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.
When I got into collecting T206s in 2010, I remember thinking Eddie Collins and Nap Lajoie were priced lower than I would have expected based on their status as all-time greats. It didn’t take too long for me to get acclimated to “the way it is” in the T206 marketplace, and I kind of forgot about that notion for a number of years.
It seems something interesting is happening with Collins’ T206 lately, at least in higher grade. Back in June, a PSA 5 Old Mill Eddie Collins sold for $1,302 in a PWCC auction. It caught my attention because I owned the same card not too long ago. I sold it back in December 2017, for $689. That’s a pretty big price jump in just six months. My price wasn’t crazy low either. I think the card sat in my eBay store for three or four months before it sold. A similar (and arguably nicer) PSA 5 Old Mill sold for $700 on eBay in February 2017.
A similar thing happened with a Collins Sovereign 350. On August 12, 2018 a PSA 5 sold for $1,327, also via PWCC auction. Back in November of 2016, Heritage sold a different PSA 5 Sovereign 350 for just $454. In my opinion both cards are equally nice.
Obviously, two cards selling for surprisingly high prices doesn’t necessarily indicate a trend. However, it does appear that some Piedmont and Sweet Caporal backed examples have followed, at least to some extent. Back in April 2018, a PSA 5 Piedmont 350 sold via Buy It Now on eBay for $850, which is $183 more than the closest sale I could find on VCP. A PSA 3.5 Piedmont 350 sold for $390 on eBay three weeks ago. There’s no recorded sale on VCP that comes close.
So, is this a legitimate trend, or something else? I’m skeptical of the recent PSA 5 Sovereign 350 and Old Mill sale prices, but I do think we’re seeing an increase in value that is long overdue and likely to become the new “way it is” for Collins.
Carl Lundgren’s Chicago T206 is one of the more sought-after cards in the set. Lundgren was a very good starting pitcher for the Cubs from 1904 to 1907 (he also turned in solid seasons in 1902 and ’03), but that doesn’t have anything to do with the popularity of his Cubs card.
Here’s What We Know:
Lundgren (Chicago) was pulled early in the 350 portion of 150-350 Series Production. It was printed with El Principe de Gales and Piedmont 350 backs before being pulled from production. Lundgren (Chicago) fits nicely in the “Elite Eleven*” group with other poses that were pulled after being printed with EPDG backs and a small amount of Piedmont 350 backs.
The decision to discontinue the pose makes a lot of sense. In 1907, he went 18-7 with a 1.17 ERA. It was his fourth straight standout campaign. However, in 1908, his innings pitched dropped to 138.2 and he posted a record of just 6-9 to go with an ERA of 4.42. In 1909, when Lundgren (Chi) was printed with Piedmont 150 backs, he appeared in just 2 games before being sold to Toronto of the Eastern League.
We also know Lundgren was not printed with Hindu, Sovereign 150, or Sweet Caporal 150 backs. His is the only pose in the 150-350 Series that was not printed with any Sweet Caporal backs. Let that sink in for a second. That’s just weird. In fact, the only other non Southern Leaguers that weren’t printed with any Sweet Caporal backs are the Demmitt and O’Hara St. Louis cards, which were printed only with Polar Bear backs*.
And Here’s What We Don’t Know:
It’s not known why Lundgren (Chicago) was left off the Hindu, Sovereign 150 and Sweet Caporal print-runs. I do have a theory, but it doesn’t explain everything. Awhile back, I wrote an article about Hughie Jennings (Portrait) and Sam Crawford (Throwing) (which can be read here). Those two poses were also left off the Hindu and Sovereign 150 print-runs. In fact, there are only five poses in the 150-350 Series that appear with Piedmont 150 backs but not with Brown Hindu or Sovereign 150 backs:
I theorize that Lundgren is somehow related to Jennings (Portrait) and Crawford (Throwing), both of which were added to the Piedmont 150 and Sweet Caporal 150/30 print runs after production of the 150-350 Series had already started. Both Crawford and Jennings were left off the Brown Hindu and Sovereign 150 print runs (like Lundgren). Both Crawford and Jennings were printed with SC 150/30 backs, but left off the SC 150/25 print run.** The fact that Lundgren was not printed with an SC 150/30 back makes the connection somewhat tenuous, but the three poses do have a lot in common.
