Cards with a "mk" qualifier (owner's stamp)

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Posted By: George Gogol

I have always been intrigued with the history of my cards, where they have been, who owned them, why, and for how long? I enjoy buying cards with a stamp declaring the name of a past owner. Have any of you, especially T206 collectors, ever came across cards with the same stamp on them, purchased from different sellers or different states. Part of the allure of our hobby is where the cardboard travels. Does anyone else enjoy this weird niche? Any thoughts...

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Posted By: davidcycleback

With antique prints, ala original Rembrants and Durers, owners often put their stamp on the back. As many of the owners were famous as collectors (art versions of Barry Halper), their stamp can ad value (provenance) to the print, and there is a book that lists the significant collector's stamps for art.

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Posted By: dennis

agree and usually can get at a good price. about a year or 2 a guy on ebay was selling goudeys with the ET stamped on back,and most went cheap. saw some a couple months later in psa mk 3/4/5 holders. i'll bet some others here have them.

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Posted By: joe brennan

I was alerted to a 3rd card with Mr Baker's stamp on it, (thanks to Dave F.) but I didn't need it and the card fund was dry at the time. I'd actually like to pick up as many as I can in the years to come. I think the stamps are neat and now that we cherish these pieces of cardboard, the card and the owners name will be forever linked in the future. I thought about getting a stamp and stamping my name on some beaters. Couldn't hurt the value of a PSA 1 or a SGC 10. Who knows, some of our illustrious board members, ( Leon, Barry, Hal, JC and others) may be talked about 100 years from now, like we talk about Burdick.




In Rememberance of James W. Brennan Sr. 1924-1982. Dad, thanks for everything you did for me.

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Posted By: Steve Dawson

I don't have the card anymore, having sold it in early 1991, but I used to have an N28 Mike Kelly that had Buck Barker's name stamped on the back

If I remember correctly, I bought it from Lew Lipset back in the early '80s.


Steve

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Posted By: George Gogol

Great stories guys. Joe your idea of a stamp is not so strange. I thought of stamping G. Gogol on a couple of beater T206's, put them on eBay and seeing if they ever make their way home. Although, I don't think they would rise in value like a piece of art owned by a famous collector would .

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Posted By: brian

I read a long time ago there are T206 cards that were once part of F. Scott Fitzgeralds childhood collection. They are ink stamped in black with an old english style capital F on the back so if any of you have such cards in your collection they might be worth more money?

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Posted By: Cobby33

Phone home.

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Posted By: Andy

George,

I also have an appreciation for the stamps on the backs of prewar cards. I'm always on the lookout for this particular style of stamp (if anyone has one, please let me know).



I've seen several examples with different numbers, but have only recently decided to start acquiring them when I see them. I've always wondered what the numbers meant to the person who stamped them. Were they how the collector catalogued his own cards? If so, how many did he have?

Anyways, I really like this particular stamp.

Thanks,

Andy

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Posted By: Rob Dewolf

I have a T205 Mathewson with an "Everett Campbell" stamp on the reverse. Seems I remember another board member saying a few months ago that he or she has a card stamped by him.

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Posted By: Keith

I have this Alperman t206, that has Alperman, 2b stamped on the back. Not sure why anyone would do this.

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

I was reading an article with letters from Burdick to Lionel Carter a couple of weeks ago and I think it kind of revealed why some of the oldtime collectors would stamp the backs of their cards. Often times when these old-timers were trading they would send off a whole book full of their cards so they would stamp the backs so their cards didn't get mixed up with the other guys.

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Posted By: george gogol

Keith,
I have seen several Piedmont's with the zero, of "150" or "350," filled in with a tiny purple stamp, really odd. I actually at one point thought it must be factory, because it doesn't appear to be ink or a marker. After close observation it does appear to be a stamped dot.

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Posted By: Dave S

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Posted By: Andy

Thanks Dave! I'm glad to see another example of the purple numbers stamp. Anyone else have one of these?

Thanks,

Andy

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Posted By: Dave S

Andy--when you figure out what the stamp ##'s are, let me know!!

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Posted By: joe brennan

George, I have 3 or 4 piedmonts marked the same way. I'm wondering if it wasn't a collectors mark that wouldn't detract from the back, but would still let him mark cards that were his?

Edited to add; I think I just closed a deal to acquire a 3rd Baker stamp (Griffith Portrait.) 3 cards have found their way back together. I wonder how many more are still out there?

In Rememberance of James W. Brennan Sr. 1924-1982. Dad, thanks for everything you did for me.

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Posted By: Jason Carota

My T206 Speaker has an Everett Campbell stamp, as well. It is difficult to see with the PB back, but it runs vertically from top to bottom on the left:



EDITED to add:

I wonder if Polar Bear was Everett's brand?

[Republicaninmass]

Any idea what this is on the back?

[tbob]

Originally Posted by Archive

Posted By: Dan Bretta

I was reading an article with letters from Burdick to Lionel Carter a couple of weeks ago and I think it kind of revealed why some of the oldtime collectors would stamp the backs of their cards. Often times when these old-timers were trading they would send off a whole book full of their cards so they would stamp the backs so their cards didn't get mixed up with the other guys.

Dan- That's really interesting. Thanks for sharing (albeit 2 years ago) as I love stories of the old time collectors.

[srs1a]

I've got a number of T206s with a cop on the back plus a few with a weiner dog or a rabbit on them. Lionell Carter's T206 set included a number of cards with the same 3 stamps.