I collect the 1934-36 Diamond Star set. As many are aware there are 2 or 3 versions of many of the cards as the cards were produced over a 3 year period. I personally believe the first 24 cards are quite rare in excellent condition or higher. These cards were only made in 1934, and the numbers suggest that there just aren’t that many out there compared to their 1935 versions.
The question of how to determine the actual year of the card can, in most cases, be determined by the statistics given on the back of the card. A 1934 version will have a sentence about that player’s 1933 stats, while the 1935 version will have a sentence about that player’s 1934 stats. Same thing applies to the 1936 versions. This isn’t that complicated to me (and I'm sure most of you) because it’s the same process I used when I was 8 when looking at Topps cards. If the card had stats from ’72 it was a ’73 card.
PSA does not seem to grasp this concept with these cards. They label the card based on the year it was produced. So the flip will say 1934 Diamond Stars George Blaeholder if the card is the 1934 version. For a 1935 version the flip will say 1935 Diamond Stars George Blaeholder. I like this because it helps when searching for the rarer versions. At least I thought I liked it. What I have found, however, is rampant mis-labeling by PSA. It’s as if no one ever bothers to look at the back of the card to determine the year it was made.
Needless to say, this is quite frustrating! It makes it much more difficult to collect the master version of this set because so many of them are mis-labeled. I have purchased a 1934 version of the card based on the flip alone only to find that I've actually purchased the more common 1935 version. There are so many mistakes that you can't trust the PSA label on the front of the card.
Here are examples of #13 George Blaeholder. The first card is correct. The 1935 flip has stats from 1934 on the back. (I know it's hard to see, but it's the best I could do) The second card is also labeled 1935 but has 1933 stats on the back! So it’s actually the rarer 1934 version. The third card is the more common error of labeling the flip 1934 with stats from 1934 on the back. Of course, the 1934 stats on the back mean this third card is actually the 1935 version.
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1935 Frisch labeled 1934. Has 1934 stats. This is the most common mistake by far: labeling a 1935 card as 1934. If anyone is collecting these 1934 versions you can't go by the flip! You have to see the backs for yourself.
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Here's a 1936 Tommy Bridges with the blue ink labeled as 1934! I mean, even the ink on the back is a different color and they still messed it up. The 1934 version should have green ink with 1933 stats on the back. This one has 1935 stats on the back.
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Correct 1934 Bridges with 1933 stats
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Correct 1935 Bridges with 1934 stats (Thank you Dean)
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Bottom line is that I don't understand why they try to distinguish between the different years. If PSA can't bother to label the card the correct year, why not just label them all "1934-1936 Diamond Stars". Then everyone would know that they have to figure it out for themselves! It just strikes me as really sloppy.