S74 silks
 

I have a chance to buy these. What is a fair offer and value? Thanks.

Re: S74s
 

You have two different types there. The colored silks have captions top and bottom. There are four commons in average condition that would retail for about $40-60 each. The ones without front captions (called "white silks") were issued with a paper backing with the advertising. This group appears to be missing the original backs. If so, the commons are worth $10-20 each and the Matty maybe $40-50. Hope you are able to acquire them. The S74s are one of the best looking and undervalued vintage sets IMO.

Thank you very much!

Interested in the Criger if you decide to purchase the lot.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Yes, if any of the group have their cardboard backing the values will go up quite a bit. Maybe 2-4x......and more for a HOF'er...

Hey Ed, I'm no expert on S74's and I know you know a lot more than me in general on these issues but do you really think the Matty would only fetch $40-$50? I would think even without the backing the Matty would easily get $100. Maybe it's a good thing I've never bought any of them lol.

I'd have to agree with Tyler on this. Even though the Mathewson is a white version silk without the backing, I'd be really surprised to find anyone letting one go for $40-$50, let alone anyone not offering to pay upwards of $100 or more for one.

Also, the valuation on the colored silks could be a little off as well depending on the severity of the fraying and how much, if any, of the tobacco brand and factory information has disappeared from the silk. Because of the odd angle for the silks pictured, it is a little hard to tell exactly how much and severe some of the fraying is on the colored silks. Also, there are some silk colors that are much tougher and harder to find, and some collectors are known to pay a slight premium for such more difficult colors. For example, the bright red colored silk is a rarer color version to come across.

When you collect the colored version silks, you'd ideally like to have at both the top and bottom the slight discoloration that you can see when looking at the bottom border of the Rowan silk. I believe this was due to some kind of heat seal or other type of seal that was applied when the silks were originally cut to keep them from fraying. You'll notice that the bottom border of the Rowan silk shows the entire tobacco brand name, with plenty of space after it, and what appears to be very little, if any fraying at all. Colored silks with top AND bottom borders like that are what you would consider ideal as a silk collector, and such commons could go for 2 or 3 times what Ed mentioned.

Interesting thread, and thank you for the clarifications Ed and Bob. I hope my Cobb has some value.

Cheers, Mike

S74
 

I love silk. Put it with a baseball card I go bonkers! Family has 2-3 sets wish PSA did them is it only SGC that handles these?

Go Gators

CV

Michael,

That is nice Cobb, and probably pretty fairly graded for once. The image is nicely centered and very clear and clean. The color combination of blue ink and a rose/pink material goes together to make a very presentable image as well. I never worry about creases or folds, especially in the colored version silks, as you have to remember these are made of a satin type material (not actual silk) and can easily be ironed perfectly smooth if you wanted to. I often find SGC grading for silks a bit of a mystery though and think they could do a better job and not try to grade on the same basis as baseball cards. I at least give PSA credit for not grading them as they probably wouldn't really know what to use as a basis for grading them and admit they don't know, so they don't grade them.

In the case of your Cobb, you can easily see the substantial fraying at both the top and bottom of the silk, but you can still make out what tobacco brand it is and the factory it came from. It also looks like this may have been removed from something it was previously sewn onto. if you look closely on the right and left hand borders you can see what appears to be a difference in the material on the outer and inner edges, with the outer edges being more creased. And you can almost see some minor imperfections in the silk, which are normally from where the pin holes were for the thread that the silk was sewn onto something with. So think about the fraying like some real severe corner wear on a card, or even missing pieces/edges on the card, and the pin holes in the silk just like pin holes in a card when grading it. Actually I think your silk is technically over graded and should be no higher than a 1 because of the fact it was sewn into something and then removed. Still, the image and colors are really nice and still make for a very presentable Cobb. I would expect someone to want maybe up to a couple hundred or so for it. It is Cobb, and a comparably graded T-205, which has the exact same image on it, would go for a lot more than that still.

People sometimes forget these silks were intended to be used to make blankets, pillows and such with them. I wish a lot of sellers hadn't gone ahead and pulled these items apart in hopes of getting an individual silk that they think would be worth a lot more like that. I think they're much nicer if left like they were originally intended. Nice item though in any event.

Vader,

I believe Beckett still grades them as well, and I know GAI did also (when they were still around). I often figure that one of the biggest reasons the silks don't get more appreciation (and value) is because PSA won't grade them. And also because a lot of "card" collectors don't consider them as actual cards.

Still they share the same/similar images as are shown on T-205 cards and the end panels on T-202 cards, as well as the Piedmont Art Stamps. For someone looking for a period Cobb card, I think a nice silk of him is definitely a great value compared to what you'd have to pay for any of those other cards the same image appears on.

You mentioned your family has 2 - 3 sets??? Are you talking about sets of the silks???? If so, I'd love to hear more about what you actually have. Are you talking about white version silks with the advertising backs still attached or without the attachments, or the colored version silks? Tell me more. You can even PM if you like. Thanks.

Vader,

I believe Beckett still grades them as well, and I know GAI did also (when they were still around). I often figure that one of the biggest reasons the silks don't get more appreciation (and value) is because PSA won't grade them. And also because a lot of "card" collectors don't consider them as actual cards.

Still they share the same/similar images as are shown on T-205 cards and the end panels on T-202 cards, as well as the Piedmont Art Stamps. For someone looking for a period Cobb card, I think a nice silk of him is definitely a great value compared to what you'd have to pay for any of those other cards the same image appears on.

You mentioned your family has 2 - 3 sets??? Are you talking about sets of the silks???? If so, I'd love to hear more about what you actually have. Are you talking about white version silks with the advertising backs still attached or without the attachments, or the colored version silks? Tell me more. You can even PM if you like. Thanks.

The S74s are very difficult to find in nice condition. Great designs and more affordable to collect than other cards. But as you say, many don't think they are in the same realm as cards. And if PSA doesn't slab them (I didn't even know) then that takes out the best marketing hype in the hobby, the" mine is bigger than yours" Registry.