Part of the difference in population would come from the amount of time between the printing of the two sets, plus the fact the U.S. had a population of 62 million in 1890 and 92 million in 1910. Much larger base for collectors.
Since Old Judge cards were popular in 1889, it's possible large amounts were lost in the Johnstown Flood, which leveled 1600 houses and likely some business that sold Old Judge cigarettes. Being right in the middle of the baseball season and baseball being so popular in Pennsylvania, I wouldn't doubt the flood did something to the OJ population.
Attrition definitely took it's toll on old baseball cards. I've heard people guess that the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and subsequent fires could be part of the reason that California League OJ cards are nearly impossible to find.
Basically, attrition makes it tough to gauge how popular cards are based on what remains 130 years later. The difference in U.S. population also makes it hard to compare those two sets.
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Last edited by z28jd; 11-11-2016 at 10:19 PM.
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