‘Expired’ caramel cards from a 1920s contest are supposed to exist — but where are they?
Articles
Sifting Through O-Pee-Chee’s First Hockey Sets — The Amazing V304 Series
Let’s dive into the earliest O-Pee-Chee hockey cards — the V304 set
A Look at the Rarity of Goudey’s Baseball Card Sets
Let’s take a look at the rarity of all of Goudey’s baseball card sets
Five (More) Great Bargains in the T206 Set — Part II
Here are five (more) bargain commons found in the T206 set
1907 Cracker Jack Bears Postcard Predates Other Baseball Cards
An early 1900s baseball postcard was issued several years before Cracker Jack’s more famous baseball cards
Comparing the Rarity of 1914 and 1915 Cracker Jack Sets
How do the Cracker Jack sets compare against each other in terms of rarity?
What was Zee-Nut?
Many collectors have heard of Zee-Nut cards but don’t know anything about the product — or the song that was created for it
Five Great Bargains in T206 Commons
The T206 set has many great finds that can be bought for low prices
T205 Cubs Variations of Peaches Graham, Dave Shean Among Tougher Finds
Here’s a closer look at the rarer Cubs T205 variations for Peaches Graham and Dave Shean
A Look Inside the Scarce Fred Lindstrom 1930s U.S. Caramel Card
The Fred Lindstrom 1930s U.S. Caramel card is one of the true pre-war rarities
Editor’s Notes (December 2019)
Here’s a look back at what happened on the site this past month
Original Patent for T. Norpoth Playing Cards Game Rediscovered
Here’s a copy for the patent of a World War I baseball playing card set
In the Mail: New Years Edition
December’s card finds included Ty Cobb, a few sets, and, as usual, some pretty rare discoveries
The 2019 Year in Review
Here’s a look back at the news and discoveries in pre-war cards from the past year
Obscure Card of the Month: 1923 Sarony Origin of Games — Rounders/Baseball
This rare tobacco card depicts baseball in its early form
Behind the Lens: A Close-up Look at T206 Cards
Using a macro photography lens on the T206 card of Jack Warhop
Rewards of Merit Among the More Unique Pre-War Cards
Rewards of Merit cards highlighted good behavior and date back to the 1700s
Fixing the Chaos: How to Organize a Pre-War Card Collection
What’s the best way to organize a pre-war card collection?
Lack of Bob Feller Cards from Iconic Play Ball Sets is a Mystery
Why was one of baseball’s best pitchers entirely absent in some of the most recognizable early gum card sets?
Reviewing Mel Ott’s Two 1933 Goudey Cards
Let’s take a closer look at the two 1933 Goudey cards of Hall of Famer Mel Ott
A Look at Some of Ty Cobb’s Most Popular Cards
On Ty Cobb’s birthday, let’s take a look at his most popular baseball cards
Second E104 Nadja Fred Tenney Card Discovered, Auctioned by Heritage
Another copy of the rare Fred Tenney E104 Nadja card has surfaced and was recently sold
Confirming a New Willie Keeler E90-1 American Caramel Variation
A fourth Willie Keeler E90-1 card has been discovered
1941 Goudey Set is Wrought with Problems
The unpopular 1941 Goudey set has a litany of issues that hardly make it worthwhile for most collectors
Baker’s Dozen: The Top 13 Pre-War Baseball Card Sets of All-Time
Here’s one man’s rankings of the top pre-war baseball card sets in history
Pre-War Bargains: John McGraw Polo Grounds Postcards
A series of postcards featuring Hall of Famer John McGraw are among the cheapest around
Sound Too Good to be True? It Probably is.
The story of a Babe Ruth strip card is a good reminder of the old adage
Reviewing the Horizontals in the E90-1 American Caramel Set
The popular candy card set has five horizontal cards in it — how do they stack up against each other?
Existing Sets were Popular Targets for Bread Card Releases
Bakeries were experts in the recycling of baseball card sets
SGC Now Offers Scans of Collectors’ Graded Cards
SGC will now provide customers with high definition scans of their graded cards
Frank Chance and His Three T206 Cards
Let’s take a look at the three T206 cards of Hall of Famer Frank Chance
I’ll Fight You Here, There, or Anywhere
A look at the strange scenery in the T220 Boxing Champions set
Johnny Seigle (Siegle) and his Strange E90-1 American Caramel Card
What exactly is Johnny Siegle doing in the E90-1 American Caramel set?
