As a new decade approached, a popular Wisconsin dairy company nestled near the shore of Lake Michigan was looking for a marketing edge. A partnership with the popular home state big league baseball team brought the 1960 Lake to Lake Milwaukee Braves baseball cards to life: two lives actually. These were meant to be traded back to the company for something … [Read more...]
Sweet Caporal Domino Discs Loaded With Stars
The domino effect never really caught on, but the 1909-1912 Sweet Caporal Domino Discs (PX7) set offers big-name players at relatively affordable prices. The Domino Discs contain many of the same players that appeared in the more popular Sweet Caporal pin set — with some of them even sporting the same pose — but the discs remain obscure. The discs were inserted into packs … [Read more...]
1940s Cracker Jack Set Detailed the History of Sports
To many, Cracker Jack is known for its prizes that were packed inside of their famous peanut and popcorn combination snack boxes. But to sports card collectors, they are famous for their 1914 and 1915 baseball card sets. While those are undoubtedly the most important issues created by the company, Cracker Jack also produced a unique set of cards in the 1940s. Let's take a … [Read more...]
1950s Mother’s Cookies Cards Depicted West Coast’s “Major Leaguers”
In 1952 and 1953, west coast-based Mother's Cookies issued two sets of baseball cards as a spring and summer promotion for their products. Here's a closer look at these unique sets of minor league players. 1950s Mother's Cookies Basics While the brand may not have been familiar to most consumers east of the Rockies, Mother's Cookies issued bakery products from 1914 until … [Read more...]
Rare W553 Set is Full of Stars
Strip cards often are tagged with the undesirable label and can be inexpensive ways to collect early baseball stars. But not all strip cards are expensive or easy to find. One of the more elusive and expensive sets is the W553 release. Here's a closer look at this unique series that has been identified as a strip card set. W553 Basics The W553 set is not your typical strip … [Read more...]
Oddball Ty Cobb Cards from the Pre-War Era
Ty Cobb is one of the most collected players from the pre-war era. His cards have risen dramatically in value over the years and have not showed any sign of slowing down anytime soon. Among Cobb's more popular cards are his four issues in the T206 set, his T205 card, and some of his well known caramel/candy issues. But the Hall of Famer has plenty of unique and … [Read more...]
1950 R423 Cards are Small in Size but Full of Stars
Across the wide spectrum of the hobby, collectors will find baseball cards printed in all shapes and sizes. But one of the smallest sets of cards ever created is a relatively oddball issue from 1950. Today, we know this set mostly as the R423 set. 1950 R423 Set Overview The 1950 R423 set is made up of 120 very small baseball cards. The cards were issued in 13-card … [Read more...]
1952 Wheaties Tray Set is Actually a 1950 Issue
Sports fans have always been a target market for Wheaties. The "Breakfast of Champions" has often given sleepy-eyed fans something to read with their morning bowl of cereal. Sometimes the players were found on the back and sometimes they were featured on the front but there's a dating error when it comes to one of their most unusual and scarce collectibles. In the … [Read more...]
Athletes Highlighted the Quirky 1928 W565 Strip Card Set
Pre-war strip cards can often be unattractive, a bit difficult to understand, and, well, just a little strange in general. All of those traits apply to the 1928 W565 strip card set. Here's a closer look at this unique issue from the 1920s. About the W565 strip card set Believed to have been printed in 1928, there's no doubt that the W565 strip card set is a little on the … [Read more...]
1953 Bowman Black and White Set Complemented the Company’s Color Release
In 1953, Bowman continued its run of collectible baseball card sets with an impressive 160-card offering. Like the company's previous issues, that set included full color cards of players. But also in that year, the company issued a shorter, complementary set of black and white cards. Because of that, this is referred to as the black and white set while the other issue is known … [Read more...]