Comparing COMC vs. Sportlots
I placed some orders on COMC and Sportlots. Here’s how I rate the two sites.
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Could 1938 Whitman Big League Baseball Game Card Baserunner be Lou Gehrig?
1938 Whitman Big League Baseball Game Background In 1938, the Whitman Card Game was produced by the Whitman Publishing Company. The game was the creation of two gentlemen, Ralph Williams and Frank Effinger from Racine, Wisconsin-based Whitman Publishing. The game was like many others of the time period. Players used cards to compete in a simulated baseball game. The cards
Read more1890s Enameline Paper Dolls Wichita Wholesale Grocery Back Stamp Variation Discovered
While many different companies added their own printing to cards that were already created, one issue that I had not previously seen that with was the 1890s J.L. Prescott/Enameline Paper Dolls. That changed recently with the discovery of one with a back stamp. Background The 1890s J.L. Prescott Enameline trade cards comprised a set of nine paper dolls. J.L. Prescott
Read moreSolving a 1938 Sawyer Biscuit Cabinet Mystery and Adding One to the Checklist
1938 Sawyer Biscuit Cabinets Overview The 1938 Sawyer Biscuit Cabinet set was a unique set of photographs distributed by the Sawyer Biscuit Company. You can read more about them here but, essentially, they were black and white/sepia style photographs inside of a makeshift frame. In exchange for a coupon from the company’s Sawyer Butter Cookies set and ten cents, a
Read moreA New Twist in H804-38 ‘An Accurate Barometer’ Trade Cards Set
An Accurate Barometer Introduction For years, the trade card set, ‘An Accurate Barometer’ has been a pretty common issue. The more commonly known cards among sports card collectors are the two featuring a boy with aspirations of playing a game of baseball. A third baseball issue without the ‘An Accurate Barometer’ tag but with the same design/layout exists as well. Some other
Read more1917 Youth’s Companion Stamp – Babe Ruth or Rube Marquard?
Some of the great mysteries of pre-war card issues is linking unidentified pictures of players with actual players of the era. When able to establish a credible link of a player to an issue depicting an unknown player, that generally increases the collectability and the value. Consider, for example, the relatively recent discovery that the highly desired Joe Jackson is
Read moreR314 and V352 Goudey Wide Pen Photos in need of Proper Classification
Introduction In the American Card Catalog, author Jefferson Burdick made a brief mention of a set he referred to as V352 Baseball Photos. While Burdick’s description, like most of his other classified sets, was not a long one, he did make it pretty clear what these looked like. The famous collector added a small commentary that the V352 photos were
Read moreSo what IS the first basketball card ever produced?
What is the first basketball card ever printed?
Read moreAre Some BF3 Issues Really BF4 Pennants In Disguise?
Introduction The BF3 Felt Pennants are well known by many vintage collectors. A set of hundreds of pennants and 12 different types (as characterized later by collectors), these felt pennants are a massive issue from the mid to late 1930s featuring baseball players, teams, and colleges. Many examples of these pennants can be found quite easily. The BF4 issue, however,
Read moreDo Ya-Lo Football Game Cards Depict Red Grange?
Ya-Lo Corporation/Game Background In 1925, the Ya-Lo Corporation developed a unique football board/card game. The game, as advertised, featured thousands of different play combinations. Its big selling point was that consumers could play it over and over with limitless outcomes, just like a real football game. The first Ya-Lo game was produced in 1925 – Grange’s rookie year in the
Read more1919 W552 Mayfair Novelty Positions A Complex Issue
The 1919 W552 Mayfair Positions Drawings strip card set included generic players at various baseball positions. Like other strip cards, they included rough color sketches of players on the front. This might seem like a basic strip card set, but there’s a lot more than meets the eye here. Overview The cards were produced by the Mayfair Novelty Company and
Read moreNew Insight into 1928 F50 Sweetman Card Set and Company?
The F50 designation has been assigned to four 1928 baseball card sets in the pre-war era – Yuengling Ice Cream, Tharp’s Ice Cream, Harrington’s Ice Cream, and a fourth manufacturer called the Sweetman Company. Regarding that last company, it has been a mystery as to what they produced. The other three sets of cards were made by ice cream companies.
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