Like Lundgren, Jennings was printed with an EPDG back, although Crawford was not. All three poses were printed with Piedmont 350 backs, although Lundgren was pulled early and the others were not. Jennings and Crawford went on to be printed with Old Mill, Sovereign 350, Sweet Caporal 350/25, and Sweet Caporal 350/30 backs.
In my earlier article about Jennings (Portrait) and Crawford (Throwing), I put forth the idea that those two poses could have replaced Plank and Wagner when they were pulled from further production. There’s no way to know for sure, but it does make some sense given the late arrivals of Jennings and Crawford. Where Lundgren might fit into that scenario is not immediately clear.
The biggest unanswered question surrounding this pose is why Lundgren (Chicago) was not printed with Sweet Caporal 150 backs. That he wasn’t is one of the more interesting T206 mysteries. I don’t imagine that question will ever be answered to my satisfaction, but if I come up with the answer, or even a crazy theory, I’ll be sure to let you guys know.
*Southern Leaguers were printed with Old Mill Southern League backs, Piedmont 350 backs, and 34/48 players were printed with a Brown Hindu back.
**Crawford is listed as confirmed with SC 150/25 back on T206resource.com, but I know of a few people who have been looking for one for a few years (if not longer). It either exists in extremely low quantities, or does not exist at all. If one surfaces, it will add a very interesting wrinkle to this puzzle, but for now I am going to assume it was not printed.
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
I spent the first two parts of this series talking about the “Dark Ink” cards from the 350 portion of the 150-350 Series and what we can learn from them. Now, it’s time to move on to the “Washed Out” cards. These are cards that look a bit “fuzzy” and have muted colors. They exist with the following backs:
Old Mill
Piedmont 350
Sovereign 350
Sweet Caporal 350 Factory 25
Sweet Caporal 350 Factory 30
El Principe de Gales stands out as the only 150-350 Series back that was printed during the 350 portion of the print run to not appear above. EPDG backs were printed directly after the 150 Print Runs and before all other 350 Backs (Old Mill, P350, Sov350, SC 350/25 & SC 350/30). There are not any “Washed Out” images with 150 Series backs, and there are none with EPDG either. What this means is that the Washed Out images appeared later on in the 350 Print Runs.
The accepted theory on the “Washed Out” images of the 150-350 Series is that the printing stones became worn over time, which produced the images we see above. The colors are less sharp and the lines are less defined on the “Washed Out” images than the cards printed in 1909 at the beginning of the 150 Print Run.
This is where the Elite 11 come into play. The following 11 poses are known as the “Elite 11”:
Dahlen Boston
Ewing
Ganley
Jones, Tom
Karger
Lindaman
Lundgren Chicago
Mullin horizontal
Schaefer Detroit
Shaw St. Louis
Spencer
These 11 poses follow a similar pattern. They were all printed with EPDG backs and Piedmont 350 backs, before being pulled from production. They don’t exist with Old Mill, Sovereign 350 or Sweet Caporal 350 backs.
They don’t appear to have been pulled from EPDG production. I’ve read that theory in the past, but I don’t believe there is enough evidence to support such a conclusion. The only Elite 11 pose that is truly scarce with EPDG back is Bill Dahlen Boston. He may have been pulled from production before the EPDG print run concluded, but it could also just be a result of a normal distribution variance.
“Elite 11” Piedmont 350 Germany Schaefer
So, What do the Elite 11 Have to do With This?
We know they were printed briefly at the beginning of the Piedmont 350 print run, and then quickly pulled. I’ve made the observation over the last few years of collecting these cards that none of the Elite 11 Piedmont 350s have either “Dark Ink” or the “Washed Out” look. They all look just like their Piedmont 150 and EPDG counterparts.
What this means is there were multiple distinct print runs for Piedmont 350 backs. Initially, the fronts looked similar to Piedmont 150s, but by the end of Piedmont 350 production, some of the fronts looked “Washed Out”, and others were printed with “Dark Ink”.
I don’t know how many distinct print runs it took to create all of the Piedmont 350s, but I think it’s pretty clear that it was at least three. The early run produced the Elite 11 poses. They look the same as the Piedmont 150s of those players. The “Dark Ink” and “Washed Out” sheets came later. At this point, I don’t know if there is any way to tell which came first. I used Piedmont 350 backs to make the point about the Elite 11, but the same patterns hold true for most of the other backs we have been discussing.
