Posted By:
brianp-bemeI would like to contribute in a small way on what Mark M. mentioned about where these W503 cards have been 'discovered' in various finds over the years. About five years ago a seller on ebay was auctioning off, one by one, a collection of 100's of 1920's and 1930's Zeenuts that came from a relative of the original Bay Area collector who had taped them into an album. Besides the Zeenuts, the only other cards offered were, interestingly enough, about 25 Tattoo Orbit cards and about half the set of the W503's.
A great thing about original collections like this one is how they can help pinpoint the geographical distribution of such mysterious issues such as the W503's.
And by the way, no W503 I have ever seen appears to have been hand-cut. They all seem to have a very uniform size. And the pictures are so sharp...in that great batting shot of Heinie Groh card that Leon shared, if you look close you can clearly see the vein bulging from Heinie's neck.
Brian