T206 is the greatest baseball card set of all time. Since you’re here, you probably already knew that. One of the reasons is there are so many different ways to collect T206s. One of the more popular approaches in the “back run”. A back run is a collection of cards where the fronts are the same, but the backs are all different.
The most important thing to think about before beginning to collect a back run is, “Which backs are a part of the run?” Some poses will make for a fairly easy-to-complete project, while others are pretty much impossible. For example, a Dode Criss back run consists of 7 different front/back combos. The toughest backs in the run are Old Mill and Sovereign 150. Neither should be too difficult to find, nor should they break the bank. In contrast, a Ty Cobb Red Background Portrait back run consists of 24 different front/back combos. A few of those combos are impossible to find, and even harder to afford. There are only 2 examples of the Broad Leaf 460, both firmly entrenched in collections. Finding a Red Cobb with a Drum, Carolina Brights, Blank Back or Red Hindu back would be similarly tough.
Before you commit to chasing a T206 back run, you should find out which backs exist for each pose that you are considering. Some collectors will want to find a back run that is fairly easy and inexpensive to complete, while others may prefer more of a challenge, and not be deterred by a larger financial commitment.
Gibson is a 150-350 Series pose
Let’s take a look at how the T206 Print Groups can help you select a pose that suits your preferences:
150-350 Series:
With just a few exceptions, a pose from the 150-350 Series will be easier (and cheaper) to complete than a pose from the rest of the set. The toughest backs in this series are Old Mill and Hindu. Either back can take awhile to locate, but it won’t break the bank once you do.
350 Only Series:
Completing a back run featuring a 350 Series subject is tougher than a 150-350 pose. 350 Series poses are found with some combination of the following scarce backs: Broad Leaf 350, Carolina Brights, Drum, Tolstoi. Most 350 Series poses will have some, but not all of those backs. For example, Tris Speaker is known with all 4 of those backs, but Jimmy Collins is only known with Carolina Brights and Tolstoi backs.
Murphy (With Bat) is a 350-460 Series subject
350-460 Series:
Other than the Super Prints, this series contains some of the toughest back run subjects you could choose. This series features Drum, Black Lenox, Piedmont 42, Red Hindu, and Uzit backs.
460 Only Series:
These poses can be found with some combination of American Beauty 460, Black Lenox, Brown Lenox, Cycle 460, Piedmont 42, Red Hindu, and Uzit backs.
Super Prints:
The Super Prints* were so named because they were printed with so many backs. The Red Background Ty Cobb Portrait mentioned above was printed with 24 backs. The exact back makeup of the six poses differs, but they can be found with the following array of rare backs: Broad Leaf 350, Broad Leaf 460, Carolina Brights, Drum, and Black Lenox.
Southern Leaguers:
A Southern Leaguer back run can range from very easy to complete, to near impossible. 14 poses were printed with only Piedmont 350 and Old Mill backs. Another 34 poses were printed with Piedmont 350, Old Mill, and Brown Hindu backs. If those two or three backs is all you are looking for, it should be a fairly easy and affordable project. However, some Southern Leaguers were also printed with the extremely rare Brown Old Mill back. In addition, Southern League poses can be found with a blank back. If the poses you are working on exists with both Brown Old Mill and Blank backs, that is going to make for an incredibly expensive and challenging project.
A couple different friends have asked me recently why it is so hard to find a T206 Portrait of a Hall Of Famer with a rare back. The answer is pretty simple. Most of them were never printed with a truly rare back. For the purposes of this article (and all my other work) “rare backs” refers to Carolina Brights, Broad Leaf 350, Black Lenox, Brown Lenox, Red Hindu, Drum, and Broad Leaf 460*. Let’s get into why.
There are 31 Portraits in the T206 set that feature a Hall of Famer. 23 of them were printed in the 150-350 Series. The rarest backs that were printed in the 150-350 Series are Old Mill and Brown Hindu.
