Post an obscure card that interests you and explain why

[Exhibitman]

Let's have some card fun! We all have our interests that run far afield from mainstream issues. What obscure little issue piques your collecting interest? I will start with these:

1946 Sports Exchange Trading Post Pin-Ups. One per issue, ran for several months, then were replaced by the for-sale W602-W603:






I like them because they are very early postwar, obscure/rare and have images that are not on other cards as far as I can tell.

[Peter_Spaeth]

I'm not sure this is sufficiently obscure, but it's certainly interesting that otherwise the set is all Reds. To me, one of the best images of DiMaggio out thee, on many he looks a bit goofy.

[Chris Counts]

The DiMaggio image is on his Berk Ross card.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Chris Counts

The DiMaggio image is on his Berk Ross card.

I don't follow.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/16548848763...QAAOSwiG5ihTx3

[EddieP]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I don't follow.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/16548848763...QAAOSwiG5ihTx3

I think Chris is referring to Adam’s DiMaggio ( Berk-Ross ‘51/52)

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by EddieP

I think Chris is referring to Adam’s DiMaggio ( Berk-Ross ‘51/52)

Ah. Yes it is.

[jingram058]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I'm not sure this is sufficiently obscure, but it's certainly interesting that otherwise the set is all Reds. To me, one of the best images of DiMaggio out thee, on many he looks a bit goofy.

I agree completely. Just a great looking DiMaggio, sir!

[familytoad]

I like the Bob Feller Banana Peel image !!

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

Let's have some card fun! We all have our interests that run far afield from mainstream issues. What obscure little issue piques your collecting interest? I will start with these:

1946 Sports Exchange Trading Post Pin-Ups. One per issue, ran for several months, then were replaced by the for-sale W602-W603:






I like them because they are very early postwar, obscure/rare and have images that are not on other cards as far as I can tell.

[gonefishin]

Here is one from my collection that I've never been able to figure out. It is of Walker Cooper in a NY Giants uniform. The card measures 3 3/4 x 9 3/4 and has a blank back. It is autographed by Walker. He played for the Giants from 46-49. It seems to be on standard card stock and may have come folded as it appears to have light creases where it was been in quads. The colors are very vivid and quite impressive to look at. It has always baffled me about its origin. The pose, uniform and facial expression and everything about the card kind of grabs you. If anyone is familiar with this card please let me know.

[mrreality68]

I like the 1914 E&S series of Postcards

There are only a handful of the Joe Jackson card and a hand full of other cards including Ty Cobb, Frank Chance, Christy Mathewson, Tris Speaker, and Buck Weaver to name a few.

This is mine the Joe Jackson One.

I like the unique look of it. I like the pose and I also like the little cartoons around him.

[ocjack]

I was about 15 cards shy of putting this 1954 N.Y. Journal American set together, but sold them with the rest of my collection. But I loved looking for these, and most dealers had no idea what they were. One of the sets I wish I had kept. (not my cards pictured, but internet images for illustration).

[FrankWakefield]

I like the New York Journal Amercan's...


That particular Sports Exchange Bob Feller is EXTREMELY rare.

[Vintagecatcher]

Here is my Chief Meyers Philadelphia Evening Times Supplement, which I won in a Lew Lipset Auction many years ago.

I have only seen one other, which had pin hole damage at the corners.


Patrick

[ocjack]

Ok, actually a second set I wish I hadn't sold - 1958 San Francisco Call Bulletin. I was also about 10 shy of the set (one or two were extremely hard to find). Again, pictures from the net.

[Casey2296]

Great idea for a thread.

I'll go with the 1914 E224 Texas Tommy. I'm fascinated by the stories of West Coast cards.

This set is made by the Cardinet Candy company of Oakland Ca., founded in 1909, maker of the Abba Zabba, Baffle, and U-No candy bars.

The name of the set is named after a dance invented in the Barbary Coast "red light" district of San Francisco. Around 1910, the Texas Tommy was a hit at a lowlife hot spot called Purcell's, a Negro cabaret, but it became respectable when it was danced at the upscale Fairmont Hotel, the most popular venue for ballroom dancing in San Francisco.

