Posted By:
JayHal--Welcome back. I can't speak for others but I missed your posts. Two points to note about the dates of vintage sets:
1-N Y Kalamazoo Bats are 1886 cards and thus may be contemporaneous with N167s
2-N172s were first issued in late 1886. Their issue was after N167s but still prior to all the "new" 1887 material. I have outlined the reasons why I believe this in a prior post.