These 23 Hall Of Fame Portraits were printed during the 150-350 Series (along with the rarest back(s) the pose was printed with):
Bender (Old Mill)
Bresnahan (Brown Hindu & Old Mill)
Brown (Brown Hindu & Old Mill)
Chance Red Background (Brown Hindu & Old Mill)
Chesbro (Old Mill)
Clarke (Brown Hindu & Old Mill)
Cobb Green Background (Old Mill)
Evers (Brown Hindu & Old Mill)
Griffith (Brown Hindu & Old Mill)
Jennings (Old Mill)
Johnson (Brown Hindu & Old Mill)
Joss (Brown Hindu & Old Mill)
Keeler (Old Mill)
Lajoie (Brown Hindu & Old Mill)
Mathewson (Brown Hindu & Old Mill)
McGraw No Cap (Brown Hindu & Old Mill)
Plank
Tinker (Brown Hindu & Old Mill)
Waddell (Brown Hindu & Old Mill)
Wagner
Walsh (Brown Hindu & Old Mill)
Willis (Brown Hindu & Old Mill)
Young (Brown Hindu & Old Mill)
These 8 Hall of Fame Portraits were printed in later Series (and which rare backs they were printed with):
Cobb Red Background (Super Print – Broad Leaf 350, Broad Leaf 460, Carolina Brights, Drum, Lenox, Red Hindu)
Eddie Collins (350 Series – Broad Leaf 350 & Carolina Brights)
Jimmy Collins (350 Series – Carolina Brights)
Huggins (350 Series – Broad Leaf 350)
Marquard (350 Series – Broad Leaf 350)
McGraw With Cap (460 Only Series -Lenox, Uzit)
The above 8 poses were printed with various rare backs**. They definitely are not easy to find, but at least they exist. To learn exactly which poses were printed with each back, I recommend perusing the checklists at t206resource.com.
The moral of the story is, if you attempt to own the rarest back for a given Hall of Fame Portrait, you will become very well acquainted with Brown Hindu and Old Mill backs.
* I did not include Blank Backs in this list because they don’t follow the same patterns as all other backs. This is because were not intended to exist.
** They were also printed with various mid-tier backs such as American Beauty, Cycle, EPDG, Piedmont 42, and Tolstoi. I didn’t list each because that is beyond the scope of this article.
Note: Much of the background detail in this story is stuff I learned from reading T206resource.com. Most of my readers will probably be familiar with the site, but if not, make sure to check it out.
In August 1909, Hindu Cigarettes ads featuring T206 images began appearing in the Times-Picayune Daily and Evening newspapers in New Orleans*. The ads ran for six weeks from August 2nd to September 10th. There were 12 ads in total.
The first five ads featured only major-leaguers. The sixth ad featured both Major Leaguers and Southern Leaguers. The final six ads featured only Southern Leaguers.
If you collect T206 cards with Hindu backs, you may notice something odd about the ads above and below. The following four poses appear in the advertisements, but were not actually printed with Brown Hindu backs:
Dooin
Lobert
Nicholls (Hands on Knees)
Waddell (Throwing)
It’s not known why these players were advertised but then omitted from the print run. A similar omission occurred with the Southern Leaguers. The ad below features Southern Leaguers Breitenstein, Hickman and Jordan, who were all printed with Brown Hindu backs. The text in the box at the bottom of the ad reads, “This collection consists of a large assortment of colored lithographs of baseball players in the Southern, South Atlantic, Texas, and Virginia Leagues.”
Players from the Southern, South Atlantic, and Virginia Leagues were indeed printed with Hindu backs, but none of the Texas Leaguers were.
*It is believed that the T206 Hindu Ads were published exclusively in the New Orleans Times-Picayune
Based on the feedback I’ve received from other Top Ten lists I’ve published, it seems like people enjoy them. So, I decided to put one together for my favorite back. Besides being one of the most aesthetically pleasing backs in the T206 set, Brown Hindu is notable for being the only back that is unique to the 150-350 Series*. There are 136 poses in the Brown Hindu Subset. Brown Hindu is the most valuable back for almost all of these 136 poses (with a handful of exceptions noted below)**.
I’ve attempted to list these these cards in terms of demand (current market value) from highest to lowest. I started with 17 poses and worked it down to ten. The other 7 are listed as honorable mentions below. As always, this is a subjective list and some readers may disagree with an exclusion or two. Overall, I think it’s about right though.
