1928 R315 questions

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Posted By: steve

I am not familiar with the 1928 R315's. However, I just picked up a Lou Gehrig, PSA 5 - a real nice card that struck my eye.

How/in what packaging were R315's originally distributed, also regional or nationwide?

In addition, I noticed PSA has graded 7 copies of this card all EX 5 - far and away the most of any card in the set. Opinions please - do you think 7 different cards have been graded - or has a few folks sent back in their EX 5's hoping for a 6 grade - thus artificially increasing the "real" population numbers on this card?

Finally, what do you think the future holds for the market value of these R315's? Maybe they catch on as they are very eye appealing with real photos in spite of larger size?

Thanks, Steve

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Posted By: leon

I don't know a lot about R315 but will at least make a stab at some info...These are just good guesses on my part so maybe someone will know for sure and correct me....

At home I have a strip of 3 R315's including Ruth. I think these were probably distributed as premiums and not in any packaging. I am not sure if they were issued in strips but might have been. I would guess they were regionally distributed and then circulated elsewhere. No idea if 7 different Gehrig cards were graded but they might have been. Since these were probably handcut I could also see someone sending them in to try to get better grades. Many times, to me, a 6 and 7 can almost be reversed. Grading is crazy sometimes. I would guess the future for these is not spiralling upward in value but maybe increasing a little bit over time. I don't see a huge spike in demand for them which is the main thing that would cause a spike upward in value. They do have some neat poses. MAYBE someone will chime in with some factual info ?? I tried .....best regards

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Posted By: Todd Schultz

there have been a few discussions here about R315 over the years--you may want to try the search function, although your specific questions may not have been addressed. Anyway, here are some things I know, most or all of which I believe has been shared here previously.

The cards were issued over a period of a few years, not just in 1928 and maybe not in 1928. There are 4 types, well shown in Old Cardboard at http://www.oldcardboard.com/r/r315/r315.asp?cardsetID=873, and can be found with yellow stock more infrequently than white. They are about Exhibit size and are sometimes categorized as Exhibits, although the stock is thinner and they were not issued by ESCO. They are often found with poor centering and less than precision cuts. The Vance card usually carries a thumb-sized smudge in the middle, and the Hornsby can be found with noticeable-looking "cracks" where the printing plate was scratched.

The set is chock full of HOFers, and many of the poses are pretty cool. I believe that some of the cards are scarcer than others--the type C and D's. I also believe that like all pre-war issues, this set has a nice future over at least the short term of 2-3 years. As for your question whether the PSA 5 Gehrigs have been re-submitted, who knows? Seems to me that bumps are important to those who either have a registered set they want improved or by sellers looking for extra $$$. There is very little registry activity with this set, and although a 6 will generally and logically sell for more than a 5, these cards are so tied into eye appeal for value that I doubt the number on the slab has much play, at least at the sub-7 levels.

Finally, my guess is that this set was issued regionally, although it may have been issued in more than one place, at least over time. Just a guess.