When most collectors think of baseball cards, some form of rectangular cardboard typically comes to mind. But the E286 Ju-Ju Drums sort of bucked the trend in terms of what a card looks like. Here’s a closer look at the set.
E286 Ju-Ju Drums Overview
Okay, so the E286 Ju-Ju Drums aren’t really a baseball card as they are a miniature disc. But classified as E286 by Jefferson Burdick in his popular American Card Catalog, they ares widely sought after by many card collectors.
The discs were created for Ju-Ju Drum candy in 1910. They are relatively small but not minuscule like many pins from the same era. At approximately 1 1/2″ in diameter, they are considerably larger than some of the pins from the same time period that can measure an inch or less.
The front of each disc includes a black and white picture of a player and both close-up portraits and full-body action shots were used. The player’s last name and team name stretches around the exterior of the border so as not to interfere with the image.
If you’re looking for more information than that, however, you’re basically out of luck. The only thing on the backs is a unique ad for the candy and a mention of the fact that each package of Ju-Ju Drum candy contained one of the cards.
So, why were the cards round when other candy cards were mostly rectangular? That’s easy. The Ju-Ju Drum container that held the candy and the cards was round so it was an even fit.
E286 Ju-Ju Drums Stars
A total of 45 known discs are in the set and it includes a fair amount of stars.
Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson, and Honus Wagner highlight the set but there’s more there, too. Hall of Famers Tris Speaker, John McGraw, Chief Bender, and Frank Chance are also present. In addition, stars such as Eddie Cicotte and Bill Dahlen are in the issue as well.
It is also worth mentioning that the checklist may not be complete. The cards are extremely rare and since a specific number of cards in the set has not been identified on the cards or in advertising, that leaves the possibility open that more could exist. Here’s to hoping for the discovery of some other big names of the
era, such as Cy Young, Walter Johnson, or Nap Lajoie.
E286 Ju-Ju Drum Pricing
The E286 Ju-Ju Drums are not plentiful by any means. Many times, in fact, there will not be a single copy available on eBay. Because of that, prices remain high for this issue. Even commons in lower mid-grade condition can draw around $1,000. This Rube Ellis graded Good+ nearly drew that, raising more than $700 in 2015.
Finding these in larger quantities is incredibly scarce. REA managed to auction a lot of nine in modest condition that sold for more than $5,000 last year.
The bigger names, of course, are exponentially more. A PSA 4 graded Cobb card, for example, previously sold for more than $13,000 in an SCP auction.
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