A Look at the “Mid-Tier” T206 Backs: Tiers 2 & 3

This is a continuation of Part 1, which can be found here.

Tier 2:

American Beauty 350 no frame

There are only 37 poses in this subset, all of which are from the 350-460 Series.  Because of the small number of poses, this back was printed in smaller quantities than all the backs in Tier 3.  However, individual Populations of each card in the subset are usually higher than individual cards in the American Beauty 350 With Frame and Cycle 350 to name a couple.  The distribution appears to be normal.  In other words, there don’t appear to be any short-prints.  On average, cards with American Beauty 350 No Frame backs sell for more than all other backs in Tiers 2 and 3 other than Brown Hindu.

Brown Hindu

There are 136 poses in the Brown Hindu subset.  34 of these poses are Southern Leaguers and 102 are Major Leaguers from the 150-350 Series.  Some collectors have advanced the theory that 150-Only Poses are tougher-to-find with Hindu backs than other poses, but I don’t really think the Pop Report data corroborates this.  T206s with Brown Hindu backs sell for more than any other Tier 2 or Tier 3 back on average.  They also sell for more than Piedmont 350-460 Factory 42 examples.  Brown Hindu backs and Cycle 460 backs tend to sell for very similar prices.

Sweet Caporal 350-460 Factory 25

This back flies under the radar.  Most experienced collectors realize that you don’t see examples with this back often, but the truth is very few people seem to care.  SC 350-460 Factory 25 backs are certainly the most undervalued of all the Mid-Tier backs.  Because the grading companies have not kept records of the different Sweet Caporal backs (PSA recently started differentiating between the different series and factory numbers, but as of right now there is not nearly enough data for it to be useful for research) it is pretty much impossible to do any meaningful research on this back.  Just going off memory and experience, I know this back is scarce.  I think it belongs here in Tier 2, but others with similar experience might slot it higher or lower.  Cards with this back can be found for only a slight premium over other Sweet Caporal backs.  There are 69 poses in this subset, originating from the 350-460 Series, 460 Only Series, and the “Super Prints.”

Tier 3:

American Beauty 350 with frame & Cycle 350

Both AB350wf and Cycle 350 boast a whopping 190 subjects in their checklist.  Each of these backs consist of poses from the 350 Only Series as well as the 6 “Super Prints”.  Because of how many players were printed with these backs, they fall fairly low on most Back Scarcity Rankings.  However, finding a specific player with AB350wf or Cycle 350 back can prove quite difficult.  Prices for cards with AB350wf backs tend to be on par with Cycle 350s.  These two backs sell for more on average than any other back in Tier 3.  Like most other backs, distribution appears normal.

El Principe de Gales

To the best of my knowledge, there are 281* known poses that exist with EPDG back*.  This back was printed throughout T206 production and includes poses from all Print Groups.  Some poses can be quite difficult to find with an EDPG back, while the majority are not too tough.  There does not appear to be any pattern, so you’ll just have to use the Pop Reports to find the relative scarcity of individual poses.  EPDG backs tend to sell for a bit less than Cycle 350 and AB350wf and slightly more than Old Mill, Sovereign 150, 350 Green Apple, and Sovereign 460.

Old Mill (Base Ball Subjects)

Like the EPDG subset, Old Mill backs were printed throughout T206 production and feature poses from all Print Groups.  To the best of my knowledge, there are 312 poses in the Old Mill Subset (excluding Southern Leaguers).  For the most part, specific poses with an Old Mill back are easy to find.  There are a couple exceptions.  150-350 Series subjects are usually pretty tough to come by, and the twelve 460 Only poses below (often called the Exclusive 12) are also very scarce.  You’ll notice these 12 poses appear in Part 1 of this article because they are fairly easy to find with American Beauty 460 backs.

-Crandall with cap
-Devore
-Duffy
-Ford
-Gandil
-Geyer
-Hummel
-McGraw glove at hip
-Pfeffer
-Sheckard glove showing
-Tannehill on front
-Wheat

Sovereign 150Sovereign 350 Green Apple, & Sovereign 460

These three Sovereign backs are scarcer than Sovereign 350 Forest Green, which falls just outside the Mid-Tier backs in my opinion.  Sovereign 460 is probably the scarcest of the Sovereign backs, mainly owing to the fact that there are only 52 poses in the subset.  The Sovereign 350 Green Apple subset consists of 66 poses while Sovereign 150 has exactly 150 subjects.  Individual scarcity is similar between Sov150 and Sov460, but because the Sov150 checklist is so much larger, you’ll see Sov150 backs more often.

Like Old Mills and EPDGs, most poses can be found without too much difficulty with a Sovereign back.  As is the case with Old Mills, there are some exceptions.  The “150 Only” poses are exceedingly hard to find with Sovereign 150 backs.  Likewise, the “Super Prints” are tough to find with a Sovereign 460 back.  Cobb Red Portrait seems to be the scarcest of the Super Prints with Sovereign 460 back, while Mathewson Dark Cap is a good deal more plentiful.  The “Exclusive 12” which are listed above, are more readily available with Sovereign 460 backs than the other cards in the Sovereign 460 subset.

For the most part, Sovereign backs are a bit tougher to find for individual poses than Old Mill, and slightly easier to find than EPDG copies.  Of course, there are many anomalies and you should check the Pop Reports to be sure.

Tolstoi

To the best of my knowledge, the current count is 255 known cards with Tolstoi backs.  Of all the Mid-Tier backs, we know the least about the Tolstoi subset.  They seem to be pretty common at first glance, because many of the 350-460 Series and 460 Only Series poses are quite plentiful.  However, some players from the 350 Only Series can be downright impossible to find with a Tolstoi back.  Just this past year, two new poses were discovered and added the Tolstoi checklist**.  For Tolstoi, more than any other back, the Pop Reports are your friend.

Honorable Mentions

All backs not mentioned in Tiers 1 through 3 fall just below my “Mid-Tier” backs in terms of scarcity (or lack thereof).  These backs are:

-Old Mill Southern League
-Polar Bear
-Sovereign 350 Forest Green
-All Sweet Caporal backs other than SC 350-460 Factory 25 (which is mentioned above in Tier 2)

*The number could be 281-284.  There is a bit of confusion about the exact number of cards in the EPDG subset.  There are 3 players who either were not printed, or they haven’t been graded by either SGC or PSA yet (Pastorius, Hunky Shaw, and Ed Willett with bat).  It’s easy to imagine how Shaw may have been mistakenly confirmed by someone who had an Al Shaw EPDG, and same with Willetts/Willett.  Pastorius doesn’t have an easy rationale however.  It’s also very possible that another EPDG could show up and need to be added to the checklist.  But for now, these are the numbers we are working with.

**Stephens and Danny Hoffman were found this year and added to the “confirmed list” of Tolstoi backs