Breaking Down the Two Types of 1922 Neilson’s Chocolate Cards

Posted on August 22, 2019 by Pre-War Cards

Let’s take a look at the two different types of the popular Canadian candy cards

Aside from being produced in Canada, the 1922 Neilson’s Chocolate cards are primarily known for two main things.

First, the cards are basically a spinoff of the same cards used in the E120 American Caramel set. While it might seem odd that the same cards would be issued in Canada, that isn’t too surprising. Blank-backed versions of the cards (known as W573) were used by several companies. Of note is that Goudey would do the same thing a little more than a decade later with their American Goudey cards and their World Wide Gum cards issued by Canada.

Second, the cards have two different styles of advertisements on the backs, which we’ll take a look at next.

The set is a popular one because it has a strong checklist including the likes of Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, and many others.

Style

The two types of advertisements on the backs of these cards are quite different.

Probably the more ‘popular’ style are the Type 1 backs. These backs have a unique look with the Neilson’s name printed in a larger, calligraphic style. In the Type 2 backs, the Neilson’s name is printed in standard capital letters.

In addition to the print style, the Type 2 Neilson’s cards were printed on thicker stock and on a brown style of cardboard.

Finally, another difference is that Type 1 cards are numbered while Type 2 cards are not.

Below are pictures of the two types with Type 1 on the left.

Pop Reports

The collectors I’ve run into seem to prefer the Type 1 cards the best as the Neilson’s name has a more artistic style. But is either type rarer than the other?

Most of the ones in SGC’s population report do not distinguish between the two types and neither does Beckett. But based on PSA’s population reports for them, Type 1 cards appear to be a little rarer than Type 2. To date, about 58% of the nearly 1,500 Neilson’s cards graded by the company have been Type 2. Type 1 cards have accounted for about 42% of all submittals to PSA.

Prices

There aren’t a ton of Neilson’s out there and because of that, it is somewhat difficult to gauge exact pricing for them. But there do not appear to be wild variances in prices between Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 cards may sell for slightly more but the difference is fairly minimal.

Low-grade commons start around $15-$25.