Posted By:
Scott ElkinsThe letter of "provenance" surrounding the Bray Wagner is from 1958. According to the letter, it seems as though the Wagner was never inspected. In the letter, it is even brought up to the owner that there are Heinie Wagner cards. It seems Heinie is brought up to insure that the person being written to understands the difference. Also, the Piedmont Wagner from this "find" is hand cut. So, I doubt it came in packs along with other T206's from this collection.
What I am referring to when I state these are "good reproductions" AND I state they can easily be seen different from real Sweet Caporal Wagners is this: They are good enough that they have fooled many. Also, they are NOT good enough in that they have not fooled myself and a handful of others.
As for the printing of these sheets with other cards on them, I really don't know what the other cards were on the sheet that the PSA 8 Wagner came from except for a Piedmont Plank, that I have see pics of and is cut badly - like the Bray Wagner. I really don't know what the "other" 60 or so cards were/are. The only people who can answer that are the people involved before Mastro and Bill Mastro. However, I doubt any would say or remember, except Bill Mastro and good luck trying to get an answer from him!
Also, regarding these 1950's reproductions: I do believe these Piedmont Wagners are "1950's reproductions" - again, b/c I have seen a couple other than these and the owners were both honest and told me they were 1950's reprints. Also, I have heard others early on mention Wagners with Piedmont backs that were printed in the 1950's. Nobody has ever said they DEFINITELY came from Goudey or Bowman. It is a possiblity these Piedmont Wagners were printed by the Goudey or Bowman printers (that is why I sometimes use the dates of 1930's - 1950's to date these Piedmont Wagners. However, I mostly use the 1950's, as that is what several have told me over the years.). Again, nobody can say for certain if these were printed in 1909, the 1930's or 1950's without conducting some type of an age test on the paper and ink. I doubt this will ever be done, short of me winning the Powerball Lotto and buying the PSA 8 at an outrageous price just to have this type of a test done. However, one with an eye for vintage material can take a look at the differences in these cards and tell. I have posted the back scans so everyone can do just that. As most have replied and I totally agree, if the top scan was NOT the PSA 8 Wagner's back, everyone here would STAY AWAY from that card, and rightfully so!