Issued around the same time as the T206 issue and looking somewhat similar, the 1909 E90-1 American Caramel set is one of the most popular early candy/caramel issues among pre-war collectors. With numerous short prints and tough cards as well as expensive cards including the Joe Jackson rookie, it isn’t an easy set to complete.
There are several Hall of Famers in the set but some are generally quite affordable if you’re OK with cards that show their age a bit. Here are five of them.
Roger Bresnahan
Bresnahan issues are generally among the more affordable Hall of Fame issues in his sets and his E90-1 American Caramel card is no exception. His card features him running the bases and it’s a common pose found in other sets as well
. It isn’t treated like a common in the set but compared to other Hall of Fame cards, it’s one of the least expensive with decent copies starting around $150 in mid-grade condition. Among the players on this list, it appears to be one of the rarer ones with only about 120 graded by PSA and SGC.
Bobby Wallace
Wallace’s card, like Bresnahan’s is not too tough to find. It’s not overly plentiful as some of his tobacco issues are but isn’t nearly as difficult as many other cards in the E90-1 American Caramel set. Of all of the Hall of Famers listed at any given time on eBay, it often has quite a few listings available.
Almost 200 have been graded to date by PSA and SGC combined. Prices for cards out of the low-grade category and in decent shape start around $75-$100.
Chief Bender
With only 212 career wins, Bender doesn’t have the gaudy stats that often accompany Hall of Famers. That’s generally one of the reasons why he’s usually a little more affordable than other pre-war inductees in Cooperstown.
Bender’s card is plentiful and PSA and SGC have combined to grade more than 150. He is pictured making a throw in his Philadelphia Athletics uniform. His cards can be found at $200 or less in lower grade.
Hughie Jennings
Player/Manager Hughie Jennings is found in the E90-1 American Caramel set as he’s included with a classic portrait pose. Jennings is one of the most inexpensive Hall of Famers in the release as well as other candy and tobacco sets as well.
His E90-1 card is sometimes derided because of the ruby red lips on Jennings on some copies of it. It is plentiful (SGC and PSA have graded nearly 200 combined) and, as a result, his cards are a little more affordable than other Hall of Famers, with some typically costing no more than $200.
Willie Keeler (Pink Background)
Keeler has three variations in the set and two (a red background portrait and a horizontal throwing pose) are more expensive and harder to find. But one of them, his pink background card, is abundant and not too expensive. The card is essentially the same as his red background portrait, only with a distinctly pink color in the background.
It seems to be a little tougher to find and PSA and SGC have graded only about 125 of them. That makes it easy to understand why the card is a little pricier than others on this list but, at current prices for mid-grade examples, it’s still affordable.
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