Obscure Card of the Month: 1901 Hill Flags and Flags with Soldiers (America)
The Obscure Card of the Month is an early tobacco American flag issue
Editor’s Notes (November 2019)
Here’s a look back at what happened on the site this past month
In the Mail: Pre-Thanksgiving Card Buying
This week’s card pickups included caramel cards, strip cards, and a rare international card
The Three Words that Baseball Card Buyers Never Want to Hear
One simple phrase will usually have prospective buyers running in the opposite direction
Four Things Missing from the Iconic T205 Set
While nearly perfect, the T205 set is missing a few things
Harvard-Yale Rivalry Led to Early Pre-War Football Cards
Numerous early football cards were created surrounding the longtime Harvard-Yale rivalry
In the Mail: One Crazy Week of Card Buying
The past week included some serious card buying
Too Many Sets, Too Little Time (and Money)
Establishing and breaking limitations in the grand world of set collecting
Making a Card Trade Via Mail? Here’s Some Tips and Proper Etiquette.
Here are some keys to help make your mail trades go smoothly
A 1921 New York Times Pictorial Led to a Common Babe Ruth Card
The publication was the basis for one of Ruth’s popular early candy cards
Behind the Lens: A Close-Up Look at T205 Cards
Using a macro photography lens on the T205 card of Red Kleinow
A Look at Joe Tinker’s Four T206 Cards
The Hall of Famer is one of the most featured players in the T206 set
Edmonton Grads are Subjects on Some of the Earliest Basketball Cards
The famous Edmonton Grads are today’s Google Doodle – here’s a look at their early cards
A Look Through the Various Types of Images Found in the T206 Set
The T206 set covers just about everything in terms of its images
A Look Inside the Popular 1888 Allen & Ginter American Indian Chiefs Set (N2)
The N2 Allen & Ginter set remains one of the top pre-war non-sports releases
A Rare eBay Find of Ogden’s Tobacco Cards Brought Plenty of Surprises
Finding a complete subset of Ogden’s Tabs General Interest cards yielded some surprises and an elite athlete
Studying Nap Lajoie’s Three T206 Cards
Let’s take a look at the three T206 cards of Hall of Famer Nap Lajoie
Fred McMullin Makes Black Sox Collecting Difficult
While there are biggest names from the infamous Black Sox team, Fred McMullin’s cards are the toughest to find
Baseball, Beer, and Golf make for One Tough Pre-War Find
The rare set includes two Hall of Famers
Dating Pre-War Cards is not Always Easy
Trying to determine a pre-war card’s specific origins can be difficult
Obak Cards are a Set Collector’s Nightmare
The Obak cards are great — unfortunately, building an entire set is extremely challenging
Earn up to 10% in New eBay Bucks Promotion
Another eBay Bucks promotion is here
Despite Rising Prices, Low-Grade T206 Cards Remain Budget-Friendly
Bargains can still be had from the popular T206 set
Cycling Cards of the Legendary Major Taylor Draw Heavy Interest
Pre-war cards of the early star sell for relatively strong prices
Obscure Card of the Month: Walter Johnson W516-2-2 Scrap
A recent pickup was one of my favorites of the entire year
Rare Dolly Gray “Stats” Remains a Key Card in the T205 Set
The Stats version of Gray’s card is a hot commodity
Editor’s Notes (October 2019)
Here’s a look at what happened on the site last month
A Collection of Misfits: 10 of the Scariest Cards You’ll See on Halloween
Here are ten of the worst cards in my collection
Finding Honus: What are the Odds?
What are the chances of you finding an authentic Honus Wagner T206 baseball card? Not high.
A Look at Rarity and Pricing for Bill Dahlen’s Two T206 Variations
The ‘Would Be’ Hall of Famer has two variations in the popular T206 set
A Pre-War Hall of Fame Rookie Card for Under $3? Yes, Please.
