Best Buy in pre-war cards

I have two candidates which I like for this catagory.

I like the 1913 game sets because you can get the top pitchers and hitters (lifetime) all in the same set. That is Johnson, Young, Matty and Alexander; along with Cobb and Jackson. The key here is Alexander. And yeah, there is no Hornsby. But that brings me to my second candidate:

The w-517s. In this set you can obtain a Hornsby or an Alexander in graded vg for under $100.
I just bought a SGC 50 Hornsby for $99. This is about my fourth of these (they all come in different colors - and look fantastic displayed together).

I'll add W574 to the list. Seldomly discussed set that sells cheaply relative to other tougher sets from that era. I like the square shape and the photos are not borrowed from other sets so it's pretty unique. Also there are only 29 cards in the set, so it's very completable.

Gil - about W517 (which I agree is underrated) - which cards do you already have, and are you collecting them in any specific condition range?

Ben,
I have cracked most of mine out. But the Hornsby I haven't gotten yet. And there is a Ruth port. SGC 50 which I haven't yet moved to its binder place which needs a bit of customization.

Other than those two, I have a Frisch (vg/x), Wilson (vg/x), Klein (vg), 2 Alexanders: vg/x but one has two pinholes, the other is strong; and three Hornsbys vg/x, an Ott and a Waner vg because of imperfect cutting across the dots.

A Gehrig mini vg/x but trimmed a little close, three Judge minis two vg/x but trimmed quite close and the other g/vg with full borders.

Thats it. I am interested in Alexanders and Hornsbys in colors other than green or brown, condition g - ex. I can take an Alexander or Hornsby in green or brown, depending on the actual color.


I like the bold borders on the w574s - nice set for this list.

Sadly, the game cards aren't that cheap anymore, especially if you want Jackson, Cobb, Wagner or other key players. Commons can still be had relatively cheap but since these cards don't have bios and no unique players, outside of Jax, no player holds interest for me in those sets.

Jay

Lets see that Gehrig mini please, I have never seen one that wasn't a 4 in 1 cut exhibit. I must warn you if it is of any dark color paper, it is not a W517 mini. W517 colors are on cream cardboard. Dan

Dan,
Its going to take me a while, I do not have a scanner here (nor a camera). But I value your opinion and welcome your consultation on anything. I will get it to you. And post it here, if I can follow the instructions.
Gil

Well Dan a "while" is now up. I wish that I could have provided better scans, but shown below is all I've got.




edited to crop scans...

IMHO, the T206 cards issued only in the 460 Series are undervalued. Everyone seems to add a nice premium to the 150 series only cards. However, the 460 only cards are just as tough, if not tougher, as they were actually issued for a shorter period of time.

Here is an example of a 460 series only card.

Dan'O mine is also on a cream color stock...I dont think mine was cut from a 4 in1 but love to hear your thoughts....

Dan, here is a blue Joe Judge mini from Old Cardboard. Why not post yours for comparison?

I thought I told you guys that if I don't own it, it ain't a W517 mini. Oh, I guess that doesn't make sense does it. I thought I posted all of mine somewhere on this board already. Yes the backs should be cream but so are the exhibits. Also I think the exhibits come in the same exact colors as well as the much darker colors that are strictly exhibits. Now a few of mine are cut very close to the pictures but you can still see some of the dotted lines. I still feel without the dotted lines that you just can't say for sure. Now lets try this: Does anyone have a 4 in 1 exhibit? Lets measure the inside picture. If memory serves me, the W517 mini picture should be a tad larger than a cut 4 in 1. My minis are 1 and 11/16 light by 2 and 9/16. Can someone measure a 4 in 1? Dan.

I am a genius! Are you guys sick of me yet?? I know I am sick of me already! Anyway, found a 4 in 1 exhibit and behold! Inside picture measures 1 and 7/16 by 2 and 7/16. So measure your Gehrigs and you will know for sure if they are minis or cut exhibits. And please do share what they are. I am going to bet they are exhibits but I would love to be proven wrong!! Dan.

It's hard to get of someone with the knowledge you have.

Jay

You don't get Dan's knowledge from reading books. :study: Dan has acquired his knowledge from several years of seeing and handling cards.

The brown Gehrig measures just fine.
But scroll up, and note the difference in appearance between the OC Joe Judge, and Dan's right below it.
Are both minis?

Next time I go to the bank I'll measure Dan, good stuff would be nice to finally know for sure, I think it will measure ok but will see.

I see no difference in the 2 Judges. Thanks for the kind words, you are all way too good to me! Dan

Well Dan,
I suppose you are right. But at one time I thought the bottom Judge was way sharper an image than the top one.
But I also thought Wonkaticket's avitar was clear at one time too.
I guess this is what happens when you don't drink enough.
But I was saving that for the game tomorrow.
Maybe I will check out these images again, then.
Gil

oh I see, ok. I think just as in the full size W517s, depending on the color, the images can be sharper. I have some full strips in the same color and those images are very sharp as well. Bull roast tonight and super bowl tomorrow, I will be divorced and in detox on Monday!

Here are mine, they were posted on Net54.

http://www.bandkgreen.net/dans_w517minis_net54.jpg

Nice borders on those Dan.
Most of mine are trimmed pretty close: top, bottom and sides.
Most of yours have borders on all sides.

So, if I've got this right:
w517 minis come in red, green, blue and brown (and some unusual colors) - 16 cards in set.
Leader Novelty comes in red, green, purple and brown (purple instead of blue) - 20 cataloged in set.
Uncle Jacks come in blue and purple, as well as red and green; but not brown - 30 cards in set.
553s reportedly appear in b/w, blue, blue-green, green, red and salmon - 15 cards in set.

None of these seem to be very available.
The Leaders have the better image, I think.

So, having established the colors which w517 minis come in, we then have to explain the outliers.
Such as Dan's Judge:




And Brad Green's Grove:





There are different thoughts on this. FKW appears to be of the opinion that there were two vehicles for distribution of w517 minis: three card strips, and four card panels:
The W517-2 Mini Strip Cards are far scarcer of the 2 types. The Mini cards are roughly 1.75" by 2.75" in size, are unnumbered and come in many different brighter colors. The Mini W517-2 cards were also originally sold in vertical strips, but also seen in a slightly smoother stock 4 photos per postcard size card similar to an Exhibit card, these are almost always found cut into individual cards as well. The rare postcards (3 different known) are listed in some catalogs as "1929" but there is proof they were issued ca.1931. There are 54 different cards in the W517-1 Large set, but only 16 different have been seen in the W517-2 Mini form (Cochrane, Collins, Critz, Donahue, Gehrig, Grove, Jackson, Judge, Kamm, Kelly, Klein, Miller, O'Doul, Shire, Vance, P.Waner).

Or maybe the four card panels were not intended as a distribution method. But perhaps they were not issued with instructions for the kids. In any case, the four card source is one possibility for uncommon colors.

A second mini has been identified with coloration similar to that of Brad's Grove; thereby verifying the color as a legitimate set variant.

Although it doesn't add much to what has already been stated about this enigmatic set, but here is my lone example of the w517-2 Mini set...