Without further ado:
1. Walter Johnson (Portrait)
2. Cy Young (Portrait)
3. Christy Mathewson (Portrait)
4. Christy Mathewson (White Cap)
5. Nap Lajoie (Portrait)
6. Joe Tinker (Portrait)
7. Mordecai Brown (Portrait)
8. Johnny Evers (Portrait)
9. Ed Walsh
10. Addie Joss (Portrait)
Honorable Mentions:
-Evers (Cubs on Shirt)
-Brown (Cubs on Shirt)
-Chance (Red Background Portrait)
-Lajoie (Throwing)
-McGraw (Portrait)
-Tinker (Hands on Knees)
-Waddell (Portrait)
*Sovereign 150 also technically falls into this category, but because Sovereign backs were printed throughout the set. Therefore, I feel Sovereign 150 has more in common with Old Mill and EPDG than Brown Hindu.
**The exceptions to this rule include the following “Elite Eleven” poses:
Today, I’m excited to present a guest article, written by my friend Rob Dewolf. Enjoy! – Luke
Written by Rob Dewolf
Sometimes the best journeys are the ones you plan the least.
Spur-of-the-moment road trips with a college roommate. A weekend getaway with your significant other that comes together in an hour on Saturday morning. A split-second decision that leads to a 1 a.m. trek to the Taco Bell drive-thru.
OK, so maybe a little planning can be a good thing. But one of my best T206 excursions was one I never saw happening.
Because of my age (54) and early interest in baseball cards that continued through high school, I’m among those who can say, “I started collecting T206s in the 1980s.”
But honestly, that “collecting” was defined by picking up a stray white border at a card show now and then or buying a Hall of Famer when I could afford it. So, yeah, technically I “bought” T206s more than thirty years ago, but I wasn’t really “collecting” them.
That changed in 2012, when I decided to cautiously pursue a T206 Polar Bear subset, which seemed like a good fit for a number of reasons. First, it’s only 250 cards. I figured from a mental standpoint, that number wasn’t overwhelming (520, I’m looking at you). Plus, having been born and raised in Ohio, I feel a connection to Polar Bear backs because Factory 6, 1st District, which is listed on the backs of the cards, was located in the Buckeye State. Add the fact that Polar Bears aren’t common like Sweet Caporal or Piedmont but are readily available, and I felt good about the undertaking.
After about a year or so of enjoying and nearly finishing that challenge, I decided to keep plugging away and collect an entire set of T206s, minus the Honus Wagner, Eddie Plank and Joe Doyle error. (A fortunate series of events down the road led to the acquisition of a Plank, but that’s another story – one that can be read by clicking this link: Lionel Carter’s T206 Eddie Plank)
My next step toward a set was to knock off the Southern Leaguers. Because nearly half my T206 set was going to have a Polar Bear back, I decided I wanted the SLers subset to have an “uncommon common” back, i.e. not Piedmonts. This left Old Mills and Hindus as my choices. The Hindus, because of their scarcity, seemed too daunting a challenge, not to mention that only 34 of the 48 Southern League subjects come with a Hindu back. The Old Mills, however, much like the Polar Bears I had been collecting, were uncommon yet attainable.
The timing of this decision was nearly perfect. Not long after looking for a starter lot of Old Mill Southern Leaguers, a near-complete group in mid-range condition came up for auction. I was able to buy it, and after filling in the holes and picking up the last few Polar Bears I was missing, my T206 project was at 298 cards.
Fast-forward to about a year later. My set was “complete” at 520 cards (the Plank deal hadn’t happened yet), but I wasn’t ready to quit on T206s. After considering a few different possible projects (another set, this one in lower grade; Cleveland players with tougher backs; an all-portrait set), I settled on expanding my southern-league horizon. Wouldn’t it be cool, I thought, to have all of the Southern Leaguers with all of the three different backs? A total of 130 cards, 48 each with Piedmont and Old Mill backs, 34 with Hindus.
The Piedmonts weren’t too tough, even when waiting for strong mid-range examples (Side note: This is one of the truly nice things about collecting T206s. There are so many of them out there, you have your choice of what condition you want, and unless you’re collecting PSA 8s, you rarely feel you’ve hit a wall).
