E107 anyone?

[rainier2004]

Ok, Im new....what are these e107's, how many are in the set and where do I get a Carline Munroe at?

[Jacklitsch]

I'll play...

[sb1]

Rainier,

It's the toughest E card set bar none, heck even tougher than any T card set. Issued in 1903-04, perhaps by more than one company, Breisch-Williams being one.

No one has ever completed it due to very tough team variations.

Findind a picture of the actress would be easier than finding an E107. Maybe that was the comparison intent

[rainier2004]

Thanks Sb1...that plank is amazing!

[joeadcock]

Scott

Beautiful Plank. To go along with all your other cards.

Sorry, just threw the Munro in for interest. Has to be one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. As a young kid, couldn't get her off my mind for awhile. Thanks be to GOD, I have grown up.

I agree, tough set. I am glad to have a few. But taken me awhile to get even a few, because of the cost.

[terjung]

My all time favorite set. Scott, that Plank is outstanding.

I'll start with these two...

[joeadcock]

Brian

Really Nice cards

Do you have an example like the one in your avatar?

[vintagerookies51]

Just posted this in the pick ups thread, bu thought I'd ad it to the E107 thread too....

[Andy Baran]

....But these were my absolute favorite cards that I owned:

[joeadcock]

2 very nice cards Andy

[h2oya311]

I know Brian just picked up a nice McGinnity (per the pick-ups thread), but I have to show my example b/c it's the only E107 remaining in my collection.

Brian was able to pry away my only other E107 a few months ago...

[thestump08]

That Plank card is great. Are the E107's available very often or is it a hard set to come by? I don't have much knowledge on the set.

[vintagerookies51]

Originally Posted by thestump08

That Plank card is great. Are the E107's available very often or is it a hard set to come by? I don't have much knowledge on the set.

It's a pretty rare set. Even poor-condition commons can sell for about $1,000. I think most of the HOFers have less than 20 known to exist, but I'm not sure. Someone else will be able to provide more information

[rainier2004]

Originally Posted by thestump08

That Plank card is great. Are the E107's available very often or is it a hard set to come by? I don't have much knowledge on the set.

There's a pretty decent answer on pg 2 of this thread.....

[g_vezina_c55]

amazing info in this thread ! and amazing card everybody !

[philliesphan]

in summary (I think)

No complete sets are known to exist, although I've heard there's one collector who is one card short.

There's a famous trade from a few years ago that involved a fairly extensive E107 collection.

The Legendary E107 offering this summer at the National is widely anticipated. Thoughts are that a private sale is the preferred outcome and, given the rarity of the set, is a distinct possibility. Many of us collectors would love the opportunity to bid on specific cards from the set, though!

From a personal collecting standpoint, I have a nice team set run from E107, short only one card [a very tough one -- I've never even seen a scan]. Took me about 8 years to put that team set together.

[sycks22]

Harry said he wanted in.

[Peter W Thomas]

Barry is right I did once own that card. I bought it at the St. Louis national in The 90's. Had it graded at the show as I recall. It was in a odd ball bunch of raw cards and I bought it for its sticker price of $10.00. For about 20 years I had worked with Cynthia Plank in Watertown Mass. She was a relative of Eddie, granddaughter I think - thanks Cynthia where ever you are these days - Maine I believe. Should have held on to it, but got rid of it when I realized how impossible the set was and I am basically a set collector.

[terjung]

Originally Posted by sb1

Rainier,

It's the toughest E card set bar none, heck even tougher than any T card set. Issued in 1903-04, perhaps by more than one company, Breisch-Williams being one.

No one has ever completed it due to very tough team variations.

Findind a picture of the actress would be easier than finding an E107. Maybe that was the comparison intent

That kind of says it all right there. (...and Scott would know based on his experience with the set. He was a contributor to the Old Cardboard article too.)

[rainier2004]

Thanks Brian. These cards are amazing and the only 2 on ebay have BINs at 1600 and 2200. Thanks for the background on the set. Itd be nice to see a scan of a back.

[terjung]

Originally Posted by rainier2004

Thanks Brian. These cards are amazing and the only 2 on ebay have BINs at 1600 and 2200. Thanks for the background on the set. Itd be nice to see a scan of a back.

Here's a front and back showing the 1 of 150 back. Other backs are the same except just without the writing.

BTW, paper loss is quite common on the backs of these very thin, fragile cards since many were pasted into albums.

