Posted By:
petecldTodd,
I never said the US was involved in the war in 1916 and yes, it was early in 1917 we did declare war but don't think big industries weren't paying attention to what Europe had been going through for the last 2 to 3 years. I just said it was "war time".
I'm sorry your statement didn't mean you knew something that could help this debate beyond the obvious. The fact that there were multiple printings, regardless of the checklist, of these cards and each just as each checklist has it's own specifics be that a player, team change and/or numbering system but each printing has it's own distinct characteristics in both printing and stock used.
A huge comparison of cards would be necessary to determine which back was included with which printing and even though an exact date still wouldn't be known using the numbering you would know which cards/backs came from the 1st printing or a subsequent printing. A process explained by Hal in his previous post.