So, while picking up Piedmonts at a steady pace, I started on the Hindus, buying one here and one there and not being as particular on condition as I was with the Piedmonts and Old Mills. In addition to there not being as many Hindu SLers as there are ones with the other two backs, it’s a challenge finding all of them in strong, mid-range condition. Sure, you can pick up a type card in a 3, 4 or 5 holder without much trouble. But when you’ve got 20 or so Hindu SLers crossed off your want list, finding that final dozen in nice shape is a fun hunt.
I was fortunate during my entire T206 journey, and in particular the southern-league side trip, to have Jim Rivera helping me. Jim is a friend — not just a “hobby friend” (whatever that means), but a true friend who has forgotten more about T206s than many collectors know. Jim has a particular fondness for the Southern Leaguers, and at one point his collection of not only T206 SLers but also those in the T210 Old Mill and T211 Red Sun sets was something to marvel at.
After working a deal to buy seven of Jim’s extra Hindu SLers, coupled with the handful I already had bought, I had a good start toward completing the SL trifecta. Months followed of buying one here and there and upgrading when I could.
More than once I bought lots of 10-20 cards in auctions only to get the two or three Piedmont or Hindu SLers I didn’t have. Another big plus to collecting T206s: Because they are so popular, they’re about as liquid as cardboard can get, meaning if you buy a large lot of T206s because you need only a few, finding buyers for your extras is relatively easy. (Assuming you didn’t overpay in the first place.)
My march to completion, while not conducted at a breakneck speed, was at a comfortable pace. Southern Leaguers are always are popping up on eBay and in auctions, and rarely do you feel any of them are “must-haves” that cause you to overpay (unless you’re impatient, which – as you’re about to learn- I can be).
Finally, the Piedmonts were finished and I was one Hindu away from being able to say “Mission accomplished!” (Wait, does anyone really say that anymore?) Regardless, my white whale took the form of Dutch Jordan, one of the more popular Southern Leaguers, which I figured would lead me to paying a bit more than the normal rate, but this card was not one that I counted on being tough to buy.
Now, admittedly, the ease of closing the books on a set or subset, unless the card you’re seeking is truly rare, really is dictated by timing. A Hindu Jordan really shouldn’t be any tougher to find than a Scoops Carey or George Paige. Often, it’s just a matter of being fortunate to have one come up for sale at the time you’re looking to buy. And I realized this when weeks turned to months and no Hindu Jordans hit eBay or the auction houses.
In fact, in a bit of irony, a blank-backed T206 Jordan became available in a Robert Edward Auction while I was searching for a Hindu. I bought the blank back, which is maybe a thousand times rarer than a Hindu SLer, thinking that perhaps down the road it might be part of a trade for a Jordan if I was unable to buy one.
As more time passed, that gaping hole caused by Jordan’s absence became more and more annoying to me, particularly because I had been in contact with a T206 collector who had multiples of a Hindu Jordan but didn’t want to sell one. Finally, it got to the point where I emailed him to see whether he had interest in trading for my blank-backed Jordan, thinking it would bring the Hindu Jordan and another T206 or two in return.
I’ll spare the blow-by-blow account of the negotiation, other than to say the pursuit of cardboard pictures of dead baseball players can cause an otherwise fairly smart person to do not-so-smart things. Such was the case when I agreed to trade the blank-backed Jordan straight up for the Hindu. This, after the owner of the Hindu said he reluctantly would do the deal.
Even though I knew I was trading a card I had paid $2,000-plus for at auction for a card that would sell for $600 on a good day, I made the deal. Was it dumb? Monetarily, of course. But I assumed that the satisfaction of completing a pretty challenging subset would help numb the fact that I was committing a financial blunder.
And for a while it did. But eventually, whenever I looked at the Hindu Jordan, I felt a different kind of annoyance. And it had nothing to do with money. I’m kind of old-school, so I can remember when card collectors made trades based not solely on money but on what one party had available and the other party needed. I knew that on the surface, that’s kind of what happened with me and the Jordans, but deep down, I knew I had acted foolishly, simply because I was impatient. I’m certainly not crying foul, because I agreed to the deal. I was to blame for any annoyance I felt. But I also knew there was a way to rectify the situation.