150-350 Series Old Mills exhibit the three distinct print qualities that I noted in Part One of this series. That points toward at least three print runs. The same appears to be true of Sweet Caporal 350/25 and Sweet Caporal 350/30.
Where Sovereign 350 Stands Out
It appears to me that 150-350 Series Sovereign 350s have two distinct print qualities. There are some Sovereign 350 fronts that look just like 150 fronts, but most Sovereign 350s look at least a little washed out but with normal colors. My guess is the majority of Sovereign 350 backs were printed towards the end of the 350 portion of 150-350 Series production when the printing stones were worn down.
A normal looking Sovereign 150 Gilbert on the left, and a “dark ink” Old Mill on the left
In the first part of this series, I introduced the three distinct print qualities that can be found on poses from the 150-350 Series with Old Mill backs. The Gilbert above is a good example of a “dark ink” Old Mill. This “dark ink” phenomenon is not exclusive to Old Mills. It can be observed on the following 150-350 Series backs:
1. Old Mill
2. Piedmont 350
3. Sweet Caporal 350 factory 25
“Dark Ink” Manning Sweet Caporal 350 Factory 25. Sorry about the blurry scan. It was hard to find a scan with this back.
4. Sweet Caporal 350 Factory 30
You’ll notice that the following 150-350 series backs are not a part of the above list:
El Principe de Gales
Sovereign 350 Forest Green
EPDG was the first back printed in the 350 portion of the 150-350 Series. The fact that no EPDGs have been found with “dark ink” on the fronts is interesting, but not too surprising. 150-350 Series poses with EPDG backs look very similar to their 150 Series counterparts because they were printed soon after.
At this point, the jury is still out on whether there are any 150-350 Series Subjects out there with a “dark ink” front and a Sovereign 350 back. I expect that there are, but I haven’t been able to find any scans to prove it.
Where the Sweet Caporal 150 Factory 649 Subset Comes In:
The most hardcore T206 nerds among us may notice that the five poses pictured above all have something in common. They are among the 34 poses that comprise the Sweet Caporal 150 Factory 649 Subset. The common theme with the majority of these “dark ink” cards is that they are poses that can be found with SC 150/649 backs. So far, I have only found a few that feature players who are not a part of the Sweet Caporal 150 Factory 649 Subset. The Keeler Old Mill below is one example.
Two paragraphs ago I mentioned that I have yet to find a “Dark Ink” front with a 150-350 Series Sovereign 350 Forest Green back. The pattern would dictate that they do exist, but there is a reason why they would be tougher to find than a copy with Old Mill, Piedmont 350 or Sweet Caporal 350.
The Old Mill, Piedmont 350 and Sweet Caporal 350 Subsets all contain the majority of poses that make up the Sweet Caporal 150 Factory 649 Subset. The Sovereign 350 Subset only contains 10 poses that are part of the SC 150/649 Subset. Therefore, it is a lot tougher to find examples with Sovereign 350 backs to examine. Here are the 10 poses that exist with both SC 150/649 and Sovereign 350 Forest Green:
Bresnahan Portrait
Davis, George
Goode
Griffith Portrait
Johnson Portrait
Killian Hands at Chest
Liebhardt
Manning Batting
O’Leary Portrait
Sheckard No Glove Showing
Of these 10, I have seen “Dark Ink” cards featuring only Killian, Liebhardt, and Manning. I expect that one or all of those three poses will be found with a Dark Ink Sovereign 350. If you have one or have a scan of one, please let me know.
In Part Three, I’ll explain what the Elite 11 and the “Washed Out” Old Mill, Piedmont 350, and Sweet Caporal 350s can teach us about the 350 portion of 150-350 Series Print Runs.
When you’ve handled enough T206s, certain patterns start to take shape. It starts by noticing something small that seems a little odd on a certain card. Most of the time these slight variations between cards are due to the inexact nature of the printing processes and don’t point us toward a larger pattern. However, after you see the same oddities a few times with the same card, or a group of cards that can be linked together in some way, that’s when some interesting patterns can start to take shape.
