Tag: subset

T206 Sweet Caporal 150 Factory 649 Overprint – An Interesting Subset

I’m excited to bring you another guest article from fellow T206 aficionado Scott Gross!

T206 Sweet Caporal 150 Factory 649 Overprints are a small (only 34 total cards) back printing sub-set. They were produced in the first printing of T206s in 1909 and are part of Print Group 1 (all Print Groups are based on the fantastic web site t206resource.com). Originally, they were produced as Sweet Caporal 150 Factory 30. The Factory 30 can be seen on some cards where the Red Stripe Over Print was misaligned. In fact, sometimes this back is called “Sweet Caporal Red Stripes.”

 Due to Federal Tobacco laws, these cards were shipped from Factory 30 (2nd District NY) to Factory 649 (1st District NY). Although there are only 34 cards, there is a nice variety, which includes 7 future Hall of Famers. There are also a few commons that have interesting printing anomalies.

The following table is based on the PSA Population report, which shows the backs that were printed for each player. There are two exceptions: First, PSA has not graded a Bates with a SC 350 / 25 back. It is theorized this card “should” exist, and the other day, a knowledgeable T206 friend of mine said he has seen one. Secondly, whereas PSA has no graded Gilbert listed, he is confirmed on T206resource.com.

EPDG Hindu Old Mill Pied.150 Pied.350 Sov.150 Sov.350 SC 150/25 SC 150/30 SC 150/649 SC 350/25 SC350/30
Alperman x x x x x x x x x x
Bates x x x x x x x x x y x
Bransfield x x x x x x x x x x
Bresnahan, portait x x x x x x x x x x x x
Clarke, J.J. x x x x x x x x x x x
Davis, George x x x x x x x x x x x x
Davis, H. x x x x x x x x x x
Delehanty, Wash. x x x x x x x x x x x
Ewing x x x x x x x x
Gilbert x x x x x x x x x z x
Goode x x x x x x x x x x x
Griffith, Portrait x x x x x x x x x x x x
Johnson, Portrait x x x x x x x x x x x x
Jones, St. Louis x x x x x x x x
Killian, Pitching x x x x x x x x x x x x
Lajoie, Throwing x x x x x x x x x x x
Lake, New York x x x x x x x x x x
Liebhardt, Glenn x x x x x x x x x x x
Manning, Batting x x x x x x x x x x x
Marquard, Hands Thighs x x x x x x x x x x x
Mathewson, White x x x x x x x x x x
McIntire, Brooklyn x x x x x x x x x x
McQuillan, ball in hand x x x x x x x x x x x
O’Leary, Portrait x x x x x x x x x x x x
Owen x x x x x x x x x x x
Pastorius x x x x x x x x x x x
Powers x x x x x x
Ritchey x x x x x x x x x x x
Schlei, Catching x x x x x x x x x x x
Schmidt, Pitching x x x x x x x x x x
Sheckard, no glove x x x x x x x x x x x
Spencer x x x x x x x x
Wagner, Bat Left x x x x x x x x x x x
Wilhelm, Pitch x x x x x x x x x x x

 Let’s look at what these cards have in common. Actually they ALL have a lot in common. ALL can be found with Hindu backs. That would make sense, as Hindus were also produced at Factory 649. They also can ALL be found with the following backs:  Piedmont 150, Sovereign 150, Sweet Caporal 150 / 25, and Sweet Caporal 150 / 30.

Cards produced with El Principe De Gales backs are kind of hit-or-miss. The majority of them, 22, have EPDG backs. I can only assume the 12 that do not have EPDG backs just “didn’t make the cut” for this back run.

All but one player (Powers, which will be discussed later) were produced with Piedmont 350 backs. However, only ten have a Sovereign 350 back. Once again, kind of hit-or-miss who made the this cut. On one hand you have very talented and popular (future HOFs) cards like Roger Bresnahan, George Davis, Clarke Griffith, and Walter Johnson, but not Napoleon Lajoie, Rube Marquard, or Christy Mathewson. Commons-wise, Glenn Liebhardt (who was printed with Sovereign 350 back) was a very good minor league pitcher, but nothing to brag about in the majors.

OK, now let’s look at the few anomalies:

First, we have Mike “Doc” Powers. Powers was a medical physician, thus the nickname, and was mainly a back-up catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics. He has no EPDG (as suspected, just didn’t make the printing). More importantly, he has NO 350 series backs. The reason for this: He was one of the very first cards pulled from T206 production. He also has no Old Mill back (which probably was pulled early, also). This is sadly understandable in that he died on April 26, 1909, just after the production began. The romantic version of his death is he died running into the stands after a foul ball on opening day. Partly true; he actually died from complications following surgery resulting from injuries sustained on that day. His full catcher’s-gear image is a favorite of many collectors, including myself.