Eventually, as I knew one would, a Hindu Jordan came up for sale. In fact, it happened not more than a few months after the trade. I was in worse condition than the one I traded for, but I didn’t mind a bit. Bought it without hesitation.
I no longer wanted the “first” Hindu Jordan, so I mailed it back to its previous owner, not expecting anything in return. I received an email about a week later, saying he appreciated the gesture “more than you know” and that he’d return the blank-backed Jordan. That was more than two years ago. I guess somewhere in the USPS system is a lost blank-backed Dutch Jordan searching for a home. I hope he’s well.
Looking back, my T206 projects were a lot of fun. I really enjoy the Southern League master set and still casually watch for a few upgrades. Plus, the experience left me with my own set of “Jordan rules”: Don’t get too emotional when it comes to baseball cards, and stay patient.
Written by Rob Dewolf
Some Southern Leaguer oddities that Rob added to his Master Set
The Brown Hindu subset holds a special place in the hearts of many T206 collectors. Brown Hindu backs are always in high demand for a few reasons. For one thing, they feature a very unique and visually appealing design. In addition, they offer some back variety in the 150-350 Series, which does not offer many options for back collectors. Brown Hindus are the most valuable of all 150-350 Series backs, and the same holds true with regard to Southern Leaguers.
The Cycle 460 subset, on the other hand, tends to fly under the radar, despite a similar level of scarcity. A couple of possible reasons for this come to mind. First, the Cycle back is not unique to the 460 Series. Cycle 350 backs are one of the more plentiful “Mid-Tier” backs, and this may contribute to the lukewarm demand for Cycle 460 backs. Collectors may think to themselves something along the lines of, “I already have a Cycle 350, so I’m not in any hurry to get a Cycle 460 back.” Secondly, Cycle 460 is a scarce back, but it is never the most valuable back for a given pose like Brown Hindu is. If you want the most valuable back for the Mordecai Brown Portrait, you know you need to get a copy with a Brown Hindu back. The same can’t be said for Cycle 460. If you want the scarcest back for Mordecai Brown’s Chicago on shirt pose, you are going to want a Broad Leaf 460, Red Hindu, or Lenox. A Cycle 460 might be a nice alternative as those other three backs would be near impossible to track down, but it wouldn’t be your first choice.
The Cycle 460 checklist features 109 Major Leaguers from Print Groups 3, 4 & 5 (350-460, 460 Only, Super Prints). The Brown Hindu subset features a total of 136 poses, 102 of which are Major Leaguers from Print Group 1 (the 150-350 Series) The other 34 poses are Southern Leaguers. For the purposes of this article, I’ll be focusing on just the Major Leaguers. Because the two checklists have a very similar number of Major Leaguers, these two backs lend themselves to comparison quite well.
Checklists for each back, courtesy of the fine folks at T206resource.com:
These two backs tend to sell for very similar prices. However, it is my contention that Cycle 460s are undervalued relative to Brown Hindu because Cycle 460s are much scarcer. I conducted the research below to see if the reality matched my hypothesis.
Explanation of Research:
In an attempt to compare two similar sets of data, I began by finding all of the players in the T206 set who have a pose in both the Brown Hindu subset and the Cycle 460 subset.
Throughout this series of articles, I have used only the PSA Pop Reports to test the hypothesis. I chose to do this for a couple different reasons. First, the PSA Pop Report is a little easier (and quicker) to use when checking a number of different players with the same back. Secondly, there can be some confusion on the SGC Pop Reports when a player has one pose that was printed with a Brown Hindu back and another pose that was printed with a Red Hindu back. The same holds true for American Beauty 350 With Frame & American Beauty 350 No Frame. I wanted to have data that was completely uniform and I didn’t want to use any entry that included any ambiguity.
There are 44 players who have at least one pose in both the Brown Hindu and Cycle 460 subsets. Tinker has two poses in each subset. This brings us to a total of 45 pairs of front/back combos. However, there are two pairs we won’t be able to use. Both Evers Yellow Sky and Mathewson Dark Cap were printed with both a Cycle 350 and a Cycle 460 back. Because PSA used a generic “Cycle” label for a few years, the Pop Report data for these two cards is not as accurate as the other Cycle 460s in this group. Which leaves us with a total of 43 players with matched Brown Hindu and Cycle 460 poses. Check out the table below to see how much scarcer Cycle 460s are than their Brown Hindu counterparts.
