Valuing Exhibits cards by date/taglines (MADE IN U.S.A.) etc.
 

An SGC 3 Jackie Robinson 1947-66 Exhibits card with certification number 8734762 sold for a whopping $930 in a March 2022 Heritage auction.

The description was "Offered is a 1947-66 Exhibits Jackie Robinson. While it is fun to speculate that this could be a rookie card the truth is we know from the "MADE IN U.S.A." tagline measuring 5/8" it is a card from 1948. Close and not the easiest Exhibit card to find. Graded SGC VG 3. Rated for modest corner tip wear."

A different SGC 3 Jackie Robinson 1947-66 Exhibits card sold thru Heritage in February 2022 for $396, but there is no mention of the tagline/date of print in the Heritage description, although it also has "MADE IN U.S.A" printed on the bottom right. I can't quite tell for sure if the MADE IN U.S.A. is the same size as the one that sold for $930, but they both look like they measure 5/8" and are therefore from 1948 (from the looks of other Jackie Exhibits, they may all have the same tagline indicating all were printed in '48).

I do not know if the description for the March auction card showing it was printed in 1948 had anything to do with it selling for more than the similar card did a month earlier, as it may have more to do with its eye appeal.

According to the keymancollectibles website and I'm sure other sources, one can determine the year(s) an Exhibits card was printed based on the specific greeting/salutation and the tagline's size and what is actually printed (MADE IN U.S.A vs. Printed in U.S.A).

If this is indeed the case, then why don't a) Third Party Graders point out the years the cards were printed in their flip? b) More auction houses highlight the year printed in their description? Perhaps they already are, and I just haven't noticed? Or maybe its because no one else cares, as I guess it wasn't until recently that Exhibits cards became valuable.

If one can prove that their Exhibits card is actually printed in 1947 or 1948 , shouldn't those cards carry a premium over the later cards with the "Printed in U.S.A." tagline? Maybe they already do, to a certain extent.

http://www.keymancollectibles.com/exhibitdatechart.htm

This chart is pretty good.

1947 'MADE IN USA' 1/2"
1948 'MADE IN USA' 5/8"
1949 'AN EXHIBIT CARD' on left 'MADE IN USA' ON RIGHT
1950 'MADE IN USA' 7/16"
1951-1953 'Made In U.S.A.' (upper and lower case)
1954-1956 'PRINTED IN U.S.A' Printed script name on left

We also had another thread on this.

I see that we both linked to the keymancollectibles resource.
Below is a picture of the different taglines and the years they correspond to.

I don't imagine you remember if the other thread on this subject came to any conclusions about whether earlier Exhibits will ever be more valuable than later exhibits in the 1947-66 range?
I'd like to see Third Party Graders call out the date the cards are printed, but maybe that is asking too much for an issue that is still not mainstream.

Wondering what the diamond means?
 

Thank you for discussing the differences between exhibits and how they can be used to identify the year of the cards production. Now I am curious how the diamond with a 9 inside it that is on my card fits in?

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1658935078

Interesting--looks like it is a 1953 Canadian Exhibit, and is actually #19 inside the diamond.

https://www.psacard.com/cardfacts/ba...-exhibits/2012

https://sports.ha.com/itm/baseball/1...umbnail-071515

PSA FUBARed the identification. And just to be clear, they are not the only ones who can't find their d***s with both hands:

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...iams%20SGC.jpg

I'll be darned. Good answer. I wonder if there was a time when PSA classified Canadian exhibits like they were no different than "American" ones or is it a mistake by PSA? Goes to your original point -- it gets complicated down in this rabbit hole! I do have Exhibitman's book, but it is at a different location.

It turns out I have three others, all with the diamond surrounding a card number. But a quick eBay search turns up 10 ungraded cards presented as 1953 Canadian Exhibits and all of them have card numbers, but without diamonds. No graded cards turn up.

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1658947751
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1658948098
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1658948209

Does all this also apply to boxing and wrestling?

Interesting question.

As to the pre-1930 cards, no. Those actually had backs with printing and copyrights, so there is no mistaking them. Postwar, the boxing basically mirrored the format changes of baseball, except when it doesn't. As best as I can figure it, ESCO switched in new fighters as they rose through the ranks and dropped older fighters as they fell out of favor, so there are all sorts of SPs and SSPs over the years.

In terms of Canadian cards, there were Canadian boxers. They are a quantum more difficult to find than the Canadian baseball cards. I've seen them in pink, green and blue. There is even a Canadian Joe Louis from the Champions series.

Here's a blue tinted Canadian Louis

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...Canadian_1.jpg

The Canadian Champions Louis

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...20Canadian.png

To return to the original question (as I understand it), very few Exhibits were issued with both MADE IN U.S.A. and Printed in U.S.A. legends, and Jackie Robinson was not one of them. All the Jackie Robinsons will have the MADE IN U.S.A. legend, whether they were printed in 1948 or any subsequent year. Adam or Fred should be able to confirm and/or expand.

From what I know, the Printed in USA started with a distinct run that has italicized captions

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...size/Banks.jpg
https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...ize/Monroe.jpg
https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...ner_%20Ava.JPG

Hey we all gotta live...