There are so many fascinating stories surrounding this set, from who took the pictures used, why they chose the players they did in the set, and whether it is one set or two.

Fun Stuff...
-

[Clutch-Hitter]

Wanted one of these for a long time; recently stumbled across this one and snagged it. Because I searched for so long and because it has a small town, blue-collar feel, it immediately became my favorite card.

[jingram058]

Originally Posted by gonefishin

Here is one from my collection that I've never been able to figure out. It is of Walker Cooper in a NY Giants uniform. The card measures 3 3/4 x 9 3/4 and has a blank back. It is autographed by Walker. He played for the Giants from 46-49. It seems to be on standard card stock and may have come folded as it appears to have light creases where it was been in quads. The colors are very vivid and quite impressive to look at. It has always baffled me about its origin. The pose, uniform and facial expression and everything about the card kind of grabs you. If anyone is familiar with this card please let me know.

I am not familiar with the card, but the photo is a Colorfoto. These appeared in the New York Daily News, Philadelphia Inquirer, and I am sure other papers via syndication. I have a scrapbook of 1940s/50s baseball clippings with many of them, including that one.

[Rhotchkiss]

I like these -- the W.W. Smith Post Card set. To my knowledge, there are only three in this set, which was issued for the 1909 World Series between the Pittsburgh and Detroit. There is a Wagner and Cobb/Wagner, both posted here, and a Cobb. The Wagner is a bit more common (7 SGC), compared to the the Cobb/Wagner (2 SGC and 1 PSA) and Cobb (1 SGC), but still quite obscure and rare, with only 11 total on the combined SGC/PSA pop reports

[gonefishin]

Originally Posted by jingram058

I am not familiar with the card, but the photo is a Colorfoto. These appeared in the New York Daily News, Philadelphia Inquirer, and I am sure other papers via syndication. I have a scrapbook of 1940s/50s baseball clippings with many of them, including that one.

Much appreciated James. That's the first time anyone has ever told me they have seen the image before. Now if I can only figured out where the card came from!

[tedzan]

T206's....GOUDEY's....LEAF's....etc. are all often found with missing colors. However, N162 cards are seldom
seen with missing colors. This Dunlap is missing the Blue and Pink ink. I find this quite interesting.



TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[x2drich2000]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

I like these -- the W.W. Smith Post Card set. To my knowledge, there are only three in this set, which was issued for the 1909 World Series between the Pittsburgh and Detroit. There is a Wagner and Cobb/Wagner, both posted here, and a Cobb. The Wagner is a bit more common (7 SGC), compared to the the Cobb/Wagner (2 SGC and 1 PSA) and Cobb (1 SGC), but still quite obscure and rare, with only 11 total on the combined SGC/PSA pop reports

Ryan, I love this set as well. I'm lucky enough to also have a Wagner and it is one of my favorites.

Here's another you don't see everyday, 1907 Winthrop Moving Postcard, basically it is one of the earliest flipbooks features baseball players.

[brianp-beme]

I will post a couple that intrigue me. I believe that they are post-vintage productions, but I always thought they were so different from normal run of the mill reprints that they deserve a little limelight.

Brian

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by x2drich2000

Ryan, I love this set as well. I'm lucky enough to also have a Wagner and it is one of my favorites.

Here's another you don't see everyday, 1907 Winthrop Moving Postcard, basically it is one of the earliest flipbooks features baseball players.

And boxers

[EddieP]

Here’s this one. It’s a 1910 Bresnahan Book Cover. Despite its age, the colors remain vibrant . I especially like this because it is a different pose from his Turkey Red and it came at a cheaper price. Otherwise, I don’t know much about this.

[toledo_mudhen]

Originally Posted by FrankWakefield

I like the New York Journal Amercan's.

Yep those are very cool - being a mid 50's kind of guy I think I need some of them. Complete set is only 60 cards. Have never seen these previously.

[Vintagedeputy]

I feel like I keep showing this photo in various threads but this is the obscure set that most intrigues me. I know that we all call them Colgan’s Square Proofs, but exactly how they were issued and by whom (with certainty) is a mystery.

