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1912 T207 Brown Background Near-Complete Set (191 of 200): #2 SGC Set Registry
Sold For:
$44,063
Year: 1912
Auction: 2009 Spring
Lot #: 10
Auction: Prewar Baseball - T Tobacco Cards
Presented is the second highest-graded T207 set on the SGC registry. This near-complete set of 1912 T207 Brown Background cards includes 191 of the 200 cards in the set, including extremely strong examples of legendary rarities Irving Lewis (SGC EX 60, highest graded ever!), Ward Miller, Chicago (SGC EX 60, highest graded ever!), and Lowdermilk (SGC VG-EX 50), plus three variations, for a total 194 different cards. The entire near-set is graded and encapsulated by SGC. The grade point average is 54.88 (right in the middle of SGC VG-EX 50, an extremely strong SGC grade for T207, and an even stronger SGC EX 60). This is a very strong set. Included are many cards that are the highest graded ever by SGC. The set is missing only the following nine cards for completion: Engle, Hogan, Rucker, Ryan, Schulte, Snodgrass, Stanage, Vaughn, and Wallace. This is a particularly strong set in terms of condition, especially for T207, which is so prone to surface cracking and creasing. The set was very carefully assembled over a period of many years one card at a time by a very patient and dedicated collector who specialized in collecting T207s. This is easily seen, even at a glance, as this set is so superior to sets put together by old-timers decades ago. A set of this quality could only be assembled with access to hundreds upon hundreds of T207 cards over a period of years. The T207 set includes many rare cards and has always been extremely challenging to complete. The set includes a high concentration of obscure players, a selection of Hall of Famers including Tris Speaker and Walter Johnson, and "Black Sox" members Weaver and Cicotte.
In the following condition composite, identifying card numbers are referenced from the numbers provided by the Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards checklist. SGC grading composite: Nine cards are graded EX/NM 80: #2, 56, 87 Kirke, 105, 118, 133 Nelson, 139, 154, and 169. Twenty-three cards are graded EX+ 70: #15 Blanding, 19 Bresnahan (HOF) with rare Napoleon back , 33, 35, 36 Cunningham, 55, 57a Fisher (blue cap), 58, 68, 75, 79 Hoff, 81 Hooper (HOF), 84 Johnson (HOF), 85, 86 Kelly, 94 Kutina, 97, 103, 104a Livingston ("A" on shirt), 110, 140, 183, and 190. Fifty-nine cards are graded EX 60: #3 Almeida, 5, 6, 17, 18, 21 Butcher, 22, 24, 27, 28 Chance (HOF), 31, 34, 40, 43 Devlin, 44, 54 Erwin, 61, 62, 64, 73, 90, 91, 102 Lewis (emblem on sleeve) , 104c Livingston (small "C" on shirt), 108 Marquard (HOF), 111 McCarthy, 112, 113 McGraw (HOF), 114, 117, 122 Miller (Chicago), 123, 128, 130, 137, 138, 141, 142 Pelty, 143, 146, 150, 153 Saier, 155, 159, 160, 162, 170 Stovall, 171, 172, 175, 179, 185, 187 Wheat (HOF), 189, 192, 193, 194, 195, and 199. Fifty-one cards are graded VG/EX 50: #1 Adams, 4b Austin (no insignia), 9, 10 Bender (HOF), 11 Benz, 13 Birmingham, 14 Blackburne, 20 Bushelman, 23, 26, 30, 37 Danforth, 39, 42, 46 Donnelly, 47, 48 Downey, 49, 50, 52 Ellis, 59 Fournier, 60, 66 Graham, 70, 72, 74, 76, 77 Herzog, 88 Kling, 96, 98, 100, 107 Lowdermilk, 109 Marsans, 119, 120, 121 Miller (Boston), 124, 126, 127, 134, 136, 144, 165, 166, 176 Thomas, 178, 180 Tyler, 182, 191, and 196 Wood. Twenty-two cards are graded VG 40: #32, 57b Fisher (white cap), 65, 69, 78, 82 Houser, 83 Hyatt, 95, 101, 106, 116 McKechnie (HOF), 129, 131b Mullin (no "D" on cap), 135, 145 Phelan, 147 Ragan, 164 Speaker (HOF), 168 Steele, 177 Tinker (HOF), 186 Weaver ("Black Sox"), 188, and 198 Works. Five cards are graded GOOD 30: #8 Bauman, 45 Donlin, 125, 156, and 174 Sweeney. Two cards are graded FAIR 20: #29 Cicotte ("Black Sox") and 149 Rath. One card is graded POOR 10: #197 Woodburn. One card is Authentic: #93 Kuhn. Twenty-one ungraded cards: #4a Austin (insignia on shirt, Vg-Ex), 7 Barry (Fr-Gd), 12 Bescher (Vg), 16 Block (Pr), 25 Carey (touch of color added to brown background), 38 Daniels (trimmed), 41 Delehanty (trimmed), 51 Easterly (Fr), 63 George (Gd), 67 Graney (miscut), 71 Hallinan (Gd-Vg), 89 Knabe (trimmed), 92 Krause (trimmed), 99 Leifield (trimmed), 115 McIntyre (Gd), 132 Needham (Gd),148 Rasmussen (Fr), 158 Scott (Gd), 161 Smith (Gd), 173 Sullivan (Gd), and 200 Zeider (Fr). Fifteen cards have the rare red Cycle backs, twenty-four cards have the rare Broadleaf advertising backs, and eleven have no advertising on their reverses (often referred to by collectors in the old days as issued by Coupon Cigarettes). The rare-back cards (Cycle, Broadleaf, and no advertising) are usually associated with the rarer cards in the T207 set, as most were only issued with