The annual Pittsburgh Card Show was held this weekend and I managed to attend on Saturday. What I found was the usual solid mix of dealers with another good selection of vintage cards at Main Line Autographs' latest showcase. In all, there were somewhere in the neighborhood of 70-80 dealers from all over the country. That is nothing new for the popular show, which has gained … [Read more...]
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W554 Baseball Set is Small but Challenging
The W554 baseball card set isn't your typical strip card issue. Nevertheless, these oversized photos are classified as a W-Card release. Here's a look at these unique cards. W554 Strip Card Basics Believed to have been issued in 1930, W554 cards are more like small photographs than your traditional baseball cards. And at 5" wide x 7" tall, they are even larger than other … [Read more...]
Early and Mid 1940s Saw Few Baseball Card Sets
Baseball cards first made their mark in the late 1800s and early 1900s, primarily as tobacco card inserts. After a brief respite of sorts during World War I, the 1920s and 1930s saw the creation of even more sets. But by the 1940s, the collecting world was again on a bit of a hiatus. The 1930s brought about the gum card boom and, by that time, cards had really shifted from … [Read more...]
100 Years After the Black Sox Scandal, Buck Weaver Cards Have Never Been Hotter
2019 marks the 100th anniversary of the infamous Chicago Black Sox scandal. In 1919, several members of the White Sox conspired to throw the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. The result was the ban of eight players from Major League Baseball by Kennesaw Mountain Landis, the sport's commissioner. Some of the players, like Shoeless Joe Jackson, were stars. Others were … [Read more...]
W555 Cards Are Small in Size But Fetch Big Prices
The W555 cards aren't your typical strip issue. In fact, they are not really a strip card at all. While classified by Jefferson Burdick in his American Card Catalog as a W-Card, the reality is that these are now known as a hand cut candy card of sorts. Collectors familiar with early cards will also note that many of the images are cropped versions of photographs that were … [Read more...]
1929 Leader Novelty Set Still Holds Mysteries
The 1929 Leader Novelty baseball card set is an interesting one, to be sure. The cards are distinguished by their assortment of color tint images of baseball players on the fronts. The cards are found printed in either red, purple, green, or brown ink. They measure approximately 1 3/4" x 2 5/8", though the actual dimensions are known to vary a good bit. Fronts include the … [Read more...]
Broadleaf/Cycle Shortprints are the Keys to the T207 Set
Issued in 1912, the T207 release is a different kind of tobacco baseball card set. We've written about the set here before and, personally, it's a favorite of mine. From the dark and mysterious aesthetics and somewhat odd player checklist, it's significantly different than most other tobacco sets from the same time period. The set is difficult to complete for any number of … [Read more...]
Short 1920 W520 Strip Card Set Full of Surprises
The 1920 W520 strip card set has a total of only 20 cards. Despite that, it's one of the more, shall we say, odd strip issues out there. Here's a closer look at this somewhat interesting set. W520 Strip Card Basics As stated, a total of only 20 cards are found in the W520 strip card set. That's certainly a bit on the short end but not really all that odd for strip card sets. … [Read more...]
5 Black Sox Baseball Card Bargains
Baseball cards featuring players from the 1919 Chicago White Sox team are not generally inexpensive. Collectors heavily pursue cards featuring the eight banned 'Black Sox' players and that demand has driven up prices over the years. Now, with the 100th anniversary of the famous team, their cards have never been more popular. But while many of these cards are a bit on the … [Read more...]
Goudey Had Plenty of Competition in the Pre-War Era
Plain and simple, Goudey ruled the pre-war gum card era when it came to baseball cards. Issuing numerous sets beginning in 1933, the company dominated the time period. Goudey began with an extremely popular, 240-card set in 1933 and continued producing other baseball cards through 1941. They weren't the producers of the first of the gum cards but they quickly became the most … [Read more...]
