A CURATED SELECTION OF GREAT CARDS
28. 1928 W502 #26 Lou Gehrig (HOF) - SGC EX/NM 6 MINIMUM BID: $750
30. 1920 Zeenut PCL Sam Crawford (HOF) - SGC FAIR 1.5 MINIMUM BID: $300
After concluding his major league career at the close of the 1917 season, Hall of Famer Sam Crawford moved west, settling in Peco, California and playing four seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, batting .360 in 1919 and leading the league in hits, ending his playing career after batting .318 in 1921. Presented here is one of Wahoo Sam’s two Zeenut PCL cards. Extremely scarce and desirable, the card pictures Crawford in uniform, the faded
The 1928 W502 issue is an enigma. Similar in size and appearance to the ice cream cards of 1928, the W502 cards contain no information on the card which would identify the issuer. Instead, printed on the backs of many of the cards would be plays in what would appear to be a baseball-related game, with individual play results printed on each card. 1928 W502 cards are also available with blank backs. According to hobby researcher Al Crisafulli (wow,
image of a stadium grandstand in the background. This card has been graded FAIR 1.5 by SGC, due to corner and edge wear along with an irregular cut at the bottom where the coupon once resided. Additional surface wear and light soiling is also evident. This card is scarce enough that examples only make themselves publicly available for sale once ever year or two; this is just the second example we have handled in ten years. An extraordinary card, one of the final playing days cards of the popular Hall of Famer.
that’s me) who conducted some research into this set some years ago, blank backs account for approximately half the population of W502s, with “One Bagger” backs such as this one accounting for approximately a quarter. It is likely that the cards were made available by a retail store, or packaged inside some type of candy. This Gehrig card has been graded EX/NM 6 by SGC, with sharp corners and a clean surface, slightly off-center left-to-right.
29. 1929 R315 “Portraits and Action” Babe Ruth (HOF) - PSA GOOD 2 MINIMUM BID: $750
31. Scarce 1931 W502 #32 Lou Gehrig (HOF) - PSA EX+ 5.5 MINIMUM BID: $500
Though it is unknown how the cards were issued, or which company did the issuing, the R315 set was dubbed “Portraits and Action” by Jefferson Burdick in the 1930s, just years after its issue. The cards were issued with a variety of printing variations; this example features the words “Fielder, Yankees, A.L.” printed in the white bottom border. The card has been graded GOOD 2 by PSA, due in part to centering and corner wear, and in part to light creasing, visible at the front and back, mostly near the top of the card. A strong specimen, featuring Ruth at the end of his swing.
Following on the heels of the ultra-difficult and ultra- puzzling W502 set of 1928 came a virtually identical set in 1931. Also classified in the ACC as W502, the 1931 issue features the same design as the 1928 issue (and in some
cases, the same player selection) with the identical baseball game plays printed on the card backs. Significantly more scarce than the 1928 issue, high-grade examples are virtually impossible to find.This is a stunning portrait image of Gehrig, well-centered and sharp, with a clean surface. The technical grade is likely the result of lightly-touched corners. Despite this, one of Gehrig’s tougher cards (PSA has graded just five examples), from an extremely tough issue.
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