T206 – Page 8 – That T206 life

Did T206 Artists Cut Some Corners in the 350 Series?

Luke March 1, 2017 March 2, 2017

T206 350 series solid backgrounds — 350 Series (Print Group 2) Solid Backgrounds

Many collectors organize their T206s alphabetically by the player’s last name. Others group them by teams. I tend to think about the set and organize my cards according to print group. When you look at the set in this way, some patterns emerge. Throughout the set, the portraits have varying degrees of background shading. The 150-350 series has the highest percentage of portraits with shading in the background, but there are still plenty that have a single color background. Most of the portraits in the 350 series utilize only a single, solid color, but there are some with a more nuanced, shaded background. Because each Print Group includes multiple examples of portrait cards with solid backgrounds, I will not focus on portrait for this article.

In the 150-350 series (Print Group 1), every color imaginable was used. The action shots all have some variety to the backgrounds, and are often quite stunning. There is a feeling of cohesiveness throughout. Print Group 1 clearly exhibits more attention to detail than than the 350 series (Print Group 2). Print Groups 1, 3, and 4 are quite similar in style and appearance. Many cards in Print Group 2 have a single, solid color as the background. Print Group 1 only has a single card like that (Donlin seated). The Conroy below comes close, but the artist took a little extra time to add texture so you know he is fielding a ball on the grass. The solid backgrounds of the 350 series always made me feel like they rushed the artistic process, and maybe they did. The solid backgrounds still make for some beautiful cards, but I prefer a little more detail.

T206 150 series action shots — Print Group 1 Action Shots

My theory is the American Tobacco Company was surprised by the success of their baseball card promotion (they weren’t referred to as T206 back then). I think they decided to keep it going, and needed a large number of cards, quickly. The 350 series consists of 208 cards, more than any other series. It stands to reason that the artwork was put together in a short period of time. Whereas the 150-350 series has one card with a solid color background, there are dozens in the 350 series. These cards still look great, but it’s also clear that they took less time to create than a similar card with a more nuanced background. Although many cards in the 350 series have plain backgrounds, there are also some of the most beautiful cards in the set in this series. Donovan, Campbell, and Dinneen all come to mind as some of the most visually appealing cards in the set. It’s possible some cards didn’t make the 150-350 series cut but were ready to be included when ATC decided to expand the set. It’s also possible certain artists just used the same style and attention to detail in all their work, and others may have cut some corners to churn out the pieces needed for the 350 series.

The 350-460 series (Print Group 3), which consists of only 63 cards, was a return to the attention to detail of Print Group 1. There are four cards in the series that have a solid color background: Joe Doyle, Kleinow catching, Wagner bat on right shoulder, and White pitching. However, the first three have blue backgrounds which look like the sky. White, which has a yellow background, is the only card in the 350-460 series that resembles the solid backgrounds of the 350 series.

The 460 series (Print Group 4) was smaller still than Print Group 3, clocking in at just 46 cards. The artwork has a similar look and feel to Print Groups 1 and 3. Howell hand at waist is the only non-portrait with a solid color background.

T206 and the Dreaded PSA (MC) Qualifier

Luke February 25, 2017 February 26, 2017

Although individual tastes vary, T206 collectors as a whole tend to dislike graded cards with qualifiers. PSA is the only grading company that uses qualifiers in their grades, however SGC takes the same card attributes into consideration for the most part. The different qualifiers that PSA may assign to a card are MC, OC, MK and ST. For the purposes of this article, I am just going to talk about the (MC) qualifier. (MC) stands for “mis-cut” and is given to any card that has some portion of printed area that is either cut off or right up against the edge of the card. The Schmidt portrait above received the qualifier not because the front is slightly off-center, but because a tiny portion of the ornate scroll on the adjacent card is showing on the left edge of the back of Schmidt.

Looking at prices realized, it’s often pretty clear that collectors look down their nose at cards with the MC qualifier. The general rule of thumb I’ve heard is that a qualifier knocks the card’s value down two full grades. So, if you have a card in a PSA 4 (MC) holder, you might expect it to sell for a the price of a PSA 2, or at least in the vicinity.

