Posted By:
Andy BaranHal,
Let me take it one step further. How can we prove that any card from our collections is a rookie card? Obviously, when every set was produced, they were printed on sheet. And 1 sheet had to be the absolute first sheet to come off the production line. So using your reasoning, unless you are able to prove that a particular card came off the very first sheet in the very first production cycle, then how can it be a rookie card? If it came off the 2nd sheet, then there is 1 card that is earlier than it, so it couldn't be the rookie card.
Your argument is off the deep end. You can't prove that the M101-4 cards were ready to be shipped on April 16, 1916. Can I prove that no M101-5 cards were produced after the first M101-4 cards were produced? No, I can't prove this, but it doesn't make LOGICAL sense that they would still be printing the old set when a newer, more accurate set was available. That would explain why there are backs that are common to both sets. LOGICALLY, when all of the inventory from the M101-5 set for a given back was depleted, they went ahead and printed M101-4's. This makes LOGICAL sense, period.
Were both sets printed in 1916? Answer: Yes
Were the M101-5's printed before the M101-4's? Answer: Most Likely
Were the M101-5's issued before the M101-4's? Answer: Most Likely
Were the inventory levels of the M101-5's depleted before the M101-4's were printed? Answer: Most Likely
Were M101-5's printed after the printing began on M101-4's? Answer: Not Likely
Were the M101-4's ready to ship on April 16, 1916? Answer: Who Knows, but there is no proof that they were
The bottom line is that IN ALL LIKELIHOOD, the M101-5 cards were PRINTED and DISTRIBUTED before the M101-4 cards.