Cree T206 Cycle back
 

I have a T206 Birdie Cree Cycle back. I collect Yankees but not in T206 in particular. I could not find any PSA graded for this back and only 4 in SCG. I have general impression that Cycles are in the mid range for back scarcity but only 4 graded?
Card Target has 2 sales, last in 2009. Is it really that scarce or am I missing something?

PSA has two in their pop reports a 2.5 and a 4. Cree is a 350 only subject
and looking at the PSA pop reports the majority of the 350 only subjects
have between 1-4 examples for that group.

Something to remember about PSA Pop Reports: they didn't break out the backs on T206 by manufacturer until about 10 years ago. So some may just be marked T206 Birdie Cree and happen to also have Cycle backs. Those who had them graded early on would have had to pay PSA to reholder their card with the Cycle information to have it show up in the right place on the Pop report.

Also, many T206 collectors do not grade their cards. Even some working on various rarer backs, or back runs of certain players. So you can make some inferences, but they'll likely be clouded by doubt. Cree isn't a HOF'er, so it's not like a lot of Poor condition cards would be sent to PSA for grading, further skewing the Pop Report as a representative sample of cards out there.

You are not missing anything, tough combo, congrats!

It's a tougher than average Cycle 350. I'd guess you'd be able to ask around 1.5x the going Cycle 350 non-HOF rate and probably get it if you sold.

I must have picked it up maybe 35 years ago. Guess I will hang on to it a little longer.

It's a nice find and compared to so many other cards out there, your card has rarity and true value. Regardless of the flawed population reports. I always look at my list and if I don't have it yet, I put it as a slightly more difficult than average card. I was buying a lot at one point over a 3 year period. So if something didn't show up during that time period, I tend to currently look at it as a lower than average population. Now obviously my way of saying, if I don't have it yet, it's rare, is very flawed and outright stupid, but many of the cards I'm missing are a bit harder to come by and don't show up as often. I currently have an EPDG, Old Mill, and Sovereign 350 for that particular card front.

Thank you so much for posting. I started looking at my T206s again during the pandemic as everyone was posting ticket stubs, cards while they were looking for something to occupy their time on Twitter. I only have one Cycle, and it’s Fred Merkle 460. Card is in “beater” condition. But there he is, throwing the ball. I did similar and looked and only 3 or 4 others are graded. Thanks for the post and the knowledgeable responses