A recent post on net54baseball.com got me thinking about this topic. There were some vehement anti-qualifier posts that I thought were interesting. Among them:

“Honestly severely off centered/miscut cards bug me the most…I avoid those like the plague!”

“I avoid cards with qualifiers…currently have none in my collection.”

“You could not pay me to take a card with qualifier on it, if I can find any other card that doesn’t have a qualifier…”

I have to admit I was a little surprised by the passionate disdain evident in these comments. I’ve never felt too strongly one way or another about the (MC) qualifier, but it is clear that many do. One reason someone might feel this way is that cards with qualifiers sell for quite a bit less than a similar card of the same grade without the qualifier. I can understand people not wanting to spend money on a card that they will lose money on, but in this case I don’t really understand passing up a card with a qualifier for monetary reasons. Since they sell for less, that means you can buy them for less as well. There’s no need to lose money on resale if you paid a fair price to begin with.

I would assume there is also a bit of herd mentality going on here as well. If the majority of collectors avoid cards with qualifiers, maybe it’s less fun to show them off to friends who don’t appreciate them, they’re tougher to sell, etc.

The third reason is that the cards themselves turn people off. This is of course the main reason, evidenced by lower prices of qualified cards across the board. The thing is: all qualifiers are not created equal. The Schmidt and Lobert cards above are not nearly as off-center as the Graham below.

In my opinion, if people focused more on the card than the flip*, you would see more love for cards with qualifiers. In many cases, the reason for the qualifier does not affect eye appeal much at all, but many collectors will still shy away from those cards. Of course, many cards with qualifiers have substantial “flaws” or attributes that negatively affect their eye appeal. For collectors who only enjoy a perfectly centered card, the (MC) qualifier is useful, because it tells them they will probably not like the card. Although they are not the topic of this post, I can also understand collectors who don’t like writing or marks on their cards (cards like this would receive the MK qualifier. If you collect low or mid-grade T206s with common backs, there are plenty of well-centered cards out there, so there’s no reason to buy a card with centering issues. However, if you collect some tougher backs, you don’t usually have the same options. I was thrilled to add the Schmidt and Graham to my collection at great prices. I’m glad the qualifier doesn’t bother me, because I could be waiting years before I find a nicer copy of either front/back combo.

Although the negativity towards cards with the (MC) qualifier mystifies me a bit, I’m happy to keep buying the ones I like at great prices.

*flip is a slang term used by collectors to refer to the PSA label

T206 Sweet Caporal 150 Factory 649 Overprint – An Interesting Subset

Luke February 23, 2017 February 23, 2017

I’m excited to bring you another guest article from fellow T206 aficionado Scott Gross!

T206 Sweet Caporal 150 Factory 649 Overprints are a small (only 34 total cards) back printing sub-set. They were produced in the first printing of T206s in 1909 and are part of Print Group 1 (all Print Groups are based on the fantastic web site t206resource.com). Originally, they were produced as Sweet Caporal 150 Factory 30. The Factory 30 can be seen on some cards where the Red Stripe Over Print was misaligned. In fact, sometimes this back is called “Sweet Caporal Red Stripes.”

Due to Federal Tobacco laws, these cards were shipped from Factory 30 (2^ndDistrict NY) to Factory 649 (1^st District NY). Although there are only 34 cards, there is a nice variety, which includes 7 future Hall of Famers. There are also a few commons that have interesting printing anomalies.

The following table is based on the PSA Population report, which shows the backs that were printed for each player. There are two exceptions: First, PSA has not graded a Bates with a SC 350 / 25 back. It is theorized this card “should” exist, and the other day, a knowledgeable T206 friend of mine said he has seen one. Secondly, whereas PSA has no graded Gilbert listed, he is confirmed on T206resource.com.

EPDG

Hindu

Old Mill

Pied.150

Pied.350

Sov.150

Sov.350

SC 150/25

SC 150/30

SC 150/649

SC 350/25

SC350/30

Alperman

Bates

Bransfield

Bresnahan, portait

Clarke, J.J.