If you’re looking for the cheapest Hall of Fame rookie card from the pre-war era, this may be it
Barney Pelty is Still King of the Horizontal T206 Cards
The obscure player has the most desirable of the T206 horizontals
The Disappearing Act of Shoeless Joe Jackson’s Inexpensive Cards
Trying to buy Shoeless Joe Jackson’s less expensive cards has proven difficult
COMC Now Offering No Questions Asked Refunds
The popular marketplace is now offering an updated returns policy
Cy Young’s Three Cards Among the Keys to the T206 Set
The Hall of Famer has three of the more expensive cards in the set
Zee-Nut Minor League Baseball Sets Full of Unknown Players
The Zee-Nut sets are largely made up of baseball obscurities and one in particular caught my eye recently
Let’s Look at the E91 American Caramel Poses — All 33 of Them
Here’s a look at all of the 33 poses used in the E91 American Caramel set
Skinned Cards Can Be Great Low-Grade Finds
While not technically high-grade, skinned cards often look like it
A Trio of Unknowns are Keys to the T207 Set
A Trio of Unknowns are Keys to the T207 Set and Worth Thousands
Buck Ewing leads a tired cast of baseball players in the N29 Allen & Ginter set
Unlike the star-studded N28 Allen & Ginter set, the baseball players in the follow-up N29 set leave a lot to be desired
Latest Honus Wagner T206 Card Tops $1.35 Million
The PSA 2 Honus Wagner T206 card sold for big bucks in a recent Mile High auction
The T205 Equivalent of the T206 Big Four
We all know about the T206’s Big Four — but what about a Big Four for the T205 set?
Could Gold be Struck at a Recent Flea Market Stop?
Was it possible to find a hidden gem in an unexpected trip to the flea market?
The Original “Junk Era” Cards Came Much Earlier than Most Realize
The junk era of trading cards began more than a century before most thought it did
T206 is Only One Small Part of American Pre-War Tobacco Baseball Sets
While popular, T206 isn’t the only tobacco card set out there
A Cheap Find Leads to a Post-War Distraction
Inexpensive Bowman cards derailed my pre-war tendencies … and I’m not sorry
The Dreaded Plain White Envelope (PWE) — When is it Suitable for Shipping Cards?
Using a PWE for shipping baseball cards isn’t always a great idea, but it does work for some situations
The Ins and Outs of Binder Storage
Binders are my ‘go to’ for baseball card storage and there are ways to store nearly everything in them
E90-2 and E90-3 American Caramel cards are routinely ‘lost in the shuffle’
The brethren to the popular E90-1 American Caramel release are often forgotten — here’s why
Al Schacht’s 1939 Play Ball Card is … Something
Where can you find a baseball player sliding into a base while wearing a suit? The 1939 Play Ball set, of course.
Debating the Ugliness of the W512 and W515 Ty Cobb Strip Cards
One of the greatest players of all time has two very ugly cards
The Story of the 1940 Play Ball Roy Hobbs Cards from the Natural
Here’s the rundown on the famous Roy Hobbs baseball cards from the iconic movie, The Natural
Obscure Card of the Month: 1888 N86 Duke Perilous Occupations (Baseball Umpire)
This rare pre-war 19th century tobacco baseball card details the difficulties of early umpiring
Monthly Site Updates (September 2019)
Here’s a look at what happened on the site last month
Wildfire Schulte: An MVP with Dirt Cheap Cards
Wildfire Schulte is among the many pre-war bargains to be found
Baseball Anatomy and Pre-War Sets that Focused on Body Parts
Some pre-war cards include a focus on specific anatomy of baseball players
Little Will-Burr One of Least Known E-Cards
A rare E-card is mostly overlooked by sports collectors
One Man’s Journey in (Mostly) Slaying the T206 Monster
Nearly four years ago, I built a 520-card T206 set – here’s the story behind it
When Does a Card Cease to be a Card?
There’s card damage … and then there’s card damage
The T206 Big Four: Honus Wagner (Part IV of IV)
The final part of the T206 Big Four series covers the iconic Honus Wagner card
The T206 Big Four: Joe Doyle Error (Part III of IV)
A look at the six-figure error card is the latest installment in this series of articles on the T206 Big Four
Obscure Card of the Month: 1892 Keystone John Sullivan-Jim Corbett Stereoview
This month’s Obscure Card of the Month depicts one of the most famous boxing matches of all time
The T206 Big Four: Sherry Magie Error (Part II of IV)
Part II of the T206 Big Four series takes a look at the Sherry Magie error card
COMC the Latest Site to be Hit by Dealers of Altered Cards
Blowout alleges that altered cards have made their way onto the COMC site
The T206 Big Four: Eddie Plank (Part I of IV)
The first part of this series takes a close look at the shortprinted Eddie Plank card
Autograph Collecting Spotlighted in the 1920s Through a Pre-War Tobacco Set
A pre-war tobacco set proved that autograph collecting was alive and well in the 1920s
1915 Cope’s Boxers set Highlighted Fighters’ Call to Duty in World War I
The somewhat rare pre-war boxing tobacco card set included boxers … as military men