Typically the articles that I write are completely researched before I publish them, but this group of articles will be a little different. With this subject matter, it’s hard to “prove” anything, so I am content to just throw the idea out there for now. One huge obstacle in trying to put together the pieces of this puzzle is that these 150-350 Series Old Mills are scarce. Connecting the dots necessarily requires putting faith in the conclusions drawn from examining a small set of examples. But, I figure I have handled more 150-350 Old Mills than just about anyone, so I feel qualified to throw out a new theory regarding them. I’ll be interested to see what other people think, and I will continue to delve into the topic in the future.
This series of articles is going to take a look at the three backs noted above, but it feels natural to start with Old Mill, even though they were printed last. I’ve studied T206s with Old Mill backs more extensively than any other back, and it was looking at Old Mills that lead me down this train of thought.
There are three distinct print qualities that I have observed on dozens of cards from the 150-350 Series Old Mill Subset:
1. Clean, crisp images that look more like 150 Series images than 350 Series
Sullivan Old Mill that is neither overly dark nor “washed out” in appearance
2. “Dark Ink” cards that are much darker and more heavily inked than other cards
Schlei Catching Old Mill with a noticeably darker appearance than a copy from the 150 Series
3. “Washed Out” images that lack the clarity of #1 and tend to be a bit lighter as well
Overall Portrait with Old Mill back and a “washed out” appearance
These three distinct “looks” of Old Mills from the 150-350 Series lead me to one obvious conclusion, and one that may not be so obvious. First, because these Old Mills can be classified into three distinct groupings, clearly that means each group was printed separately. What it doesn’t tell us is whether there is any pattern to be found. It’s very possible that different runs on the press were just inked to varying degrees, which created the different results that we can see above.
I think there were three or more different print runs for 150-350 Series Old Mills. I also think the different print runs were made up of a different set of players/poses on the sheets. There seem to be some players that were not printed on the “washed out” sheets, and likewise with the “dark ink” sheets. In Part Two, I’ll delve into the “dark ink” 150-350 Series Old Mills and we’ll see what patterns and theories we can infer from them.
George Stone came out of nowhere in 1905 as a 28 year-old rookie. Well, not exactly nowhere. He spent the entire 1904 season in Milwaukee, dominating the American Association. It’s hard to believe he stayed in the Minors all year given the stats he was putting up. He hit .406 with a .558 Slugging Percentage to go with 36 Doubles, 19 Triples, and 7 Home Runs. Prior the the 1905 season, he had played just 2 games in the Major Leagues, both with the Boston Red Sox in 1903.
In 1905, he played in every single game for the St. Louis Browns. That in itself is pretty impressive, but more importantly, he played at an extremely high level. A rundown of his achievements in 1905 is enough to make your head spin. He led the AL in Plate Appearances (691), Hits (187) and Total Bases (259). His .296 Batting Average ranked 6th and his .756 On Base Plus Slugging Percentage ranked 4th among American Leaguers. A rookie in the truest sense of the word, George Stone posted the 4th highest Offensive WAR (4.8) in the AL.
Stone’s T3 Turkey Red Cabinet
Following Stone’s stellar 1905 campaign, expectations were no doubt high for him in 1906. However, I can’t imagine that anyone expected what came next.
In less Plate Appearances (658 v.s. 691 in 1905) George Stone put up one of the most impressive offensive displays of the Deadball Era. He led the AL in Batting Average (.358), On Base Percentage (.417), Slugging Percentage (.501) and OPS (.918).
George Stone E92 Nadja Caramel
His 91 Runs Scored were 5th in the AL and his 71 Runs Batted in were good for 6th. He again led the league in Total Bases. this time with an astounding 291. His 208 Hits were 2nd only to Lajoie’s 214. Stone’s 20 triples trailed only Elmer Flick among American Leaguers. He finished third in the AL in Home Runs with 6, which trailed Harry Davis’ 12 and Charlie Hickman’s 9.
George Stone’s historic 1906 season was worth 8.7 Wins Above Replacement, which ranked 3rd in the AL behind only Nap Lajoie’s 10.0 and Terry Turner’s 9.4. Take only offensive metrics into consideration, and Stone’s year at the plate looks even better. His Offensive Wins Above Replacement of 7.9 ranked 1st in the American League. This time he edged out Lajoie’s 7.6. Flick was a distant 3rd at 6.2 and Harry Davis and Turner tied for 4th at 5.2.