Davis, George

Davis, H.

Delehanty, Wash.

Ewing

Gilbert

Goode

Griffith, Portrait

Johnson, Portrait

Jones, St. Louis

Killian, Pitching

Lajoie, Throwing

Lake, New York

Liebhardt, Glenn

Manning, Batting

Marquard, Hands Thighs

Mathewson, White

McIntire, Brooklyn

McQuillan, ball in hand

O’Leary, Portrait

Owen

Pastorius

Powers

Ritchey

Schlei, Catching

Schmidt, Pitching

Sheckard, no glove

Spencer

Wagner, Bat Left

Wilhelm, Pitch

Let’s look at what these cards have in common. Actually they ALL have a lot in common. ALL can be found with Hindu backs. That would make sense, as Hindus were also produced at Factory 649. They also can ALL be found with the following backs: Piedmont 150, Sovereign 150, Sweet Caporal 150 / 25, and Sweet Caporal 150 / 30.

Cards produced with El Principe De Gales backs are kind of hit-or-miss. The majority of them, 22, have EPDG backs. I can only assume the 12 that do not have EPDG backs just “didn’t make the cut” for this back run.

All but one player (Powers, which will be discussed later) were produced with Piedmont 350 backs. However, only ten have a Sovereign 350 back. Once again, kind of hit-or-miss who made the this cut. On one hand you have very talented and popular (future HOFs) cards like Roger Bresnahan, George Davis, Clarke Griffith, and Walter Johnson, but not Napoleon Lajoie, Rube Marquard, or Christy Mathewson. Commons-wise, Glenn Liebhardt (who was printed with Sovereign 350 back) was a very good minor league pitcher, but nothing to brag about in the majors.

OK, now let’s look at the few anomalies:

First, we have Mike “Doc” Powers. Powers was a medical physician, thus the nickname, and was mainly a back-up catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics. He has no EPDG (as suspected, just didn’t make the printing). More importantly, he has NO 350 series backs. The reason for this: He was one of the very first cards pulled from T206 production. He also has no Old Mill back (which probably was pulled early, also). This is sadly understandable in that he died on April 26, 1909, just after the production began. The romantic version of his death is he died running into the stands after a foul ball on opening day. Partly true; he actually died from complications following surgery resulting from injuries sustained on that day. His full catcher’s-gear image is a favorite of many collectors, including myself.

Three other “odd” cards are Bob Ewing, Tom Jones of St. Louis, and Tubby Spencer. Like Powers, they neither have Old Mill backs, nor do they have Sweet Caporal 350 backs. The explanation is that they were pulled from production early. Not as early as Powers, but right about the beginning of 350 Series production. This timeline is not only based on the absence of Old Mill or Sweet Caporal 350 cards (or Sovereign) but also the fact that they are very short-printed, and extremely tough to find with Piedmont 350 backs. They both fall into the category known as The Elite 11*, which all have the same back distribution.

By the way, I have collected all 34 cards. It took about a year. I can’t say any one is anymore difficult to come by than any other. That includes HOFers, commons, and anomalies. It’s a FUN and doable sub-set, give it a try!!!!!

Written by Scott Gross

* the term Elite 11 was first introduced by collector Ted Zanidakis over on net54baseball.com

Five Easy Ways to Spot Reprint and Counterfeit T206 cards

Luke February 18, 2017 February 19, 2017

If I could only teach one thing to a new T206 collector, it would be how to spot fakes. Learning this skill is absolutely crucial for a couple reasons. The main reason is pretty obvious: You don’t want to be spending good money on a reprint or counterfeit card. The second reason deals more with your overall approach to collecting the set. While it is possible to only buy graded cards, you will miss out on a lot of good deals (and great cards) if you don’t feel comfortable buying an ungraded card or group of cards.

