1923 W572 Strip Card Set

Posted on October 5, 2016 by Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	W572 Strip
Year	1923
Size	1 1/4″ x 2 1/2″ (but varies by cut)
Images	Black and White / Sepia
Type	Strip
Number in Set	120

W572 Strip Card Overview

The 1923 W572 strip card set includes player images and replica signatures on the fronts. The card fronts were printed in both black and white and with a sepia tone while the backs, like most other strip issues, were blank. As was common in other strip issues, the stock on which these was printed varied a little. As a result, some have gray backs and others have white backs. This back variation seems limited to the cards with black and white fronts.

According to the American Card Catalog, the cards were produced by the CIFS. While some cards bear the CIFS acronym, others are found in the set, including IFS, IFC, C FM, C U+U, C p +A, and C S, indicating the copyrights for the images. The cards mostly used the same images as those found in the E120 American Caramel set.

Like a few other strip card issues, such as the W580 and W590 sets, uncut strips of these had numbers printed on them in between cards. Thus, depending on how they were cut, some of the individual cards will have full or parts of numbers on them.

Finally, these cards may be loosely tied to the W580 boxing strip card set, as well as a few others. An in-depth look on the W572 cards as well as a potential link to W580 can be seen here.

Walt Barbare

There is a point of contention between many resources regarding the presence of a 121st card. Walt Barbare is listed by some as having a card in the set, but his card has not been verified publicly. As a result, I have not added him to the checklist.

At this point, Barbare’s inclusion on any checklist seems to be a mistake. His card has not surfaced to any great degree publicly where it can be verified, for one thing. For another, these cards were issued in strips of ten, which would indicate there were 12 strips of that number. A Barbare card, assuming the rest of the checklist is correct, would indicate there were 121 in the set, causing a bit of a printing nightmare.

It seems likely that Barbare may have been added in error.