Stone had another great year with the Browns in 1907. He hit .320 and put up an OPS of .787. In 1908 he took a step back, but still posted a solid campaign with a .281 Batting Average and .714 OPS. He played his final major league game in 1910 at the age of 33. Stone is one of many Deadball Era stars who had short careers. He only played 6 season of Major League ball (7 if you count the two games he played in 1903) but he definitely left his mark on the sport.
Today, many T206 collectors look at a George Stone card and think “common”. But the truth is he was anything but.
I recently picked up this Claude Ritchey Old Mill. I bought it based on a very small scan, so all I could tell was that the card looked to be in pretty good condition and the background was quite dark. When it arrived in the mail, I immediately noticed the right side of the back. At first I thought the little black lines were some sort of transfer from another card, or possibly foreign ink. Upon closer inspection, it became pretty clear that it was printed at the same time as the rest of the black ink on the back.
I knew exactly who to contact to find out more. I sent an email to my friend Steve Birmingham, who is an expert on printing processes. His reply was so interesting that I wanted to use the info for an article. Steve graciously agreed, so here is our correspondence. I hope you find it as fascinating as I did!
Me: “Have you ever seen this strange “print jump” (for lack of a better term) that happened on the right border of the back of this card?”
Steve:
I haven’t seen that exact thing on Ritchey, but I’m pretty sure I know what it is. I’ve seen another card that’s similar, on Criger there are some Piedmont backs that show the right upper curl of the back duplicated.
There are only a few possibilities for that with lithography. The two I can think of are equally likely.
First option:
The plates were probably laid out using transfers. Like ruboffs only a bit more involved. If the transfer got set down in the wrong spot and they didn’t totally erase it OR if the transfer didn’t adhere properly and they didn’t erase it completely before putting down the replacement, there would be remnants of it that would print.
Second option:
The plates did wear over time, after a certain number of impressions the stone would need to be resurfaced and new transfers laid down. Again, an incomplete resurfacing would leave remnants of the earlier image, and those would print.
At first I thought it was very thin areas that peeled during a soak and got pressed down out of place. But the back only scan shows no sign of it at all.
The stamp guys look to see a second identical copy, as proof that it’s a plate fault and not some printing quirk. There should be another one out there somewhere.
There are ways it could happen as a one time printing error, but they’re all a bit of a reach in the likely/not likely equation.
After receiving this email from Steve, I looked at the other Ritchey Old Mill that I own, and a scan of one I owned previously. Neither had a similar “print jump”. I didn’t find exactly what I was looking for, but I found some interesting marks including three players from the 150-350 series with identical marking on the back in the exact same spot. That may be another topic for a different day.
This next email from Steve is really cool in that he lays out a systematic approach to looking at print marks and oddities. I completely missed most of the marks he references, but they were clear as day when I went back to take a closer look.
Nice pickup, I haven’t seen one before except for the Criger Piedmont.
Finding a second copy is always more difficult on tougher cards, and finding progressive varieties tougher still.
By progressive, I mean something like that Ritchey showing a repaired flaw. The press operator can fix small stuff like that by stoning it off, which is basically using a limestone stick like a crayon to remove the oil attracting image area. That’s probably how the really rare Doyle was created, the error was spotted and the stone fixed during production.
A Ritchey OM that has border gaps where the extra bits of border are would be a probable repair, especially if it had some identical identifier on the front showing it was the same position. There aren’t any of the layout marks at the halfway points of the front border, but there are a couple possible marks that would identify the position as the same one. At the upper left there’s a dark blue heart shaped mark, at the left side of the lower border there’s another blue mark, and there’s a brown spot on the pants at about mid thigh. It’s hard to tell if they’re printed or just random ink spots, but another OM from the same spot on the sheet would probably have at least one of those marks.
A couple bonuses- There are a bunch of other marks on the back that are less obvious, but are spaced as far right from a line as the obvious ones.
And there’s a faint group of marks that don’t fit the OM back that I think are remnants of the P150 scratch. I’ll have to look at the scans I have, but the marks show as lines in the lower left ornament, through the L in large, the top of the B in Base ball, and possibly very faintly in the G above that.