As with most things, repetition is the best way to get comfortable with spotting fakes. I recommend buying a few lower grade, ungraded T206s from a reputable dealer when you first start out. Handling a few authentic cards is a great way to get used to what they are supposed to look and feel like. However, I think I learned more from scrolling through ebay than from handling cards. Looking through hundreds or thousands of authentic T206s on ebay every week really trained my eyes to spot anything out of the ordinary. Once you have looked at thousands of scans, you will just notice when something doesn’t look right and know immediately that you are looking at a reprint or counterfeit. To help you get to that point, here are five things to look for to help you spot fakes:

Surface Cracks

Not all reprints/fakes have these little surface cracks like the Cobb above, but the ones that do are easy to spot. If you ever see a card with these cracks, it’s fake. You will never see an authentic card that looks like that.

The Caption is Written in Black Ink

Like the Mathewson above, many fakes have the name and city caption written in black ink. Authentic T206 cards have the caption printed in brown ink. If you see a card that you are not sure about, and the caption looks too dark, trust your instincts and stay away.

Occasionally you will see a scan of an authentic T206 that appears to have a black caption. If scan settings are a little off, that can cause brown ink to look black. You won’t come across this too often, but I’ve seen it a few times.

The Ink is Too Dark

The Matty above is an example of this. There is a subtlety to the colors on an authentic T206. Often, a fake will have a harsh, heavy-handed look to the colors. It’s hard to define in writing, but easy to spot.

Suspiciously Even Corner Wear and Rounding

The Wagner below shows extreme corner rounding, and whoever did it made sure to grind down each corner an even amount. You will certainly see some authentic T206s with extreme and even corner wear from time to time, but typically the wear will not be so uniform.

The Font Used for the Caption Does Not Match an Authentic T206

The Wagner below is a good example. Some reprints were printed with a different font than the originals, and they are easy to spot.

Why Don’t T206 Collectors Care About Hand-Cut Cards?

Luke February 16, 2017 February 16, 2017

Ever since I started collecting T206s, I’ve always been intrigued by cards that are clearly hand-cut. Oftentimes such cards also have blank backs or are missing colors, but sometimes they look pretty normal. This Stovall above is a good example of a card that clearly was cut from a sheet by hand (the bottom border is much wider than any factory-cut cards), but looks just like any other Stovall portrait otherwise.

I’ve always been drawn to these cards and I don’t really understand why collectors don’t seem to care for them. Though the market has been down recently, collectors still clearly covet Blank Backs and cards that are missing multiple colors passes. It makes sense that the most unique examples of Printer’s Scrap would be the most valuable. However, there is a ton of demand for other semi-scarce T206s, so the lack of demand for cards like my Stovall seems odd. For example, a PSA 3 Snodgrass with Tolstoi back just sold for $106 via ebay auction. Between PSA and SGC there are 14 copies of this front/back combo graded. A PSA 3 with Piedmont back would probably sell for about $40, so the Tolstoi back was worth for a 2.5x premium. This Stovall might be the only copy that was hand-cut, and I’d probably struggle to sell it for $30.

I can hypothesize a few reasons for the lack of demand. Maybe the fact that you can’t really “prove” these cards were hand-cut plays a role in the tepid response from collectors. Perhaps people find the wavy borders distracting. And maybe there just isn’t enough variation visually between a factory-cut copy and my Stovall for people to take notice. I do find it odd that T206 collectors hunt scarcity and perceived scarcity in many different ways, but will show little or no interest in certain scarce cards or variations. I believe that a lack of interest in a certain T206 niche will often breed more disinterest. It’s fun to show off your new cards and share new pickups with friends. When you’re the only person collecting a certain thing, it can feel pretty lonely after awhile.

What do you think about hand-cut cards? Do you like them? Would you pay a premium for them? Would you rather have the Leifield above, or a normal looking Leifield batting with a semi-tough back like Old Mill? Please leave a comment and join in the conversation.

How to Store Your T206 Collection?

Luke February 9, 2017 February 9, 2017

Deciding how to store your cards doesn’t seem like it should be difficult, but it definitely was for me when I first started collecting. There are a lot different options, each having advantages and disadvantages. It seems to me that the majority of people prefer their collection have a uniform look, but I know of a few who don’t worry about that. Graded cards are great for uniformity and protection. But if you only buy graded cards, you’ll miss out on some great ungraded cards. So, how to store your ungraded cards?

