New member and M101-4 questions
 

Hi everyone…I just joined the forums last week and have been amazed at the wealth of knowledge on this site. My collecting history has been off and on but pretty steady since 2012 when I started to focus on the Brooklyn Dodgers. For the last few years, my interest in pre-war cards has been growing.

Since every thread needs a card, I offer my first two M101-4s. A blank back Larry Cheney and a Sporting News Nap Rucker. Since receiving the cards I have been doing a lot of research on this series which is what introduced me to Net54.

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I do have a couple of questions:

1. Both cards seem to be printed on a slightly different card stock. Both cards have a similar gloss and texture but the Cheney has a two-toned color while the Rucker is single-toned and a bit brighter/whiter. From pictures online the two-toned color seems typical...is the single-tone color typical? Is the single-tone color only found on certain cards?

2. I understand that older cards will vary in size. The Rucker measures 3/32” narrow. Is that a common size discrepancy within this set?

I apologize if these questions have been answered before...

Thanks,
Tom

Good question
 

Welcome to the forum.

The short answer is that in fact there are variances in stock within both m101-4 and m101-5 cards, and slight size variances as well. Your two cards appear to be good examples of this.

As for m101-4, the variance in color might be attributed to a slight difference in the gloss used, although I have not studied that extensively. The backs are generally consistent in appearance in m101-4, but the fronts can appear more yellowed, especially in the Herpolsheimer and Globe issues. Sporting News and blank-backs are generally whiter, as are most of the other backs, although Weil Baking and Everybody’s are often a slightly duller, paler yellowish. Variations within a back are not uncommon either– check these two Gimbels from the same scanner: (the differences are even more noticeable when you have several next to each other)
https://photos.imageevent.com/imover...14bushj_gm.jpg https://photos.imageevent.com/imover...14connolly.jpg

Thank you very much for the welcome, the information and those examples. For the front images I posted, the same scanner was not used so the color of the cards you show are truer and really point out the difference.

About the gloss, I think you're spot-on. Looking at the cards closely the Cheney is a bit glossier than the Rucker.

Thanks again!!!

You did get absolutely the best person on Net54 to answer your M101-4/5 questions. Continued success on your collecting, and welcome aboard.

Brian

Welcome to the festivities. We can always use more questions, answers, observations about pre-war cards and memorabilia. And, to my mind, reading about the Brooklyn team never gets old.