Look closely, Lionel Carter's collection proves how very, very tough the E94s are

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Posted By: Bob

If ever any vintage collector who had it all was known for one thing, Mr. Carter was known for the condition of his cards. Gorgeous tobacco cards, exquisite Goudey Heads Ups, etc. If you bid in Mastro's auction you noticed the one set which was consistently low grade was his E94 set. More than ever it proves how extremely tough these cards were and are...

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Posted By: JimB

No doubt about it!
JimB

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Posted By: dennis

yes the e94's are hard to find in nice shape,no argument here. but mr. carters cards were in such great condition because he purchased them new and preserved them. he kept the best examples from packs he bought.he bought cards "new" from 1933 thru (present?) but e cards and t cards he obtained after ww2 from other collectors,presumably in trades. i don't believe mr. carter collected paying top dollar for the best conditioned pre-war(ww1) cards or actively seeked the best.

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Posted By: Tom Boblitt

his T205 and T206 sets were very nice from the videos.

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Posted By: T206Collector

...of course, for his Plank!

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Posted By: JimB

I might add that his E98s are in pretty rough shape too. I think E98s are among the toughest E cards to find in vg or better condition.
JimB

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Posted By: Joe Jones

Were these his main sets or his dupes? If he had more, I would think that they would hold the nice ones for the Main Mastro auction.

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Posted By: Scot

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Posted By: robert a

We've talked about it before, but since "caramels" came with caramels, more kids had access to them and kicked em to the curb. The original product was probably cheaper than tobacco cards, purchased for kids or by kids and the cards were treated poorly. I could see older gentlemen purchasing a pack of piedmonts and throwing the card(s) in a book or in an envelope.

I agree that e94s and e98s are really tough to find in great shape.

I also think caramels were more likely to be found in lower grade due to the way they were packaged. Specifically, I think e96s are the caramels with the most staining on them. These cards must've been packaged in direct contact with the candy and probably in the summer (baseball season) when they were likely to melt all over the cards.

Rob

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Posted By: Bob

Dennis- Sorry, have to disagree with you here. Look at the T205s abd T206s he collected, just beautiful, and both were collected 30-50 years after they were issued, same as the E94s and E98s. Also he was a real stickler for condition (just watch the DVD) plus Bill Mastro relates how Carter was one Batter Up away from a complete set and Bill sent him free that card without the die cut back to use as a filler until he eventially found the tough elusive last card. Carter sent it back to the chagrined Mastro.
Joe- The caramel cards in Mastro were not his duplicates, they were his one and only sets of E94s and E98s.
tbob

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Posted By: Jason L

that from my limited experience (having recently purchased 4 T207s from his collection), I was amazed to see that the cards, while in SGC40-50 holders, still had an amazing amount and quality to their surface gloss!

I was impressed...which may lend more credence to the e94 condition rarity if Lionel's collection is to be a barometer...

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Posted By: barrysloate

I agree with Robert that E96's generally look much worse than E95's. Do you think they were packaged differently?

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Posted By: Bruce Babcock

Did Carter have any E103s? If so it would be interesting to see how they compare with his E94s.