My theory is that they were issued to retailers each week to affix to a poster to advertise players that could be found by buying Colgan’s Chips gum. They are blank backed and the paper is an odd stock, similar I feel to that of a poster. I have Wagner, Addie Joss, Hal Chase and Home Run Baker. Between the top TPG’s, pop reports are fairly low for this issue.

[SAllen2556]

Rudy York doesn't have a lot of cards, so this one interests me for that reason.

rudyyork.jpg

[BobbyStrawberry]

Originally Posted by tedzan

T206's....GOUDEY's....LEAF's....etc. are all often found with missing colors. However, N162 cards are seldom
seen with missing colors. This Dunlap is missing the Blue and Pink ink. I find this quite interesting.



TED Z

T206 Reference
.

That is very cool, Ted. Amazing!

[jingram058]

Originally Posted by gonefishin

Much appreciated James. That's the first time anyone has ever told me they have seen the image before. Now if I can only figured out where the card came from!

Here is Walker Cooper from my scrapbook. Good luck figuring it out. If so, I also would like to know what that card is.

[G1911]

I have no clue about this Cooper card and have not seen it before, but what a great image and an awesome piece.

[Exhibitman]

1968 Atlantic Oil. There are 40 cards that are regular issue and ten cards that are prize-winners and extremely short-printed. Also a game piece that was redeemable instantly for a booklet of baseball records and stats. it is also a short print but only because so many of them were redeemed and destroyed. The ten cash-money cards (banks, davis, osteen, agee, etchebarren, fairly, freehan, mccraw, williams, wilson) are rarely seen and since some were for more money than others (Osteen was a buck), there are degrees of SP, but all ten are flat-out rare. Condition is also a challenge on these cards because they came two to a packet and were glued around the edges. Finding one without glue damage and/or hairline creases from being twisted to open the packet is also difficult.

Here is a common with typical glue damage:



Here is a common card in high grade:



Here is the SP redemption card:



These are prize-winner SSPs:




This is not a prizewinner but it is an SP. Swoboda was supposed to be part of a $10 match; this variation has him part of a $5 match.

[pokerplyr80]

Not sure if this would be considered obscure, but I don't see them very often. One of my favorite prewar cards because it looks so similar to the t206 Wagner. Portrait image and similar background, but reasonably affordable, especially by comparison. The ship has sailed on the possibility of owning a t206, so this will have to do.

[glchen]

Rittenhouse is not a very popular set among collectors as folks typically aren't drawn to playing card sets. However, since I enjoy collecting color and back variations, I've been trying to collect all of the distinct letter variations from the Rittenhouse set using only Ruth cards.

[EddieP]

Originally Posted by glchen

Rittenhouse is not a very popular set among collectors as folks typically aren't drawn to playing card sets. However, since I enjoy collecting color and back variations, I've been trying to collect all of the distinct letter variations from the Rittenhouse set using only Ruth cards.

Nice set! IIRC the ‘H” was short printed which made it difficult to spellout Rittenhouse Candy and thereby, almost impossible to redeem the prize.

[BioCRN]

I spent over a decade on/off looking for a 1930 Baguer Chocolate - Cliff Heathcote for my collection because it's the earliest non-oversized card of his with a Cubs uniform that I know of (I may have missed others out of lack of knowledge).

Rare, but not valuable. I treasure it. Heathcote spent 9 years as a Cubs regular+part time player...good fielder and hitter.

[Jobu]

This one interests me bc so far I can't find anyone who knows what it is.

Previous thread asking for thoughts: https://www.net54baseball.com/showth...ghlight=mostil

.

[BabyRuth]

Awesome Rittenhouse cards Gary!!!

[gonefishin]

Many thanks to James for posting the article from the paper regarding the Cooper card I posted. Interesting indeed because it is the exact photo. I think my only recourse is off to PSA for auto authentication and card identification.