As you can see, there is quite a significant gap is Population between the two samples. Granted there will be a certain margin of error for this sample since it does not include the entire Population of graded Brown Hindu and Cycle 460 backs from both PSA and SGC. However, it is a pretty significant sample size, and the results don’t leave much question of which back is scarcer.
In addition, my research doesn’t include the 34 Southern Leaguers who were printed with Brown Hindu backs. When you add those in, it’s likely that Brown Hindu backs actually outnumber Cycle 460 backs by a 3:1 ratio.
In conclusion, Brown Hindu and Cycle 460 backs may sell for very similar prices, but it is clear Cycle 460 backs are by far the scarcer back.
It seems to me that Cycle 460s don’t get the respect they deserve. Over the last few years, I’ve felt that I was seeing Cycle 460s less often than the other “mid-tier” backs such as Hindu, Piedmont Factory 42, and American Beauty 350 No Frame. So I decided to do some research to see if my observations were supported by the Pop Reports.
In this series, I’ll be focusing on the scarcest of the “Mid-Tier Backs”, that is:
Tier 1 Backs:
American Beauty 460
Cycle 460
Piedmont 350-460 Factory 42*
Tier 2 Backs:
American Beauty 350 No Frame
Brown Hindu
In my opinion, there is a clear divide between these 5 backs** and the backs above and below them in terms of scarcity. There is a large gap in scarcity and value between any of these 5 backs and Carolina Brights, which is significantly scarcer and more valuable. Likewise, I feel there is a gap below these 5 backs before you get to Tolstoi and Sovereign 460.
A couple of weeks back, I published a two-part article which gave an overview of the “Mid-Tier” Backs, which can be read by clicking the links below:
Here are the back scarcity rankings from T206resource.com. This is a really well put together list, and it’s a great place to start. I think collectors as a whole have overlooked Cycle 460 and it’s my contention that it needs to move up four or five rungs on this list (and others like it). I’d also move Sovereign 460 down a couple rungs, but I agree with the vast majority of this list.
Before I get into the research, there are a couple of points I want to address:
First, not all of the mid-tier backs are easy to analyze. American Beauty 460 is an odd subset because there are 12 poses that are quite easy to find, while the rest of the poses range from tough-to-find to near impossible. This makes is hard to compare American Beauty 460 to Cycle 460 backs, which have a much more even distribution. American Beauty 350 No Frame offers a different challenge in terms of comparison. The AB 350nf subset contains only 37 cards, which is 34% the size of the Cycle 460 checklist (109 cards).
In an aggregate sense, the two backs may have similar scarcity. However, when looking at specific poses, there will typically be two or three times as many cards with AB350nf backs in the Pop Report than Cycle 460s of the same pose. This makes it tough to compare Cycle 460 and AB350nf, but I tackle that challenge anyway in Part Three of this series. In addition, Piedmont 350-460 Factory 42 backs have not been catalogued very well by PSA or SGC over the years, so neither Pop Report is of much use in researching this back.
Secondly, the way the PSA and SGC Pop Reports are set up makes it easy to research certain things but difficult to research others. For instance it’s difficult to get accurate PSA Pop numbers for a Cycle 460 Chance Yellow Portrait, because PSA used a generic “Cycle” label for a few years, so it’s impossible to know which of those are Cycle 350 and which are Cycle 460. You run into the same problem for all the poses that have both AB350nf and AB460 backs. The SGC Pop Report presents a different challenge. It is easy to tell an AB350nf from an AB460 because the former will be labeled “1910” and the latter “1911”. However, if a player has two different poses and one was printed with American Beauty 350 With Frame and the other was printed with American Beauty 350 No Frame, it will often be impossible to differentiate between the two in the SGC Pop Report.
Using Pop Reports in an attempt to prove hypotheses can be a little problematic because not all cards in existence have been slabbed, and not all slabbed cards correctly indicate the back. However, I feel that if you compare two like subject groups and the sample size is large enough, Pop Report data can be very accurate and useful. You’ll see in Part Two of this series how I use just PSA Pop Report Data and I am able to prove my hypothesis without any doubt due to the sample size and the results of my research.
