1916 Successful Farming Set (M101-5)

Posted on October 2, 2016 by Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	Successful Farming M101-5
Year	1916
Size	1 5/8″ x 3″
Images	Black and White
Type	Publications
Number in Set	200

1916 Successful Farming M101-5 Overview

The 1916 Successful Farming cards are practically the same as the M101-5 cards but with no card numbers. The backs include an advertisement for the Successful Farming publication.

Fronts of the cards featured black and white images of players with their name, position, and team at the bottom. In reality, there are actually two different Successful Farming sets.

Promotional Set

The first one was a promotional issue that was a precursor to the main set. And as was learned several years ago, the set was actually free to anyone who asked.

Free.

That set is ultra rare. In 2012, the only known complete set sold for more than $26,000 at an auction. That set referenced a second, larger set that could be obtained. Cards in it were the same as regular M101-5 cards but without a card number and with the Successful Farming ad on the back.

Primary Set

The second set was the main issue and contained 200 cards. While other promotions encouraged collectors to trade an entire set of cards for a premium, the Successful Farming cards explained how to get an entire set. The publication offered cards in exchange for subscriptions to their publication.

This larger set paralleled the M101-5 set using the same players and card numbers. These cards are rare, but far more common than the six-card promo issue. They were obtained by buying a subscription.

Differentiating the Sets

The two Successful Farming sets are basically the same. Same pictures, same font, same back advertisement. So how can collectors tell them apart? After all, the promotional cards are significantly rarer and much more valuable.

The easiest way is the lower border area on the front. The promotional cards didn’t have any card numbers printed on them. Meanwhile, the regular M101-5 cards from the 200-card Successful Farming set did.

The promo cards were likely printed without numbers because they jumped all over the place. Joe Jackson, for example, was card No. 86. That wouldn’t have made sense if there were only six cards in the set. It would lead collectors to believe that there were at least 86 different cards. The card numbers did not appear in the promo set either because they did not yet exist or in an effort to not confuse collectors as to how many cards were in the issue.

Subscription Details

If you purchased a subscription to Successful Farming, you would receive cards from the company. How many you got depended entirely on how long your subscription was.

The first two levels were simple. For a one-year subscription, collectors would receive 50 different cards. For two one-year subscriptions OR a three-year subscription, he/she would receive 100 different cards.

There were multiple options to receive more cards. 150 different cards would be given for three one-year subscriptions, a one-year subscription and a three-year subscription, or (keep up, here) one five-year subscription. Subscriptions totaling $1.00 would earn a complete 200-card set.

All of that might seem like a lot, but when you see the total amount to secure a total set, it really wasn’t much. A complete set would be given for subscriptions amounting to $1.00, which was a seven-year subscription. Five-year subscriptions cost only $.75, three-year subscriptions were $.50, and one-year subscriptions were $.25.

About the M101-5 Set

These cards utilized the same pictures and checklist of the M101-5 set.

The M101-5 set was created by Felix Mendelssohn. Mendelssohn produced the set then peddled the issue to various companies for their own distribution. It’s usually called the Sporting News set but that isn’t really accurate.

While Sporting News did use the cards as evidenced by their advertising backs found on some, they were only one company that did so. Many other companies, including Successful Farming, distributed these cards as well.

You can find more on the various companies using these cards here.