[Exhibitman]

Diamond Dust Punchboard cards. Basically, they were issued inside gambling devices as tickets. The trick is that there is only one punchboard that actually has the cards in it. The myriad other DDPBs do not have cards. The cards were accordion folded into the slots and punched out with a metal rod. Of the 37 total cards slabbed by PSA and SGC, only three have gotten numerical grades because it was routine to trim off the borders.

The Averill is the nicest known card:



Joe D is typical of the trimmed cards:



The images are drawn from the Salutations Exhibit cards.

[Brian Van Horn]

Self-explanatory.

[brianp-beme]

Another card that I believe is a fantasy piece, but just strange that it has different artwork that I have not seen in any other examples except for a Hoyt card (no saved image). I have had this card for at least a dozen years. Here is a link to a previous thread about it, which itself contains a link to a thread about ten years previous. One more chained link and I will have created a fence.

https://net54baseball.com/showthread...ighlight=adams

Brian

[glchen]

Originally Posted by BabyRuth

Awesome Rittenhouse cards Gary!!!

Thanks, Jim!

Originally Posted by EddieP

Nice set! IIRC the ‘H” was short printed which made it difficult to spellout Rittenhouse Candy and thereby, almost impossible to redeem the prize.

Thanks, Eddie. I never knew the "H" was a short print. I'll have to really look for that one if it comes up.

[Neal]

The image on the Howard Photo Mays is Willie's best imo. The first time I had seen one of these I was hooked

[Exhibitman]

Beer coasters are fun

[DaveW]

Here are a few rare ones from the 1969 Rawlings promo set. I remember getting these at a sporting goods store in Canoga Park CA when my mom took me to get new cleats for Pop Warner football. There are a few known cards of Brooks Robinson and Reggie Jackson as well as these three. I find it odd that something that was issued in my lifetime is so little known.

07ECE907-9B28-4C5C-B8F6-3A463F6CB002.jpg

96D75348-B07B-4AE8-8704-D9EEE2C95C7E.jpg

[oldjudge]

1886 Hancock Clothing Phil Tomney. In the mid-1990s the first and only three cards from this set were discovered. The three cards represent three different players making each a unique specimen. The three players are from the Syracuse Stars, an International League team from the period. These cards represent the first minor league card set and the first card set of any kind to put player information on the back. Along with Goodwin’s N167s they can also be called the first baseball card set of any kind. They are also arguably the rarest type cards in existence.

[Exhibitman]

I've never seen the Rawlings cards before; very interesting.

[brian1961]

As I pondered the OP, my mind went back to this elegant card / photo.

This is an obscure 1952 Chicago White Sox team issue photo. It is printed on nice cardstock. Gorgeous color, with several fondly remembered stars of the resurgent White Sox--Minnie Minoso, Nellie Fox, Bill Pierce, and Eddie Robinson. I love the background scenery, the lush grass and particularly the familiar slanted Comiskey Park openings. All in all, saturated with ambiance.

I do recall in the late 1960s during August - September, WGN Channel 9 announcer Jack Brickhouse would tell his viewers that the official team photo of the Chicago Cubs was now available. Just send a dollar or two to WGN, etc. Back in 1952, I believe Channel 9 broadcast the White Sox games as well. That's my theory as to the original issuer, at least.

Anyways, I was at a show in the early 1970s when I came across this beautiful relic. I did not deliberate much more then a few seconds. I've kept it in a special notebook having large acetate pages ever since I bought it. Sorry about the glare in the center; we did the best we could.

Thanks for listening. --- Brian Powell

[sflayank]

leader cleaners
the real yoo hoo with tab
the only known venezuelan tattoo
the only known gold mine

[Jason]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

1886 Hancock Clothing Phil Tomney. In the mid-1990s the first and only three cards from this set were discovered. The three cards represent three different players making each a unique specimen. The three players are from the Syracuse Stars, an International League team from the period. These cards represent the first minor league card set and the first card set of any kind to put player information on the back. Along with Goodwin’s N167s they can also be called the first baseball card set of any kind. They are also arguably the rarest type cards in existence.

Amazing Tomney card there. If you don't mind me asking you who are the other two players with a card?