1923 Curtis Ireland Candy Set (E123)

Posted on October 4, 2016 by Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	E123 Curtis Ireland
Year	1923
Size	2″ x 3 1/4″
Images	Black and White
Type	Candy/Caramel
Number in Set	180

E123 Curtis Ireland Candy Overview

The E123 Curtis Ireland candy cards are an intriguing issue.

The Curtis Ireland Candy Corporation was a St. Louis-based entity. The cards were issued with the company’s ‘All Star Bar’ product (which was sold for five cents) in 1923. It is not positively known if the cards were distributed outside of Missouri. However, this could have been a very regional set and the surviving population seems to indicate that. To date, the three major grading companies (PSA, SGC, and Beckett) have graded fewer than 200 of these.

Card fronts lack color but include a player image along with a replica signature. Missing from these cards are the popular player names and team names printed along the bottom.

The set includes numerous stars and is believed to have the same checklist as the Canadian V100 Willard’s Chocolate set. The biggest difference between the sets is that the V100 issue includes cards with entirely blank backs while these included a special contest (outlined below). That set is basically the Canadian version of the E123 release. Far more of the Canadian cards are known to exist.

At 180 cards in the checklist, it’s also one of the largest E-Card sets.

E123 Curtis Ireland Candy Contest and Canceled Cards

Backs include a long description of a unique contest for collectors of these cards. The top ten collectors with the most number of different cards during any month would receive a Spalding National League baseball. The ten collectors also having the most of any one card would also receive the same prize.

Starting in April 1923, the company would give away at least 20 baseballs in any given month. Names of winners were printed in the St. Louis Globe-Democrat.

Cards were found in packages of Ireland’s All-Star Bar, which carried a five-cent price tag. Collectors mailing cards in to the contest could also get them back by including a two-cent stamp with their cards. However, the company would mark them ‘Cancelled’ so they could not be used again the following month.

The contest ended in October 1923.

Interestingly, these canceled cards are not known to the hobby and it is not even known if any were even marked as such. Here’s more on the mystery of the canceled cards that don’t appear to exist.