Red Heart dog food baseball cards 1955
 

It's a handsome set. They were available via a mail in order and I have heard that the company had sets they would send up until the 1970s. The backs are one color, but have a good design and offer information a fan would like to know.

Issued in 1955, they are an excellent supplement to mainstream sets as they include both Mantle and Musial. Mantle did not appear in the Topps set and Musial didn't appear in the Topps or Bowman set. Here's a link that has a picture for the card back. They are a relatively common but desirable issue.


https://keymancollectibles.com/baseb...54redheart.htm

I believe they are from 1954

Joe , contact Bluejacket 66 , I'm sure he can tell you { ALL } you need to know on them & i think he has a NICE Mantle card from this year ? Rob :)

You are correct sir. I fat fingered that one. The same is true, though concerning Maris and Mantle.

The Red Heart set is one of my favorite sets. This was the first PSA Registry set that I ever did. See link below. There are 11 of each color background, red, blue and green. The red is said to be the toughest one to find. The backs are all the same color. There are only 3 PSA 10 Red Heart cards, 2 Mantles and a Sherman Lollar. As was mentioned, they were supposedly available until the early 1970s as mail in redemptions. Here are scans of each background color and a back scan so you car see what they look like.
James

My set:
https://www.psacard.com/psasetregist...shedset/203939

You just missed an auction for the 1954 Mantle that ended this week at MR Clark.

https://www.apro.bid/auction/1934/bi...y/perpage_MTAw

Is there an easy way to tell the difference between original cards and reprints?

To my knowledge they are the same cards.

I saw this label for sale on ebay. I thought it was neat to see how they were sold directly to the customer for 2 dog food labels and 10 cents for each 11 card set. So the set would take 6 cans of dog food and 30 cents to complete.

Does anyone have any of these for sale? I have all the stars and are just missing about 9-10 of the commons. Thanks

I own the reprint set and they have a bright white back and say "reprint" on them. At lease the legitimate reprints do.

I have seen those, but I have also seen other cards listed as reprints that look just like the originals as far as I can tell. One even said something like same size and feel as the original but is a reprint so not sure what that was based on.

There are a lot of unofficial reprint cards out there. Some of them are sold as reprints and others are being sold as authentic cards. You need to be careful.

And I've heard that the original/authentic cards were available from the manufacturer for many years after 1954, possibly up into the early 1970's.

Several years ago I put this set together and I can confirm that it is a beautiful set.

Just because I love showing it off. One of the few sets that can be completely displayed at once.
Drew

Red Hearts
 

Great display!

Thanks.

In an eBay listing for a Musial that is listed as a reprint, the seller says he thinks it is a reprint because when you shine a flashlight on it, the light shines through which wouldn't happen with an original card. Maybe this is a way to tell the difference for unofficial reprints without a white back. I tried this with all of the Red Hearts I have so far, and none let light shine through. Anyone else want to give it a try and report back?

I saw that and thought it was fascinating. The one of mine I tried passed the test. I thought the sellers write up was very genuine and honest as it could be. Sounds like he got screwed in a deal and has made peace with it.
Scary thing is how original that card looks for a reprint. I don't think I have ever seen and aged reprint look so real.

btw: I am looking for Kluszewski / Mcmillan / Zernial / Kuenn

I saw a listing for a Red Heart Mantle reprint that said it was the same size and feel as an original, but there was no explanation given as to how the seller knew it was a reprint. Apparently someone figured out how to make some real authentic looking cards from the set. The problem is you feel crazy asking a seller to let you know if light shines through the card before you will buy it.