thing to keep in mind is that if the card is in really poor condition, the missing red ink is very likely to be due to an alteration, whether that be sunlight or chemical damage from an adhesive. If the price is low, go ahead and grab the card. They are cool oddities. But, before you spend hundreds of dollars on a card that supposedly is missing ink, do your homework and ask an experienced friend for help.

T206 missing red Harry Niles — Paper loss on the back caused by being glued to a scrapbook or display piece

Understanding the American Beauty backs: T206 American Beauty 350 no frame (Part 3/4)

Luke February 9, 2017 December 15, 2016

There are 37 different poses in the American Beauty 350 no frame checklist. This subset was released in 1910 and consists entirely of poses from the 350-460 series (also referred to as Print Group 3). It’s easy to confuse the two American Beauty 350 backs. There are two important distinctions. First, AB350nf backs tend to sell for more than a AB350w/f back in similar condition. The reason: There are only 37 cards with AB350nf backs and 190 AB350w/f backs. So, in the aggregate, AB350nf is the scarcer back. However, when you are looking for a specific pose with either an AB350nf or an AB350w/f back, you will likely have a harder time finding the AB350w/f. This is because, on average, a specific pose from the AB350w/f checklist is scarcer than a specific pose from the AB350nf checklist. To put it in simpler terms: The average combined PSA & SGC pop report totals for a given AB350nf card are greater than 10. For AB350w/f, the average combined total is less than 10.

19 of the 37 cards in this subset were also printed with American Beauty 460 backs. This can be confusing because sometimes you will see a listing for one of these cards that simply states the back is an American Beauty back, but does not tell you whether it is a 350 or 460 back. These 19 poses exist with both AB350nf and AB460 backs, but are much scarcer and more valuable with the AB460 back:

Burch fielding
Conroy with bat
Crawford with bat
Jennings two hands showing
Jordan batting
Lake St. Louis, no ball
Leifield batting
Manning pitching
McQuillan with bat
Mullin with bat
Overall hand at face level
Pelty vertical
Pfeister throwing
Steinfeldt with bat
Wagner bat on right shoulder
Wilhelm with bat
Willetts
Willis batting
Wiltse pitching

Of course, this means that 18 of the poses in the AB350nf subset do not exist with AB460 back. For these 18 cards, it is easier to read the SGC and PSA pop reports and get a feel for how many copies have been graded. SGC and PSA have not always differentiated between the two backs. This makes it tough to get a handle on the true populations of AB350nf versus AB460 for the group of 19 above. I went through both the PSA and SGC Pop Reports and attempted to compile the combined Pop Report totals for each of the 37 cards in the AB350nf subset. This proved to be more difficult than I had imagined. For all of the 19 poses listed above, there are generic entries which could be either AB350nf or AB460 backs. We know that they are far more likely to represent a AB350nf back, but we can’t be sure.

The table above shows the results of my research into the SGC and PSA Pop Report Numbers for every card in the American Beauty 350 no frame subset. Because both PSA and SGC have generic American Beauty listings, it is impossible to know with 100% certainty how many of each pose are in each Pop Report. However, it is possible to look at all the numbers and make a reliable guesstimate. The table below shows the work I used to arrive at the estimates above. As you can see, there are 15 poses in the table below that do not have any ambiguous entries. For those 15, we have the exact Pop Report numbers. For the other 22, I have made an educated guess. For the cards in the AB350nf subset that also exist with an AB460 back, we know that the AB350nf will be far more plentiful. Somewhere in the neighborhood of a 4:1 ratio. This is how I arrived at my estimates. If there are 10 generic American Beauty backs in the PSA Pop Report, I have estimated that 2 of them will be AB460 backs, and 8 of them will be AB350nf backs.

This data shows that the individual cards in this subset are not particularly rare. Steinfeldt has the lowest Pop, at an estimated 10 copies. There are plenty of Old Mill, Tolstoi, AB350w/f, and Cycle 350 front/back combos that are more scarce than any card in the AB350nf subset. But, demand for this back remains high. A few of these cards have relatively high Pop numbers, but I don’t recall seeing a single copy for sale in the last couple years. Apparently they are out there, but they don’t change hands often.

Thanks to t206resource.com for the use of their checklists.