Collectors sometimes joke about having a touch of OCD that makes them feel the need to have all their cards in the same holders or a binder. I don’t know if it’s actually OCD or not, but I can relate to the feeling. I have always preferred uniformity in the presentation of my collection.

When I started collecting the T206 set in 2010, I decided I was going to collect the entire set in SGC holders. I even went so far as to think I’d like all of the cards to be graded SGC 30. I didn’t take long for me to realize that it would be incredibly tedious to only collect a certain grade and that I would miss out on a lot of great cards and/or great deals. I also realized that I was collecting cards, not numbers on a piece of paper. So then I started buying raw cards as well and keeping them in Card Savers that were the same size as the SGC cases. Then, I found some nice PSA cards and bought them. Then I decided that the Card Savers were too flimsy and I bought a bunch of screw-downs for the raw cards. That lasted a couple weeks before I got rid of them for taking up too much space and being too difficult to thumb through. Then I decided I would go with tobacco sized top loaders. They were both small and secure. That seemed like the perfect solution. But then I got annoyed with the top loaders because between the penny sleeve and top loader, there were two layers of plastic between the card and my eyes. The cards looked so much better without all the plastic. So, I figured I’d go back to Card Savers, but this time I picked the smaller size. This is where I am now after that somewhat ridiculous journey. I’m pretty happy with an assortment of graded cards and raw cards in Card Savers, but who knows how I’ll feel next year.

Let’s take a look at all the options and their pros and cons:

Keeping your cards in whatever holder they arrive in

Pros:

Easy
Low Maintenance
Cheap

Cons:

Different sizes of holders might make it harder to thumb though your cards
Tape or stickers on the holders might obscure images or text
May not provide as much protection as you’d like

Exclusively collecting graded cards

Pros:

Uniform look
Easier to sell when you need to
Maximizes value
Provides protection beyond most raw card storage options
The holders display player name and the back on the label, which is nice

Cons:

You often pay top dollar for your cards
You miss some good deals and great cards that are sold ungraded

Tobacco sized top loaders for your ungraded cards

Pros:

Small and easy to store
Sturdy
Easy to thumb through

Cons:

Two layers of plastic can dull the image and colors
Penny sleeve can get crinkled and distort the image a bit

Card Savers for your ungraded cards

Pros:

Thin and easy to store
One layer of plastic for maximum clarity of image

Cons:

Bendable plastic does not provide much protection

Thick plastic screw-downs for your ungraded cards

Pros:

Provides maximum protection
Great for displaying your cards
Image clarity is usually very strong

Cons:

Expensive
Take up a lot of space
Hard to thumb through (and if you do, you’ll scratch the holders)

Storing your ungraded cards in a binder

Pros:

Takes up less space than any other method
The set looks great displayed together
Less plastic
Less space between cards (as compared to setting a bunch of slabs on a table) means you can look at more cards at once

Cons:

Very little protection for your cards
Can be difficult to place cards into sleeves and remove them
Inserting or removing cards from pages can damage them (however if you use stamp tongs it’s pretty safe)

As you can see, there are many good options for storing your cards. You want to strike a balance between protection and presentation. Graded cards may be the best of both worlds, but ungraded cards in Top Loaders can be a great option as well. In my opinion, Card Savers and binders offer the best presentation. However, if you choose either of these methods, you need to be more careful when handling your cards.

I hope this overview will be helpful to some of you. Did I overlook any storage options that you use? I’d love to hear how you guys do it, so please leave a comment*.

* I know that my current comment system is not very user-friendly. I’m trying to figure out how to upgrade it. Right now it looks like I’m either going to have to learn how to code, or to pay someone to do it for me. Hopefully that is coming sooner rather than later.

Understanding the American Beauty backs: T206 American Beauty 460 (Part 4/4)

Luke February 9, 2017 February 5, 2017

American Beauty 460 backs were released in 1911, at the tail end of T206 production. Poses from Print Groups Three, Four, and Five are represented in the AB 460 subset. As you can see, they share the same design with American Beauty 350 no frame (which I discussed in Part 3 of this series).

