Here is one of my concerns. Say you have an original photo that looks in every way shape and form the exact as the Type 1. This one though is shot 4 years afterwards but is identical in every other aspect. I think this would actually promote the idea of ripping off the paper caption with date stamp, or obliterating a back stamp with a date because absent the paper caption or a date stamp, there would be no way to tell the difference between a 1921 print and a 1925 print from the original negative and it would probably slide through as a Type 1.
I had a guy who wanted to buy a photo from me last year and he backed off at the last minute because the paper caption on the back was dated 3 years after the original photo and as such would be a Type 2 and he ONLY collects type 1.
The other concern I have is that a photo company did not sit there and make a new photo every time a customer wanted one. Often times they would make large numbers of copies in the original year and then slowly use them with new paper captions and dates on the back to save money. SO how do those get classified? Probably type 2 images since the cpation on the back is later then the date the photo was actually made.
As to the Conlon Ty Cobb example, it would be more like having a 1911 copy done from the original negative BY Charles Conlon being worth significantly less than the 1909 version of the photo. Same Paper/Same Photographer/Same Studio/Same Image, Two prices.
I love photos and to me as a collector it does not matter and I think most collectors feel the same way as long as it is within the same general vintage. There should just be something to differentiate between a 1910 Type 2 made 3 years after the image was taken and a 1960 Type 2 made 30 years after the image was taken.
Pretty soon we will need to document the small differences in Carl Horner mounts to determine which ones were issued first because an original Horner cabinet of Wagner from 1905 using his classic T206 pose would have to be a type 2 given the present guidelines right? In fact, I believe that most of the white mounted Horners with the classic Hall of Fame images were issued for commercial use 2-5 years after the images were actually taken.
Just a few of my thoughts and concerns but in the long run, to 99% of the collectors it does not matter.
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