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Extraordinary complete set of fifty-two T222 Fatima player cards issued by the Leggett & Myers Tobacco Company in 1914, highlighted by seven Hall of Famers, including Grover Cleveland Alexander (rookie card) and Walter Johnson (short print). All of the rare short-print cards, of which there are many, are naturally present. This is the only complete set of these rare tobacco cards that we have ever had the privilege of handling, let alone presenting at auction! This remarkable complete set has the extremely significant provenance of originating from the Jim Copeland Collection. In 1991, it was sold in the famous Copeland Auction, which will always be regarded as one of the true landmark events in hobby history. It has been consigned to this auction directly from the buyer at the Copeland Auction, who has kept it as one of the centerpieces of his advanced personal collection of rare vintage cards ever since.

Each card is graded and encapsulated by PSA and is pedigreed on the label as "Copeland Collection." The set claims the number-one spot on the PSA Set Registry, where it has won top award honors every year since 2008. It is the only complete set ever registered on the PSA Set Registry, where the second-place set sits at 71% complete. (A single set is listed as complete on the SGC Set Registry.) Do not be fooled by the modest technical grades! This is not a set that can reasonably be collected in high grade. The thin photographic stock and fragile glossy surface of these unusual real-photo style cards make them especially susceptible to creasing and cracking. Twenty-one cards (of the fifty-two) are the highest-graded examples on record according to the PSA Population Report. This set also includes fourteen examples graded EX 5, which is a tremendous grade for T222s as only four examples (of any player) have ever been graded higher by PSA.

PSA Grading Composite: EX 5 (14 cards): Alexander (HOF, highest graded), Austin SP (1 of 1, highest graded), Baumgardner SP (1 of 1, highest graded), Brown (highest graded), Huggins (HOF, highest graded), Leibold SP (1 of 1, highest graded), McBride SP (1 of 1, highest graded), Murray (1 of 1, highest graded), Oldring (highest graded), Orr (highest graded), Perdue (highest graded), Smith SP (1 of 1, highest graded), Tyler (highest graded), and Vitt (highest graded). VG-EX 4 (8 cards): Benton, Chalmers, Houck, Lelivelt SP (1 of 1, highest graded), L. Magee SP (1 of 1, highest graded), Maisel (MK), McInnis (MK), and Strunk (highest graded). VG 3 (3 cards): Bush, Marquard (HOF), and Sallee. GOOD 2 (18 cards): Archer, Barry, Bresnahan (HOF), Demaree (MK), Hamilton SP (1 of 1, highest graded), Henry SP (1 of 1, highest graded), Jennings (HOF), Keating SP (1 of 1, highest graded), Lapp, Leach, Morgan SP (1 of 1, highest graded), Murphy, Reulbach, Saier (MC), Schang, Schulte SP (MC), Wingo, and Zimmerman. POOR 1 (9 cards): Burns, Chance (HOF), Fletcher, Johnson SP (HOF), Lobert SP, S. Magee SP, Mclean, Phelan, and Sweeney.

These individual-player Fatima cards are much rarer than the T200 Fatima team cards. These cards are usually found just a few at a time and almost always in low grades. Each card in this collection is bright and crisp with a strong image, with the lower-grade cards downgraded due to common cracking or scrapbook residue on the reverse. The advertising on the backs of the cards refers to the set as being comprised of "famous Baseball players, American Athletic champions and Photoplay stars." This is a tremendous and very rarely offered complete set of these magnificent and distinctive tobacco cards, which advanced collectors universally recognize (with good reason!) as many times rarer than their more widely collected tobacco-card cousins, such as T205 and T206. Total: 52 cards. SOLD FOR $39,000