about 1914 polo grounds

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Posted By: tom mcconnell

does anyone know why u can still get these cards at high grades so cheap is it like 1947 bond breads

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Posted By: brian parker

The 1914 Polo Grounds cards fall in that subset of vintage bb cards that collectors deem less desirable. Strip cards probably are at the top of this list, because of their method of issue (in strips of multiple cards that were then cut/ripped into individual cards) and the fact that the design and artwork are so crude on many issues. Next step up would be certain issues like the E91 American Caramel and the 1890's Buchner Gold Coin which have been classified as generic (whether justified are not) by the catalogues. And the step above this are the game cards, such as the Polo Grounds and Tom Barker, etc. sets. They are much more appealing to most collectors than the other two groups of cards, as they often display nice photos of the players, but there are two reasons why the relative value versus other cards remains low. First, they were issued as a set for the use of a game, and this separates them in collector's minds as less desirable. Secondly, they were issued with rounded corners, and I think this has had a great deal to do with why more of these are seen in higher grades. If the came wasn't played with much, it was stored away as a group and didn't incur the corner damage that most vintage cards are subjected to.

As far as the Polo Grounds, I prefer the images on the Tom Barker and National sets--they are much nicer close-up shots.

Brian