In this series, I am attempting to answer the following questions:
“Which of the Mid-Tier backs is the scarcest?”
“What is the order of scarcity for these 5 Mid-Tier backs we are looking at?”
Please stay tuned for the rest of this series:
Part Two: Cycle 460 v.s. Brown Hindu
Part Three: Cycle 460 v.s. American Beauty 350 no frame
Part Four: Cycle 460 v.s. American Beauty 460
*Ideally there would be a Part Five, where I compare Cycle 460 to Piedmont Factory 42, but the lack of Pop Report Data available for Piedmont Factory 42 means I have no way to present any meaningful findings with regard to that back.
**I also think Sweet Caporal 350-460 Factory 25 belongs somewhere in this conversation, but the lack of data available makes that impossible. Additionally, the fact that collectors don’t care too much about this back makes them fly under the radar even more.
Red Hindu is the 7th Scarcest T206 back, slightly more plentiful than Uzit, and slightly scarcer than Black Lenox. The Red Hindu subset is a small one, featuring only 43 known cards, although according to T206resource.com‘s checklist below, they believe that 3 additional cards should exist, which would bring the total to 46 cards.
The Red Hindu subset consists of players from three separate print groups:
The 350-460 series (also referred to as Print Group 3)
The 460 Only Series (also known as Print Group 4)
The “Super Prints” (aka Print Group 5)
Interestingly, all 34 poses that exist with Broad Leaf 460 backs also exist with Red Hindu backs (with the possible exception of Mathewson Dark Cap, McIntyre Brooklyn & Chicago, and Reulbach No Glove Showing – though all three were likely printed with Red Hindu backs). You’ll notice that the Red Hindu Subset lists 46 poses.
Red Hindu shares an interesting phenomenon with the American Beauty 460 subset. Most of the poses above are extremely scarce, but 12 of them are much more common. This pattern was first written about by Ted Zanidakis who dubbed it “The Exclusive 12” in a post on net54baseball.com.
These twelve poses are significantly more plentiful than the others on the list above:
Crandall with cap
Devore
Duffy
Ford
Gandil
Geyer
Hummel
McGraw glove at hip
Pfeffer
Sheckard glove showing
Tannehill on front
Wheat
Finding one of these twelve Red Hindus is fairly easy, but if you are looking for a Red Hindu that is not a member of the “Exclusive 12” it could take years for a copy to come to market. In Part Two, I’ll use the PSA and SGC Population Reports to show the disparity between Exclusive 12 populations and the rest of the Red Hindu subset.
The latest Memory Lane auction concluded on Saturday evening/Sunday morning. It was absolutely loaded with T206s. It appears that an entire set was auctioned off, one card at a time. Many of the cards were in high grade, and the ones that weren’t had scarce backs. Let’s get right to the recap.
Wagner PSA 2 sells for a cool $600,000
You know it’s a special auction when there’s a Wagner up for sale. The grade is a bit of a head-scratcher, but the card is a beauty regardless. Congrats to the new owner!
Plank PSA 4 sells for $76,800
An absolutely beautiful centered copy with a flawless surface. I love this card and I bet the new owner does as well.
SGC 60 Magie Error sells for $40,800
Cobb Bat Off Lenox SGC 40 sells for $41,249
A week after the PSA 6 Uzit Cobb sold in REA for $106k, this copy finds a new home as well. It’s a very strong card for the grade. One of many absolute monster cards in this auction.
Speaker Drum PSA 1 sells for $26,534
One of the top 10 combos in my humble opinion, this card was in the middle of a spirited bidding war. When the dust settled, the hammer was a healthy $26k. In much the same way that the Wagner does not look like a “2”, this card doesn’t look like a “1”. It’s a beautiful card for the grade. The rounded corners and creases above his head don’t detract from the overall eye appeal much.
Carolina Brights Mathewson Dark Cap PSA 3 sells for $12,113
This card is an absolute beauty. The colors are incredible, the surface and back are clean and the centering is solid.
Tinker Bat Off Shoulder Lenox PSA 3.5 sells for $11,011
Another extremely tough card that looks amazing for the grade.
