4. 1908 American League Publishing Co. Ty Cobb (HOF) - SGC PR 1 Produced by a Cleveland publishing company of the same name, the American League Publishing Company set of 1908 was a small postcard set that consisted of 14 members of the Cleveland Indians, plus Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner. Most of the cards feature black and white photography and printing (though a few have been discovered with red or green overprints), each containing a posed photo with an inset portrait. Though any card from the set is extremely desirable, the card of Ty Cobb is unquestionably the most valuable of the 16 known cards in the checklist. In fact, it is one of the most valuable of all Ty Cobb’s cards due to its extreme rarity, with just four examples having been graded by PSA and SGC combined.
The posed image of Cobb is a familiar one - the same image used for his desirable T206 “Bat on Shoulder” pose. The inset portrait photo of Cobb is an interesting one, picturing Cobb in street clothes, wearing an elaborately-designed medal that was his award for winning the batting title in 1907. The card has been graded PR 1 by SGC, largely due to postal use (the card carries a 1915 postmark), with some areas of staining on both front and back, and some very minor smudging of the images. Corner and edge wear is minor, as are some small areas of surface wear, including a couple of minor creases breaking the surface of the card inside the inset portrait. Unquestionably among the most valuable of all Cobb’s cards, so scarce that it is virtually never sold at public auction. One of the most rare and desirable of all Ty Cobb’s cards, highly prized by all Cobb collectors, surely worthy of being the centerpiece of any advanced prewar collection. MINIMUM BID: $7,500
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