American Beauty 460 is the scarcest American Beauty back in terms of overall population. It ranks 13th on the Back Scarcity Rankings at t206resource.com. American Beauty 350 no frame is 15th and American Beauty 350 with frame is 21st. Individual subjects with American Beauty 460 backs are also typically more scarce than a single pose with either AB350w/f or AB350nf. There are a few exceptions to this rule (12 to be exact) that I will discuss in a moment.

Here is the complete American Beauty 460 checklist:

Many of these cards are extremely scarce. However, there are a group of 12 poses which were printed in much greater quantities with American Beauty 460 backs than the other poses in the subset:

Crandall with cap
Devore
Duffy
Ford
Gandil
Geyer
Hummel
McGraw glove at hip
Pfeffer
Sheckard glove showing
Tannehill on front
Wheat

These 12 poses were dubbed “The Exclusive 12” in 2013 by collector Ted Zanidakis in a post on net54baseball.com (which you can read here). They probably are a subject for another post, but suffice it say they are relatively easy with American Beauty 460 and Tolstoi backs, but tougher than you would expect with EPDG and Polar Bear backs.

American Beauty 460 backs sell for more than any other American Beauty backs (with the exception of the 12 players listed above). Many of the subjects who are not part of the “Exclusive 12” have extremely low known populations. If you play with the PSA Pop Report, (which I explained how to use in this post) you will find many that have Pops of zero, one, or two.

Thank you as always to t206resource.com for the use of their checklists.

The Greatest T206 Back Run Ever Assembled: Ty Cobb Red Background Portrait

Luke February 2, 2017 1 Comment

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.

April 2013 – Polar Bear
May 2013 – SC 350-460 Fact 25, SC 350-460 Fact 30, SC 350-460 Fact 42 w/ Overprint, T213 Coupon Type 2
June 2013 – Tolstoi, Piedmont 350, SC 350/25, SC 350/30, SC 350-460 Fact 42
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.

The Infamous T206 Ed Walsh with Blue Old Mill Back

Luke January 29, 2017 January 29, 2017

In August of 2012, word started circulating on net54baseball.com that an Old Mill with blue ink had been found at the National. Initially most people thought it was a joke, but within a couple days a picture was posted of the card inside an SGC holder. Many long-time collectors who had inspected it in person agreed that it looked legitimate. SGC thought enough of the card to label it as a “Blue Back”. At this point, many forum members who had only viewed camera phone pictures deferred to the collectors who had seen the card in person. Still, many were not convinced. Some thought the card looked good but that the ink could have faded or been exposed to chemicals. A member posted a reprint Old Mill back which had been printed with blue ink side-by-side with the back of the Walsh (shown below). There were also a small group of posters who agreed the heavy and even rounding of the corners gave them pause, as many artificially aged reprints exhibit suspiciously even corner rounding.

In December 2012, the card showed up for auction via Huggins and Scott. It debuted with a hefty $15,000 minimum bid. It sold but only received one bid. The story died down a bit after that. In November 2013, the card showed up for auction again, this time via Heritage Auctions. It sold for $14,340 this time. Forum posters noted how the new owner had listed it on Heritage’s website with a $30,000 price tag. At this point, the card kind of fell off the face of the earth. People stopped talking about it, and it hasn’t been offered for sale since. When the discovery was first publicized, collectors everywhere pulled out their Old Mill backs to give them another look, just in case they might have a blue back. Nobody found one. It’s hard to imagine that only one single card from a factory-cut sheet would have survived. It’s absolutely possible of course, just unlikely. If you look closely at the edges of this card, you can make the case that it was originally hand-cut. If it was, that would make a lot of sense. If a sheet was printed with blue ink and then scrapped, you would expect most cards on the sheet would have remained in the garbage and star players like Walsh would be most likely to survive.