Hindu Johnson Portrait PSA 2 sells for $6,060
Yet another example of a scarce front/back combo in this auction where the eye appeal far exceeded the technical grade. This card looks like a 4 to me, and it looks like the bidders agreed.
Hindu Lajoie Portrait PSA 2 sells for $5,918
Like the WaJo Hindu, this one looks much nicer than a “2”. The price was pretty hefty. I’m surprised that Lajoie went for essentially the same price as the WaJo, especially considering that the WaJo looks like a slightly nicer card in terms of eye appeal.
Autographed Crawford with bat Polar Bear sells for $4,903
This card is an absolute beauty. The signature is clean and the card looks to be in a clean VGEX. The Polar Bear back adds to the appeal of this rare specimen.
Broad Leaf 460 Baker SGC 10 sells for $3,110
It doesn’t get much better than a Hall of Famer with a Broad Leaf 460 back. This card has some obvious issues, and they no doubt kept the price down. This feels to me like a good deal for the winner. It’s definitely not every day you get a shot at a BL460 HOFer.
Kelley Broad Leaf 350 PSA 1 sells for $2,147
Kelley is one of the more scarce BL350s, and the price reflected that. This is a pretty nice looking card for the grade and it could be a long while before another copy comes to market.
Another incredible REA auction is in the books. As usual, I’ll be focusing on the T206s that were sold, but they were just a tiny percentage of the amazing offerings in the auction. This auction had a little something for almost everyone. There were pristine Cobbs and rare backs for the high-rollers, and lower grade rarities for the collector-grade folks. In this wrap-up, I’ll try to spotlight a selection from both ends of the spectrum.
Cobb Bat Off Shoulder Uzit PSA 6 Sells for $108,000
This card is absolutely stunning. A high-grade copy of one of the toughest and most sought after rare backs.
Cobb Green Portrait SGC 60 Sells for $9,000
Yet another mid-grade Green Cobb hit the market and did quite well. This one is a beauty.
Four 150-350 Series Proofs Sell for $7,200 – $8,400
I was a little surprised that the Alperman didn’t sell for more than the other three. As the only one of the quartet to not feature a name caption, it has much more appeal to me personally. Apparently the guys who actually have the money to bid on these don’t feel the same.
Magie Error PSA A Sells for $5,400
A nice looking card with a slight trim from top-to-bottom.
Cobb Green Portrait PSA 2 Sells for $5,400
Quite the strong price for this one. It’s either a case of someone buying the card, rather than the holder, or someone thinking they can remove the tape residue on the back of the card and elevate the grade to a 3.5 or 4.
Bell Lenox SGC 50 Sells for $3,600
A beautiful example, this one sold for about what you’d expect.
Arellanes Broad Leaf 350 SGC 50 Sells for $3,300
This card is amazing. Love the baby blue background and the back is clean and looks great.
Pelty Horizontal Hindu PSA 5 Sells for $2,700
Stovall with Bat Lenox SGC 30 Sells for $1,920
Another tough Lenox back, this one has great eye appeal for the grade. The only flaws are the spots of paper loss on the back. Luckily, they don’t affect any of the text.
Young Portrait El Principe De Gales PSA 3 Sells for $2,280
This is very strong “3” and it sold for a strong price. Seeing this result makes me wonder what a nice PSA 3 Old Mill or Hindu would fetch at auction.
Dougherty Portrait Hindu SGC 60 Sells for $1,560 Waddell Portrait SGC 40 Sells for $1,320 Walsh Hindu SGC 40 Sells for $1200 Tinker Hands on Knees Hindu SGC 20 Sells for $1,080 I thought these Hindus were a nice value for the new owners. All are really solid examples with great eye appeal.
Magee with Bat Red Hindu Sells for $1,440
This was the only Red Hindu in the auction, and it’s a beauty. I personally value cards of guys like Magee who were stars at the time more than a similar card of a player who had a less notable career. This card seems to have gone for a strong price, and I wonder if his status as a guy who just barely missed the Hall of Fame might have something to do with it.
Brown Chicago on Shirt Piedmont Factory 42 Sells for $840
This was one of my personal favorites in the auction. It’s a great looking “3” and it’s not every day you can find this pose with a tough back.
