[Howe’s Hunter]

Just looking at another thread this afternoon again brought up my thoughts of the distribution of rare or limited cards. With my limited collecting focus, I’ve always wondered if someday, a Wagner, Doyle variation or Plank is going to show up with Howe McCormick’s stamp in it. I went quite a while thinking a Cobb of some sort would show up, and now I know of three (two green backs, one bat off). There are three Lundgren/Chicago that I know of, and I’m lucky enough to own two, and know the owner of the other.

But is it possible that the really rare cards would have actually made it in to packs and made their way to the McCormick/Howe General Store in Alachua, Florida in numbers great enough that Howe may have snagged one, and it now sits, with his stamp on the back, in a very private collection somewhere?

Guess time will tell. But if anyone has ideas of how far the really rare made it away from the factory, I’d be interested in hearing.