There is no question that the front of this card is legit. It shares some printing flaws with a few other Walsh cards printed in 1910. T206 back collector Scott Stiffler posted this comparison of his card (the SGC 40) with the Blue Old Mill to show the print anomalies that the two cards share. They both have a weak border on the left and right sides and little red dots on the “I” in Chicago and on his forehead. The Piedmont 350 below exhibits the same weak border on the right hand side as well as the red dot at the top of the “I”.

Controversy is likely to follow this card until another Old Mill with Blue Ink is found (if that ever happens). I tend to trust the advanced collectors who have held it and pronounced it the real deal. I also trust that SGC would have done their due diligence in making sure the card was not re-backed or altered in any way that could be detected. My biggest concern about the card personally is this: If it were re-backed, it would probably look just like this because the person who did it would want to round the corners to try and smooth the edges and avoid detection.

I’d love to see it in person someday. Until then, I’ll remain the slightest bit skeptical, like most others who have only seen the scans online.

Tough T206 Polar Bears??? Certainly!!!

Luke January 26, 2017 January 26, 2017

A Guest Blog Article from Fellow T206 Junkie Scott Gross

First off, I’d like to thank Luke for allowing me to write this brief article as part of his great new T206 blog. We are both T206 fanatics, and enjoy all aspects of this fantastic set. There is always something new to learn, especially when it comes to advertising backs.

As far as basic adverting back rarity goes, even the newest collector knows Piedmont and Sweet Caporal backs are the most common. Of course, there are some exceptions, and “exceptions” are some of the most interesting aspects of T206 collecting. Next up on the back list, most would say Polar Bear is the most common.

Polar Bear cards were distributed uniquely in the T206 world in packs of loose tobacco. Therefore, many cards have very distinct tobacco stains. They were first distributed in early 1910 as part of the second round of T206 printings, known by many as Print Group 2.

OK, now to the gist of this article: Are all Polar Bear subjects as common as thought? Most are. But this means some are not!

Subjects printed in Print Group 2, mentioned above (350 Subjects Only) and Print Group 3 (350-460 Subjects) are relatively common. However, subjects released in Print Group 4 (460 only) can be quite tough to find. 460 Only printing was in early 1911. My theory is that this was when Polar Bear brand was slowing down and/or ending their affiliation with T206 cards.

Now for some numbers. There were only 46 new cards added in the 460 Only printing: 39 common players, and 7 Hall of Famers. As an aside, a disproportional number (15) were NY Giants. That would make sense, as the Giants were the popular team of the day.

Here is a list of the 460 Only, along with the number of Polar Bear cards graded by PSA (using PSA populations as a relative example of distribution):

Abbaticchio, Ed (Blue Sleeves)	16
Ball, Neal (Cleveland)	12
Bell, George (Follow Thru)	11
Bergen, Bill (Catching)	11
Bescher, Bob (Hands In Air)	14
Bridwell, Al (Portrait – With Cap)	15
Camnitz, Howie (Arm At Side)	8
Camnitz, Howie (Hands Above Head)	10
Crandall, Doc (Portrait With Cap)	13
DeVore, Josh	11
Doyle, Larry (Portrait)	7
Ford, Russ	11
Frill, John	13
Gandil, Chick	19
Geyer, Rube	10
Herzog, Buck (Boston)	16
Howell, Harry (Hand At Waist)	9
Hummel, John	18
Lake, Joe (St. Louis – Ball In Hand)	15
Latham, Arlie	26
Merkle, Fred (Throwing)	18
Meyers, Chief	20
Murray, Red (Portrait)	10
Needham, Tom	13
Oldring, Rube (Batting)	9
Overall, Orval (Hands Waist Level)	10
Payne, Fred	14
Pfeffer, Francis	8
Schaefer, Germany (Washington)	18
Schlei, Admiral (Batting)	19
Schlei, Admiral (Portrait)	20
Schulte, Wildfire (Back View)	7
Seymour, Cy (Portrait)	25
Sheckard, Jimmy (Glove Showing)	10
Smith, Happy	15
Stovall, George (Batting)	13
Tannehill, Lee (Tannehill On Front)	15
Wiltse, Hooks (Portrait – With Cap)	23


