M131 Baltimore Newsboys -- Lets see'em

[Rhotchkiss]

I like rare things, so naturally I became intrigued by the M131 Baltimore Newsboy set, which was only issued in 1911, only distributed in Baltimore, and only given to children who sold/handed out newspapers. Making them even more rare is the fact they were a redemption gimmick where the "newsboys" were incentivized to turn the cards in for cash. Its a cool set with some serious HOFers, such as Cobb, Wagner, Young, and Speaker, among others. Below are the M131 HOFers currently in my collection, each of which I believe has a population of no more than 5-10. Also below is a write-up about the set by prewardcards.com and here is a link to a Sports Collectors Daily article: https://www.sportscollectorsdaily.co...-newsboys-set/

Anyone else got M131 Newsboys? If so, lets see'em.

"The 1911 M131 Baltimore News Newsboys set was created in part as a promotion for its newsboys. The set contained a total of 30 cards and on the back of the cards, it stated that $1 would be paid to the first 35 boys that assembled the entire set.

The cards featured color images on the fronts with parallel images and a parallel checklist to the E94 George Close Candy cards. The lone difference is that this series used blue backgrounds instead of the colored backgrounds in the E94 set. In addition to the mention of the promotion on the back, the reverse included the full set checklist of all 30 cards.

The cards are quite rare and these days, generally top $1,000 each. The rarity isn’t a surprise, of course, as it was only a regional promotion. And who knows how many sets were completed and potentially discarded by the newspaper. The cards don’t state if the newsboys had to turn over the cards upon completing a set to receive $1, but if so, they could easily have been simply discarded by the company."

[Casey2296]

Beautiful collection Ryan, Love the M131 Newsboys, here's two commons from my type collection.
_

[Dead-Ball-Hitter]

Never seen one in "real life" before. Man you guys have some rare items! In my opinion, these should be worth more than their already high prices...

[GasHouseGang]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

The cards are quite rare and these days, generally top $1,000 each. The rarity isn’t a surprise, of course, as it was only a regional promotion. And who knows how many sets were completed and potentially discarded by the newspaper. The cards don’t state if the newsboys had to turn over the cards upon completing a set to receive $1, but if so, they could easily have been simply discarded by the company."

I've never seen one before in person. Have any "cancelled" cards ever shown up like the 1933 George C. Miller cards?

[phlflyer1]

Great cards Ryan and Phil!

Here's another common from this uncommon set.

Regards,

Scott

[CobbSpikedMe]

Originally Posted by GasHouseGang

I've never seen one before in person. Have any "cancelled" cards ever shown up like the 1933 George C. Miller cards?

Hi David. I've never seen or heard of a cancelled Newsboys card. I'd love to hear if anyone ever has.



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[Rhotchkiss]

Originally Posted by CobbSpikedMe

Hi David. I've never seen or heard of a cancelled Newsboys card. I'd love to hear if anyone ever has.



.

+1. I have never seen anything cancelled or stamped redeemed or anything. Often redeemed cards have wholes punched in them; I have never seen a whole punched newsboy

[rman444]

Something appropriate for this thread

[phlflyer1]

Originally Posted by rman444

Something appropriate for this thread

Hope they didn't have to ride all the way up to Coney Island from Baltimore in that thing!

(p.s. Good to see you posting Richard, hope all is well!)

[mrreality68]

Originally Posted by rman444

Something appropriate for this thread

Very nice photo. Cool subject

Great cards everyone

[Casey2296]

Great photo Richard, thanks for posting.

[John1941]

Originally Posted by CobbSpikedMe

Hi David. I've never seen or heard of a cancelled Newsboys card. I'd love to hear if anyone ever has.



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My guess is that they didn't cancel or destroy them, they just put them back into packs. Totally speculative, but it fits in with the prize being only to the first 35.

[Jacklitsch]

Used to own.

[Rhotchkiss]

Originally Posted by Casey2296

Great photo Richard, thanks for posting.

+1

[gabrinus]

Great cards guys...M131s were one of the few I went after but could never my hands on...or I never bid enough is a better way to put it...Jerry

[asphaltman]

The ugly duckling. If only this kid could have found some scratch paper to write on instead.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

So if there were 35 winners, and the car in the photo has a sign that says 35 winners, does anyone think those might be the kids who completed the set?

[Lunker21]

I too love the rare interesting ones..
.. anyone have even a low grade raw one for sale?
Thanks in advance!
Craig
Lunker21
C.martin@spirearch.com

[BobbyVCP]

These along with 10 other sets very rarely ever sell in an auction format...
T208, 1910 Washington Times, Pirate Back Baseball, etc

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by mrreality68

Very nice photo. Cool subject

Great cards everyone

I count 41 heads on that wagon. Also, because of the photo, it is neat to have such a narrow time frame of when these cards were likely issued (June + July of 1911).

Brian

[LEHR]

Originally Posted by rman444

Something appropriate for this thread

That is a great photo!