It’s either leftover from the P150 scratch, or is its own damage.
The gray on the front is printed very heavily too. None of the scans on Ebay are good enough for me to tell if it’s a different gray layer than the 150’s, but the sky with the dark blue pattern is almost always a 350 back. (There’s a P150 with that sky on ebay now, but graded A by SGC so it may be rebacked. )
A different Ritchey Old Mill back without the “print jump”
Well, I’m off to go examine all of my 150-350 series Old Mill backs. If I find anything interesting, I’ll be sure to let you know. I want to give a big thanks to Steve for providing the content for this impromptu post. Thanks Steve!
Completing any back run that includes Broad Leaf 460, Red Hindu, and/or Lenox is a daunting project. Attempting to complete a Ty Cobb Red Background Portrait back run is sheer lunacy. But that’s just what T206 collector Jamie Blundell set out to do in 2013.
The story actually starts in December of 2011. A Cobb portrait with Drum back was auctioned off via ebay and Jamie’s bid held up. Any time you get a Drum, the thought of a back run inevitably comes to mind, since you’ve just added one of the toughest possible backs (at least so I’ve heard, no Drum for me yet). The idea did occur to him, but at that point the rest of the cards he would have to acquire still seemed too far out of reach.
Fast forward to Spring of 2013. Jamie was killing some time scrolling through posts on the net54baseball.com forum. He stumbled upon a test page where another collector had uploaded scans of 17 different Red Background Ty Cobb Portraits, all with different backs. Upon seeing all those different Cobbs lined up together, he was fixated on the idea of putting together a Cobb run of his own. Jamie made the following checklist of every Red Background Ty Cobb:
SC 350 25
SC 350 30
SC 460 25
SC 460 30
SC 460 42
SC 460 42 OP
Pied 350
Pied 460 25
Pied 460 42
Sov 350
Sov 460
Old Mill
Polar Bear
Tolstoi
Cycle 350
Cycle 460
American beauty 350 Frame
EPDG
Carolina Brights
Red Hindu
Black Lenox
Drum
Broadleaf 460
Blank Back
T213 Type 1
T213 Type 2
T213 Type 3
T213 Type 3 Overprint
T214 Victory
Cobb back
To say that list is intimidating would be a severe understatement. However, he already had one of the toughest cards on the list, and was about to add another. In April 2013 a Cobb portrait with Lenox back showed up on ebay, but it was in a GAI holder, and it sat there for a few days despite a low Buy It Now price. Jamie decided to take a gamble on it and immediately sent it to SGC, who agreed with GAI’s assessment that the card was authentic and unaltered.
“That was the defining moment.. my first two Cobbs were the Drum and the Lenox… and at that point I decided to make a run at it.”
Over the course of the next 5 months, he added 14 more to the run including the very tough Cycle 460.
July 2013 – Sovereign 350, Old Mill, Cycle 460, Piedmont 460 25
September 2013 was an absolutely huge month for the back run:
Sept 2013 – Cycle 350, Red Hindu, T213 Coupon Type 1, American Beauty 350
The Cycle 350 is a tough card in its own right, but it was overshadowed by three extremely rare combos. The T213 Coupon Type 1 and American Beauty were acquired in separate private transactions with fellow net54 forum members. The Red Hindu trade is my favorite story. Here it is in Jamie’s own words:
“I was emailing with another collector who I knew had three Cobb Red Hindus. Yes you read that right. Only 6 known to exist, and this collector had three. I really thought the Red Hindu was one I would never get. But this collector was willing to perhaps trade me for several of my errors and rare backs. The only problem: We would have to meet face to face. No trade of this magnitude can be done remotely. As fate would have it I had a work appointment within a one-hour drive of this collector. So we agreed to meet to see if a trade was possible. I flew out a day early, met with him
and traded 15 of my cards (which included a Brown Lenox back, many tough front-back combinations, blank backs, mis-cuts, and ghost images) for one very clean PSA 1 Red Hindu Cobb. I flew home in disbelief that I’d just combined the Drum, the Lenox and the Red Hindu. I knew the Red Hindu was on the checklist of 30, but it was off of my mental checklist. I just assumed I would not get it, and if I did, it would be a very long time before I would see one for sale. The opportunity to own one so early in my quest was fantastic. So, I literally flew across country for that card.
