Coloured Players Trade Cards Set (H804-5)

Posted on September 6, 2016 by Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	H804-5 Coloured Players Trade Cards
Year	1800s
Size	2 3/4″ x 4 1/2″
Images	Color and Sepia
Type	Trade
Number in Set	12

H804-5 Coloured Players Trade Cards Overview

The H804-5 Coloured Players set is part of the baseball comic series of trade cards. In his book, the American Card Catalog, Jefferson Burdick calls this the Coloured Players set, using the British spelling. Never mind that the set’s name is not an appropriate one for today’s times.

The cards feature a variety of humorous baseball scenes depicting African American baseball players in a variety of situations.

A total of three different types of these cards exist:

H804-5A – ‘Standard’ cards with color pictures
H804-5B – Sepia-toned cards
H804-5C – Same as H804-5A but slightly more detailed pictures

The images and captions across the sets are the same. The sepia-toned cards are rarely seen and tougher to find than the color cards.

As is the case with most trade cards, these are fragile and printed on thinner card stock. For that reason, they can be torn or ripped quite easily and damaged easier than standard baseball cards.

Many trade cards were used by numerous companies. That is in part because it was easier to use artwork that was already produced rather than going through the trouble of creating your own. For that reason, the backs of the card can be blank or include an advertisement for different companies.

H804-5 Coloured Players Trade Cards Checklist

Note that all cards listed below are found across all three variations 804-5B. The F-O-U-L Ball card was not known in the sepia version according to the checklist of noted trade card author Frank Keetz. However, that card was confirmed to exist in July 2020 as it was presented to me by a collector.