Posted By:
warshawlawI do not think the square cornered cards are reprints. First, the selection of players is bizarre if they are reprints. Many of them are common duds. Second, looking at the cards under a magnifier, they show none of the signs of being second generation screens or prints from the originals, so if they are reprints, they are made with the original plates. Third, they feature the same stock as the originals. Fourth, they surfaced before reprinting was a problem and sold for relatively little, so where is the profit?
My suspicion is that the original issue went through a cutting process that gave them rounded corners, but the square cornered versions were cut down from discovered sheets.
Finally, and it is truly a nitpick, there are only three boxers in the set, technically. Primo Carnera, the former heavyweight champ, is shown in wrestling togs. By the time of issue he was long retired from the ring but was making money as a pro wrestler. So, there are really three boxers (louis, lamotta, cerdan) and one wrestler.
PSA: by way of disclosure, I don't own any of the cards so I don't really have a stake in the authenticity debate.