Three other “odd” cards are Bob Ewing, Tom Jones of St. Louis, and Tubby Spencer. Like Powers, they neither have Old Mill backs, nor do they have Sweet Caporal 350 backs. The explanation is that they were pulled from production early. Not as early as Powers, but right about the beginning of 350 Series production. This timeline is not only based on the absence of Old Mill or Sweet Caporal 350 cards (or Sovereign) but also the fact that they are very short-printed, and extremely tough to find with Piedmont 350 backs. They both fall into the category known as The Elite 11*, which all have the same back distribution.

By the way, I have collected all 34 cards. It took about a year. I can’t say any one is anymore difficult to come by than any other. That includes HOFers, commons, and anomalies. It’s a FUN and doable sub-set, give it a try!!!!!

Written by Scott Gross
* the term Elite 11 was first introduced by collector Ted Zanidakis over on net54baseball.com

Collecting T206: Choosing a Focus

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Figuring out exactly how you want to approach the set is easier said than done.  It will most likely take some trial and error before you feel confident that you know what you want to collect.  That being said, it definitely can’t hurt to go into it with an idea of how you want to get started.  There are a ton of different ways to collect the T206 set.  Let’s take a look some of the more common approaches:

Collect all 518 (or 520) fronts:
This is pretty self-explanatory.  You pick a general condition preference, and work on getting one of each front.  Some people stop at 518 cards, and others make it 520 which includes the St. Louis variations of Demmitt and O’Hara.

Collect all of the Hall of Famers:
Also quite simple.  There are 76 cards in the T206 set that depict a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Most of us can’t afford a Plank or Wagner, so that drops the number to 74.

Collecting just one back:
Some people decide they just love the look of one particular back and try to get every card that was printed with it.  I have a friend who has a complete Polar Bear set and another who is getting pretty close on an entire Tolstoi set.

Collecting one team or city:
This is a great way to enjoy the set.  It makes a lot of sense if you are from or reside in one of the cities represented in the set.  Some collectors take it a step further and try to collect their favorite team with a variety of backs.

T206 EPDG Old Mill

Back collecting:
This can mean trying to find one copy of each back, or multiple copies of certain backs.  The common denominator for back collectors is that they tend to prefer the uncommon backs, sometimes to the point that they have little interest in common backs.

Collecting a player back run:
The idea is to take one pose, figure out all the possible backs that exist for it and try to acquire them all.  This can be a really fun way to collect and learn about the set.  One collector has an epic back run of the Cobb red portrait.  He has more than 20 different red Cobbs, all with different back advertisements.

Collecting a subset:
This is similar to collecting just one back, but deals with one specific series and/or factory number.  For example, a collector I know has a complete Sweet Caporal 350-460 factory 25 subset.T206 Frank Baker

Most of the time, a new collector will fall into one of these three categories:

  1. Just wants a few stars and/or notable players
  2. Wants to collect a team or city
  3. Wants to collect the entire set

Starting with a smaller goal can be a great way to get your feet wet and see what appeals to you.  However, if you plan to tackle The Monster in its entirety, know this:  Attempting to complete the set is a monumental task.  Most people who start never finish.  Completing the set requires a lot of money, patience and determination.  Perhaps more importantly, it requires that your focus remains constant.  I know quite a few collectors who set out to complete the set and and their focus never wavered.  For others (me included), the journey isn’t quite so smooth.

T206 blogWhen I began collecting the set, I wanted to complete it in right around Good Condition.  I got up to about 175 cards and then one day I realized that I was just plodding along, checking off cards on my checklist, but not really enjoying it.  What happened was I had started to be attracted to the tougher backs, but I couldn’t afford to buy any if I wanted to complete the set in the next 10 years.  My budget was pretty small and I was adding a common once a week or so. I felt like it was going to take me forever to complete the set, and I wasn’t enjoying the journey much.  Once I realized that my focus had changed, I sold off most of the commons and started over with a new plan.  Nowadays, I am mainly a back collector and I don’t have any plans to complete the set anytime soon.

A change in focus isn’t a bad thing.  After all, the only reason to collect anything is if you enjoy it.  If you ever find yourself losing interest in your collecting goals, take a little break.  Be aware that your wants may change as you learn more about the set and handle more cards.  It could be as simple as your condition preferences changing along the way.  It’s also possible that your collecting journey will take you to unexpected places.  When I first caught the T206 bug I thought the fronts of the cards were really cool and figured I’d try to get one of each.  I never expected that I would be collecting them based on the tobacco ads on the back.  I also never imagined I’d love it so much that I’d end up writing about the set and sharing the fun with other collectors.  But, here we are.