the rare advertising backs. There are also many cards with Recruit backs, however, such as Ellis, Kling, Graham, and Stovall, among others, that are also noteworthy rarities. An extremely high grade example of Hall of Famer Bresnahan (SGC 70 EX+), while not a rare card in the set, is of special note as it has the rare Napoleon Little Cigars advertising back. This is an exceptionally attractive near-complete set, appearing at a glance far stronger than suggested by the very strong and technically accurate assigned grades listed above. The tremendous percentage of rare cards in the T207 set makes this issue one of the most difficult to complete of all 1910-era tobacco-card sets. This is a extraordinary and very rarely offered near-complete set of this classic and often overlooked tobacco card issue. The equivalent SMR value for the individual cards is $35,179. Total 194 cards. Reserve $10,000. Estimate $25,000+. SOLD FOR $44,063
In the following condition composite, identifying card numbers are referenced from the numbers provided by the Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards checklist. SGC grading composite: Nine cards are graded EX/NM 80: #2, 56, 87 Kirke, 105, 118, 133 Nelson, 139, 154, and 169. Twenty-three cards are graded EX+ 70: #15 Blanding, 19 Bresnahan (HOF) with rare Napoleon back , 33, 35, 36 Cunningham, 55, 57a Fisher (blue cap), 58, 68, 75, 79 Hoff, 81 Hooper (HOF), 84 Johnson (HOF), 85, 86 Kelly, 94 Kutina, 97, 103, 104a Livingston ("A" on shirt), 110, 140, 183, and 190. Fifty-nine cards are graded EX 60: #3 Almeida, 5, 6, 17, 18, 21 Butcher, 22, 24, 27, 28 Chance (HOF), 31, 34, 40, 43 Devlin, 44, 54 Erwin, 61, 62, 64, 73, 90, 91, 102 Lewis (emblem on sleeve) , 104c Livingston (small "C" on shirt), 108 Marquard (HOF), 111 McCarthy, 112, 113 McGraw (HOF), 114, 117, 122 Miller (Chicago), 123, 128, 130, 137, 138, 141, 142 Pelty, 143, 146, 150, 153 Saier, 155, 159, 160, 162, 170 Stovall, 171, 172, 175, 179, 185, 187 Wheat (HOF), 189, 192, 193, 194, 195, and 199. Fifty-one cards are graded VG/EX 50: #1 Adams, 4b Austin (no insignia), 9, 10 Bender (HOF), 11 Benz, 13 Birmingham, 14 Blackburne, 20 Bushelman, 23, 26, 30, 37 Danforth, 39, 42, 46 Donnelly, 47, 48 Downey, 49, 50, 52 Ellis, 59 Fournier, 60, 66 Graham, 70, 72, 74, 76, 77 Herzog, 88 Kling, 96, 98, 100, 107 Lowdermilk, 109 Marsans, 119, 120, 121 Miller (Boston), 124, 126, 127, 134, 136, 144, 165, 166, 176 Thomas, 178, 180 Tyler, 182, 191, and 196 Wood. Twenty-two cards are graded VG 40: #32, 57b Fisher (white cap), 65, 69, 78, 82 Houser, 83 Hyatt, 95, 101, 106, 116 McKechnie (HOF), 129, 131b Mullin (no "D" on cap), 135, 145 Phelan, 147 Ragan, 164 Speaker (HOF), 168 Steele, 177 Tinker (HOF), 186 Weaver ("Black Sox"), 188, and 198 Works. Five cards are graded GOOD 30: #8 Bauman, 45 Donlin, 125, 156, and 174 Sweeney. Two cards are graded FAIR 20: #29 Cicotte ("Black Sox") and 149 Rath. One card is graded POOR 10: #197 Woodburn. One card is Authentic: #93 Kuhn. Twenty-one ungraded cards: #4a Austin (insignia on shirt, Vg-Ex), 7 Barry (Fr-Gd), 12 Bescher (Vg), 16 Block (Pr), 25 Carey (touch of color added to brown background), 38 Daniels (trimmed), 41 Delehanty (trimmed), 51 Easterly (Fr), 63 George (Gd), 67 Graney (miscut), 71 Hallinan (Gd-Vg), 89 Knabe (trimmed), 92 Krause (trimmed), 99 Leifield (trimmed), 115 McIntyre (Gd), 132 Needham (Gd),148 Rasmussen (Fr), 158 Scott (Gd), 161 Smith (Gd), 173 Sullivan (Gd), and 200 Zeider (Fr). Fifteen cards have the rare red Cycle backs, twenty-four cards have the rare Broadleaf advertising backs, and eleven have no advertising on their reverses (often referred to by collectors in the old days as issued by Coupon Cigarettes). The rare-back cards (Cycle, Broadleaf, and no advertising) are usually associated with the rarer cards in the T207 set, as most were only issued with the rare advertising backs. There are also many cards with Recruit backs, however, such as Ellis, Kling, Graham, and Stovall, among others, that are also noteworthy rarities. An extremely high grade example of Hall of Famer Bresnahan (SGC 70 EX+), while not a rare card in the set, is of special note as it has the rare Napoleon Little Cigars advertising back. This is an exceptionally attractive near-complete set, appearing at a glance far stronger than suggested by the very strong and technically accurate assigned grades listed above. The tremendous percentage of rare cards in the T207 set makes this issue one of the most difficult to complete of all 1910-era tobacco-card sets. This is a extraordinary and very rarely offered near-complete set of this classic and often overlooked tobacco card issue. The equivalent SMR value for the individual cards is $35,179. Total 194 cards. Reserve $10,000. Estimate $25,000+. SOLD FOR $44,063