As I understand it, someone who mailed in coupons could request a particular card. So the popular stars of the day would have been requested more often. Today, some of those guys are HOFers, so the price for them reflects the HOF status, and not the scarcity. Cards that don't name a player, such as "Out at Third" would have been requested less often than a name player, and would likely be less plentiful, but also less in demand. The second series of cards are slightly less plentiful that the first. And, the cards that mention two teams for a player are the scarcer of those cards for that player, I think. The T9 boxers are encountered less often than the T3 baseball players, even though they're realistically of the same bunch. RobD has targeted you in on a good site for T3s.
Finally, I agree with "Zach Wheat" up there, the Rhoades card, #114, may well be the most difficult card to locate. Still, cards like Mathewson depict a HOFer and are so attractive, that currently the price for a Mathewson exceeds the price you'd pay for a Rhoades, if you can find one for sale.
|