SMR Article - 1938 Churchman Boxing Personalities

[Exhibitman]

Lots of American novice collectors (me included) buy 1938 Churchman's sets because they are cheap and loaded with HOFers. You figure that you can't lose with that sort of situation. Until you realize that the cards are so common that anyone who wants one has one.

An interesting angle for an article would be the effect of TPG on these commonplace sets. Take a $10 card, slap a 10 label on it, does it morph into a desirable card?

[GasHouseGang]

I don't know the answers. However, I looked up the set in an old Murray's book and it mentions that they had for sale a detailed 36 page booklet about the Churchmans. Has anyone seen this booklet? Maybe it has some of the answers you are looking for.

[Exhibitman]

Also FWIW Churchmans made a lot of different sets. The 1938 is only one of many.

[david_l]

What really floors me is that this set was reprinted in 1990. Was there not already enough cheap circulating copies?

[steve B]

A few of the more interesting British sets of all kinds were reprinted in the late 80's early 90's. I mostly saw the sets of reprints framed with fairly large asking prices.

Steve B

[david_l]

Originally Posted by steve B

A few of the more interesting British sets of all kinds were reprinted in the late 80's early 90's. I mostly saw the sets of reprints framed with fairly large asking prices.

Steve B

It's the rare situation where the reprint is rarer than the original

[BradH]

Originally Posted by david_l

What really floors me is that this set was reprinted in 1990. Was there not already enough cheap circulating copies?

David - you are correct. In fact, I've seen reprint Churchman boxer cards in PSA holders (not identified as reprints) with high grades - one as recent as last month at a card show in Atlanta that was graded a "9". I pointed it out to the dealer and he just said, "Oh...crap..."

I've never understood why these were reprinted, but my guess is that in the early 90s, pre-internet days, maybe people didn't really know how available they were. The internet opened us up to a lot more buying power and discoveries of what was really out there in the international marketplace. I ordered several sets off eBay in around 1998/99 and I still have them.

It's still a neat little set, along with many of the other sets they produced in that era.