Babe Ruth- U.S. vs Canadian issues
 

I recently acquired this 1923 V100 Willard Chocolate Babe Ruth and was wondering what the fine folks of Net54 thought about the difference in valuation between American and Canadian cards.

I was talking with a buddy and he seemed to think Canadian cards are less desirable although I see a similar (although slightly nicer) V100 Ruth is currently up for auction in a major house and the way the thing has taken off seems to disagree with his theory.

My passion is 19th Century cards with great photos so the boldness of the image is more important to me than where the card was produced. Curious what others think.

***Shameless Plug Alert***Always looking for great 19th Century :)

as a ruth collector...I personally really like most of the period canadian issues...esp the one you've got there...I'd love to add that pose in my collection. The WWG's are more scarce than their goudey counterparts but are worth less. I suppose it makes sense as ruth was american...played in america...and back then there were no professional canadian bb teams. dunno?

I think by the time the hobby even discovered WWG, 33 Goudey was entrenched as one of the very top sets of all time, and relative scarcity is never going to supplant that, even with the wider availability of the Canadian issues.

I like them they are a cheaper alternative to the American ones. Sone Canadian issues are unique in themselves. For example, Correct me if I’m wrong but the Maple Crispette doesn’t have a corresponding American Card. Also if you want a 1934 Babe Ruth you have to get the WWG. Granted it’s the same as the 1933 Goudey #53, but Goudey did not print a Ruth card in ‘34. And as with most Canadian Cards, Ruth’s WWG cards tend to be a bit cheaper.

I think it's only a matter of time before the WWG is almost toe to toe with the Goudey. People want Ruth period and this card is visually exactly the same:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...1608f2c0_c.jpg

I think so too. But who knows with this Hobby. WWG was owned by Goudey. It’s just like 1930 British American Tobacco Ruth. Everyone tends to place it with the 1929 Imperial Tobacco Churchman. But in 1930, BAT was part of/owned American Tobacco ( the maker of the T206). That’s why the BAT Ruth makes no mention of Imperial Tobacco, whereas the 1935 Edwards, Ringers, Bigg does. That’s why I think the recently founded Spanish version was produced by BAT.

Have to agree, I think we pretty much proved that in June lol.

a pair of our Northern border Babes......................

Despite the Canadian versions being much tougher to find than their American counterparts, I think that most collectors would rather have an American card. You see WTB posts all of the time for Goudey Ruths. Not so much for his World Wide Gum version.

IMHO, if there was the same demand for Ruth’s Canadian cards compared to his American cards, the prices would be much higher due to their relative rarity.

and the American cousins.....................

This is true but by the same token what I'm getting at is that eventually I think the Goudey price will knock people out of the market for it. At that point, the WWG will climb because it will be momentarily cheaper to buy, right up until it matches price with Goudey.

A similar phenomenon is happening when it comes to the Bond Bread / Sports Thrills Jackie and the Leaf Jackie. The Leaf Jackie took off and the prices for the Bond Bread and Sports Thrills cards have risen exponentially since.