I will tell you that the perception of cards being a single print because they are hoarded is just not correct. I (and a few others who will hopefully come forward) who have had opportunities to view original collections and even purchase original collections over the years clearly see some patterns that just do not bear out your hypothesis of scarcity being tied closely to back advertising.
A couple of examples...
When i first started seriously researching these cards, I looked at an original collection from Las Vegas (did not obviously start there but the collector's father retired to Vegas and brought the original collection with him). It included just over 600 T205s...not a single Joss, Wilhelm, Walsh, Rowan, Grant, or Suggs. There were 10 of the twelve minor league cards though including 2 Collins and 2 Dunns. There were 6 Titus cards though. One of the ones your maintain is a single print. There were also 3 Matterns. Is this definitive. Nope...but let us look a little deeper....
About 3 years ago, I bought a collection of 191 T205s...there was a Joss and a Suggs but no minor league cards and a Wagner was the only other SP. There were 2 Millers, a Titus, a Oakes, a Mattern, and a Tannehill.
Al C. and Dan M. both just bought decent sized T205 collections and would love to hear their experiences both past and present with SPs.
Trader Speaks from 40ish years ago lists certain cards as tougher. This was way before people started to hoard cards as investment. The cards at that time sold for $1 to $100 (yes, you could get a mid grade Cobb for $100 or less!). Also, an article from about 20 years ago in Vintage Card Collector lists the rarities even then (although if I recall, they got one or two wrong) but it was fairly consistent.
I also know if you look back in some of the auction catalogs, you will see a similar pattern with duplicates of many cards and a few single prints.
People did not just pull this info. out of the air, this research has been going on for decades.
I just feel that the "SPs" you listed in your other post are not SPs but really common.
Joshua
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