Chase, Hal (Holding Trophy)	29

Chance, Frank (Batting)	15
Duffy, Hugh	17
Marquard, Rube (Pitching)	30
McGraw, John (Glove At Hip)	24
McGraw, John (Portrait – With Cap)	17
Tinker, Joe (Bat On Shoulder)	17
Wheat, Zack	21

Looking at only the common players (excluding Chase, who will be discussed later), the average number is 14. Now, there are some players with noticeably higher numbers. But notice which ones: NY Giants (Latham, Merkle, Meyers, Schlei, Seymour, Wiltse). Once again, due to the popularity of these players, they may have been relatively over-printed. If you remove these Giants, the average would drop to about 12.

In order to get these numbers to make sense, we have to look at Polar Bear card populations from the 350 Only and 350-460 printings. What I have done is select a random number of these Polar Bears cards. Actually they are the ones I have in my collection. The average population of 45 of these non-460 Only cards is 21.

If I could find my Stats book from college long ago, I could do some statistical analysis on these numbers. But I’ll let them stand as is, and speak for themselves. The 460 Only average is 14 versus Non-460 Only at 21. I’ll conclude that 460 Only Polar Bear cards are tougher to come by.

In fact, there are some of Polar Bears being as tough to find as corresponding Tolstoi backs:

Player Polar Bear Tolstoi

Camnitz, Howie (Arm At Side)	8	6
DeVore, Josh	11	14
Doyle, Larry (Portrait)	7	8
Howell, Harry (Hand At Waist)	9	8
Pfeffer, Francis	8	9
Schulte, Wildfire (Back View)	7	7
Sheckard, Jimmy (Glove Showing)	10	12
Tannehill, Lee (Tannehill On Front)	15	19

Next up: Prince Hal Chase. Although Chase is not in the Hall of Fame (a definite candidate, but too much gambling baggage), he was arguably one of the most popular players of the time. He has 5 T206s. Of the five cards, no Polar Bears were printed with his Pink Portrait or White Cap cards. Looking at his Polar Bear cards, there is a notable drop in his 460 Only Holding Trophy:

Blue Portrait – 56

Dark Cap – 40

Holding Trophy – 29

Finally, Hall of Fame Polar Bear 460 Only. Now, with these HOFs, there appears to be a substantial decrease in the number of Polar Bears.

Chance, Frank (Batting)	15
Duffy, Hugh	17
Marquard, Rube (Pitching)	30
McGraw, John (Glove At Hip)	24
McGraw, John (Portrait – With Cap)	17
Tinker, Joe (Bat On Shoulder)	17
Wheat, Zack	21

Average: 20

Compare this to my Non-460 Only HOFs with Polar Bear Backs (which, I think, is a nice, random group):

Jimmy Collins (Minneapolis)	25
Rube Marquard (Pitching Follow Through)	29
Hughie Jennings (Both Hands Showing)	31
Joe Tinker (Bat Off Shoulder)	42
Johnny Evers (With Bat Chicago On Shirt)	49
Hughie Jennings (One Hand Showing)	54
Mordecai Brown (Chicago On Shirt)	56
Ty Cobb (Bat Off Shoulder)	63
Cy Young (Cleveland) (Glove Shows)	67
Walter Johnson (Pitching)	73
Frank Chance (Portrait Yellow Background)	80

Average: 52

Once again, quite notable that 460 Only Polar Bears (avg. 20) are rarer than Non-460s (avg. 52). Also, many are comparable to corresponding Tolstoi difficulty when it comes to tracking them down:

Player Polar Bear Tolstoi

Chance, Frank (Batting)	15	11
Duffy, Hugh	17	17
McGraw, John (Portrait – With Cap)	17	25
Wheat, Zack	21	19

So next time you run across a “common” Polar Bear, double-check if it’s a 460 Only print. It may not be as “common” as you think!

Written by Scott Gross

*thank you as always to the folks at T206resource.com for sharing their spreadsheets with us, and all T206 collectors