So now I am 5 months into the back run and I have reached 20 backs. I was thrilled with my progress, but I also knew it was about to get much tougher if I wanted to continue. In my mind I was happy to reach 20. That was my personal goal. Why not keep going…”
In November 2013, after taking a short pause to breathe, Jamie began to search for the ultra-rare Broad Leaf 460. There is only one copy of this card known to exist, graded SGC 10. Finding the card was quite a challenge. Jamie scoured the internet looking for clues as to the card’s whereabouts. Eventually, he found a post on a forum from 2003 that led him to the card’s owner. He had owned it since 2005 and was understandably hesitant to part with it. In time, he decided the card would find a good home in Jamie’s epic back run. The two collectors settled on a price, and Jamie became the proud new owner. This card is the pinnacle of this incredible collection.
“This was, and still is to this day the most expensive card I have ever purchased. I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to put the Broad Leaf, Drum, Red Hindu and Lenox together in the same collection.”
Dec 2013 – Piedmont 460 fact 42, Sov 460, EPDG
The train kept rolling in December. Jamie traded a Blank Back Southern Leaguer and cash for the very tough Piedmont Factory 42 Cobby. Next up was the scarce and underrated Sovereign 460. A friend was working on the Sovereign 460 subset but decided to split it up and send the Cobb to Jamie for his back run.
Feb 2014 – Blank Back
“60 days after my last Cobb, and a blank back comes up for auction. This is one of two known!!! Once I confirmed the card was authentic I knew I had to acquire it. It might be my last chance at a Blank Back. As the auction wound down, I made a bid, but was outbid at 2:00 A.M. I woke up to the outbid email. Good thing because my next bid is what won the card! Went back to bed after bidding and woke up crossing off another card I never thought it would be possible to attain.”
At this point, Jamie had 25 of the possible 30 backs on his checklist. The last 5 were some of the toughest and most coveted cards in the hobby: Carolina Brights (the only card left on the checklist that is universally considered a T206), T214 Victory, T213 type 3, T213 type 3 with Factory 8 overprint, and the iconic Ty Cobb back. Some time passed, and then:
March 2015 – Carolina Brights, bought privately from a Net54 board member
August 2015 – T213 Type 3 with Factory 8 Overprint
“A huge breakthrough. I found a Type 3 Coupon. Two weeks later, I traded it with additional cash to a collector who I knew owned the only T213 Type 3 with factory 8 overprint… A true 1 of 1. I crossed off the Coupon type 3 Factory 8 Overprint but had to give up the T213 normal type 3 to get it. So that left me still needing the normal Type 3 Coupon. I figured it would be easier to find another Type 3 Coupon and needed to secure the factory 8 overprint. So I was happy to make the deal.”
At this point, the run was only missing 3 cards: Ty Cobb back, T213 Type 3, and T214 Victory. As you can imagine, it was getting extremely tough to find the cards Jamie needed. 11 months passed, and then he found another:
July 2016 – T213 Type 3
“Two net54 board members were at a regional trade show and saw one for sale. Knowing I might be interested they contacted me, bought it for me, and sold it to me. The type 3 completed the T213 Coupon run of all 4 possible backs: T213 Type 1, 2, 3 and 3 with OP.”
This brought the run to a staggering 28 cards. I have no qualms with declaring this the greatest T206 Back Run that has ever been assembled. In terms of T206 Cobbs, many people would argue that the run is complete. Collectors are kind of split as to whether the Ty Cobb back should be considered a T206 or not. I personally don’t consider it a T206 so to me, the T206 portion of Jamie’s run is complete.
This is where his collection sits today. There are still two cards on Jamie’s want-list, and they are TOUGH. Jamie plans to loan his Cobbies to the Detroit Tigers for a year or two so that they can display them, but he’s hoping to land the T214 Victory first. There are only two copies known, so it’s not going to be easy. But if this project has proven one thing, it’s that anything is possible.
problem: We would have to meet face to face. No trade of this magnitude can be done remotely. As fate would have it I had a work appointment within a one-hour drive of this collector. So we agreed to meet to see if a trade was possible. I flew out a day early, met with him
