1948 and 1974 Baseball's Great Hall of Fame Exhibits

[jayshum]

Can anyone suggest how to determine if cards from the Baseball's Great Hall of Fame Exhibits are from the original 1948 set or the 1974 reprint set by looking at scans? The SCD says the reprints are made on a whiter stock that is thinner, slicker cardboard stock and can be found in black, blue or brown.

None of that seems easy to tell from scans so is there anything anyone can suggest I look for in scans to determine whether the cards are from 1948 or 1974?

[JoeDfan]

I got a big pile of these in a lot of baseball stuff a few years ago.
At first, I couldn't tell the difference, but then I bought a cheap 1948 one on eBay.

Side by side, it was apparent that mine were the 1974 ones. Much whiter, thicker, etc.

Not sure if I could tell in a scan though. Other than the later ones were much whiter, but remember, I just had one old card to compare. So maybe I just happened to get a yellowed one.

[aacard]

The best way to tell is to shine a flashlight on the back side. If you see the image then it is a 1974 reprint. If no light comes through then it is an original 1948.

[threegreatgirls]

So... as a total nerd when it comes to these Exhibit cards (and reprints), I'm wondering if anyone has a set of 24 of these from 1974 that are of the "blue tint" variety.
Besides the color on the front, these are distinct from the 1977 reprints because they say "Made in the U.S.A." in tiny print on a single line below the photo whereas the 1977 version had "Prtd." and "U.S.A." in the base of the pillar on either side. The 1977 version was definitely issued in both sepia and blue versions.
Anyway, I have the set of 24 from 1974 in the traditional sepia color but just three of these 1974 cards in the blue version - so, if someone could confirm that a whole set of the blue version exists, I would be grateful.
I did see (too late) that someone recently sold a lot of 11 of the blue ones on eBay so I am led to believe that the full set does exist...
Thanks for reading/responding!

Threegreatgirls a.k.a. Jonathan

[Exhibitman]

There is also another possibility. A card printed on slick thin paper may be a piece made for a machine header. This Ruth for example:

An original card:



An advertising slick:



TMI?