F50 Sweetman and Product Info

[Cozumeleno]

I was doing some research on the F50 issues recently. I knew before that the Sweetman issue had always been a little strange because it was not identified what kind of company they were. The backs of the cards state they are for the Sweetman Co. in St. Louis, MO. There is also an address for the company - 1611 Cass Avenue. But when you Google map that location, the facility is no longer there.

I did some digging online and found an interesting document - some sort of report from the Minnesota State Dairy and Food Commissioner. In it, the Sweetman Company of St. Louis is cited for several illegal confectionery products - specifically, wax pipes and 'wax eagles.' I assume these to be the old style wax candy that used to be produced. If you search for Sweetman, you'll see the references.

That isn't any guarantee, obviously that the cards were packaged with those products. For one thing, they could have created numerous items. For another, the report is from 1920 and the Sweetman cards are from many years after that. Was just curious if anyone else has ever seen any references to what the company produced other than that.

[familytoad]

I wish I had something to offer besides just remarking that this is nice research...and that I really enjoy these cards!

Of course they use a bunch of the same poses as York Caramels , Yuengling and Harrington and a few other B & W sets of that time period, so that is some of the charm to me.

I have scans on my laptop, none accessible on this IPad but I may attach some later.

These are not very easy to find, so I have never tried for the set...even though I have a notorious sweet tooth

[Cozumeleno]

Thanks - appreciate it. Thought it was an interesting tidbit since I've yet to ever see anything that they were known to have made. Hopefully someone else will find more about them.

[abothebear]

There is a site has a 1 week free trial to look through old newspapers. Via google I found two references to Sweetman Co, but I couldn't look into it to see if it was anything useful without signing up for the trial. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/138450749/

[tschock]

Originally Posted by familytoad

These are not very easy to find, so I have never tried for the set...even though I have a notorious sweet tooth

I would venture to say this is an understatement. I have an ebay search for all F50 cards and scour auctions for them, and the Sweetmans are very hard to come by.

Looking at ebay now, there are ZERO of these listed. And I can't remember the last time I saw one listed there. Not even a museum piece example.

[tschock]

Cozu,

Check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNuYko_Odt8 , starting about 5:28, with an interesting tidbit re the Tharp's vs Yuengling's Ruth.

[Cozumeleno]

Wow - thanks for sharing. That's tremendous. Looks like rebacking cards goes way back!

Sweetman cards being so rare is sort of ironic. The other three brands all offered a gallon of ice cream in exchange for a complete set while Sweetman did not. The Sweetman cards actually encouraged collectors to KEEP their cards, selling them a blank album to keep them in.

Because of that, you might expect people hung onto their Sweetman cards and there would be more of them around. But as you say, they are likely the toughest to find.

I don't know how many people would have put together an entire set to trade in - seems like a lot of ice cream to eat to find all 60 different cards (and a gallon of ice cream for that is a terrible deal, anyway). But just based on the fact that the other cards could be redeemed, you'd think there would be more Sweetman cards. Just makes you think that there were probably much less of those printed.

[ctownboy]

Maybe people put their Sweetman cards in the albums and then when the paper drives occurred, the whole albums were thrown away?

David

[familytoad]

Hey Taylor, I thought you were saying that my notorious sweet tooth was an understatement..

It is.

I walked by a glass case of cookies today. Yep, walked right past. That's only because the cupcakes were in the next case over.

Originally Posted by tschock

I would venture to say this is an understatement. I have an ebay search for all F50 cards and scour auctions for them, and the Sweetmans are very hard to come by.

Looking at ebay now, there are ZERO of these listed. And I can't remember the last time I saw one listed there. Not even a museum piece example.

[Matt O'Halloran]

What would be a fair price to pay for a VG Sweetman's
card?

[familytoad]

Hi Matt!

Despite their rarity, unless you end up bidding on a certain desirable player against a Sweetman's enthusiast, these cards are not terribly expensive.

(LOL! This this thread might change that!)

I think a range of $50 to $80 would be expected for VG.
Obviously the HOF cards would bring more.
Harder to find , yet one of those issues were demand is also pretty low inmho.

[RCMcKenzie]

One of my hobby mentors is BCD, even if he is about my age. When I was trying to sell my e105 half set to him and asked too much money, he said, "who's gonna buy it? TBob and those guys?" I agree that you may not find a premium for an F50 Sweetman if you listed on e Bay at $1 and no reserve. As has been said, load one up and let's see....Rob

[Leon]

A study done by a board member quite some time ago showed the Tharps to be the rarest of the Ice Cream cards known as F50. There are other bread type cards, similar to these, which are even more rare. They are interesting but not particularly great looking, imo.

Originally Posted by Cozumeleno

Wow - thanks for sharing. That's tremendous. Looks like rebacking cards goes way back!

Sweetman cards being so rare is sort of ironic. The other three brands all offered a gallon of ice cream in exchange for a complete set while Sweetman did not. The Sweetman cards actually encouraged collectors to KEEP their cards, selling them a blank album to keep them in.

Because of that, you might expect people hung onto their Sweetman cards and there would be more of them around. But as you say, they are likely the toughest to find.

I don't know how many people would have put together an entire set to trade in - seems like a lot of ice cream to eat to find all 60 different cards (and a gallon of ice cream for that is a terrible deal, anyway). But just based on the fact that the other cards could be redeemed, you'd think there would be more Sweetman cards. Just makes you think that there were probably much less of those printed.