[pete zouras]

[teetwoohsix]

Amazing cards everyone, thanks for posting those !!!

I don't own any of these but the E107's are one of my favorite E cards. I love looking at those !!

Sincerely, Clayton

[Leon]

You guys know more than I do. I picked up this Callahan as he personally owned my 1903 Carl Horner Composite, so I thought it would be cool as my type...He is pictured in the upper right, larger picture on the composite.

[terjung]

The size of E107 cards also set the standard by which other sets - like T206 -followed. Speaking of which, the E107 set also contains what many consider the rookie card of many big named HOFers (like Honus Wagner, Nap Lajoie, and Christy Mathewson).

Given the scarcity of the E107 Wagner vs. the T206 Wagner, (the T206 is around 10x more common), it is somewhat surprising that Wagner's rookie card value hasn't mirrored the meteoric rise of the T206.

...and because it is sure to be the source of a debate... Yes, there are earlier images of Wagner on the W600 "street clothes" cabinet and the M101-1 paper issue, but the E107 is pretty much universally agreed to be a "card", the others are open for debate.) Regardless, there are a ton of early cards (some would say rookie cards) of HOFers in the E107 set.

[E93]

Originally Posted by sb1

It's the toughest E card set bar none, heck even tougher than any T card set.

You may be right, but there are some other extremely tough E sets to complete. Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think anybody has completed the E105 Mello-Mint set either. Finding a type is example is not hard because half of the set is available, but the other third to half are nearly impossible with only 1-4 examples known. Tougher ones include Cobb.

JimB

[E93]

P.S. Everybody is posting amazing cards!!!

[gnaz01]

Originally Posted by E93

You may be right, but there are some other extremely tough E sets to complete. Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think anybody has completed the E105 Mello-Mint set either. Finding a type is example is not hard because half of the set is available, but the other third to half are nearly impossible with only 1-4 examples know. Tougher ones include Cobb.

JimB

What about the E125 set? I feel an equally difficult set to complete.

[kkkkandp]

My meager contributions...

[Bicem]

those are nice... fat borders on the Mertes.

[philliesphan]

Originally Posted by E93

You may be right, but there are some other extremely tough E sets to complete. Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think anybody has completed the E105 Mello-Mint set either. Finding a type is example is not hard because half of the set is available, but the other third to half are nearly impossible with only 1-4 examples known. Tougher ones include Cobb.

JimB

What about E104-III? I don't think anyone even has a complete definition for what comprises a "set" there. Many on the checklist have less than 4 examples known and were otherwise uncatalogued until the 21st century.

[yanks4]

Just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to post fella's........ VERY interesting stuff!

[uffda51]

[terjung]

Love it, Bruce. Any others you wouldn't mind sharing?

[terjung]

Originally Posted by rainier2004

Ok, Im new....what are these e107's, how many are in the set and where do I get a Carline Munroe at?

Extremely tough set issued in 1903-1904 that is the first major set of the 20th century. The set is largely attributed to Breisch-Williams caramel company, but may have been issued by more other companies as well. They come with two basis backs - namely "one of a hundred and fifty prominent baseball players" and blank backs. The back indicates that there are 150 players in the set, but only 147 players have been found to date. A handful of players have team variations, which pushes the master set over 150 to somewhere around 161. There is a great article by Brian McQueen in Old Cardboard (Issue #4 - Summer 2005). It is required reading for anyone interested in the set. (Actually, the entire publication is fantastic. Subscribe if you don't already.)

You will note on some of the flips where "Type 1" is denoted. There is a "Type 2" of E107s. This does not refer to the second kind of back, but rather refers to a handful of "cards" that have been found with the same image. About 9 players (perhaps a couple more, I don't recall) have been found that have been classified as "Type 2". They are all hand cut and on thicker stock of paper. It has been hypothesized that they were all cut from an advertising display. No one knows for sure at this point, but they are more scarce than even the Type 1 cards. In general, when people refer to E107s, they are talking about the Type 1 cards.

Some players are tougher than others. I think it can safely be stated that the surviving population of any card is less than 20. A handful of Philadelphia players are the more commonly found and they are probably in the 10-20 range. It is commonly held that many of the cards only have single digit populations (graded + raw). If you are looking for a type card from E107 set, it won't be impossible to find / acquire due to the number of cards in the set; however, if you are looking to add a specific player from the set, the challenge increases dramatically.