Question on the E98 Background Color Variations

[VoodooChild]

I just purchased my first E98 and do not know a whole lot about the set. Is there any information out there that talks about what colored backgrounds are more "rare"? I found an old Net54 thread from 2007 by googling that seems to talk about the red background being the most rare, however, when doing an ebay search, it seems that the red background is the most "common". Did the Black Swamp find change that thinking?

If anybody has a ranking by rarity of the background colors, I would appreciate the help.

Thanks

[ullmandds]

The majority of the BSF cards had red background...additionally I'd say it's a case by case scenario(player by player) as to which background colors are tougher. No generalizations can be made in my opinion.

[Tim Kindler]

Jason,
Congratulations on your 1st E98. I have always loved the set and for 13 years, it has been my collecting passion. Pete is correct in saying that it is mostly by a player to color basis on scarcity now. There are 4 or 5 collectors in our community whom really know their stuff when it comes to E98s. For my two cents worth, it was once thought of as Red as the most difficult, but even before the BSF, I always thought of Blue as the most scarce myself. At least that has been my experience, but for every collector, their experience of difficulty has been different. One thing now is for certain: with the BSF find, red is certainly not considered the scarcest. I have my entire Master Set: All 30 players in all 4 colors on display on the SGC registry or it can also be viewed currently on page 32 of these threads. There are certain player/color combinations that personally I have only seen once or twice. These include: Green/Mathewson (twice), Blue/Jennings(twice), Orange/ Jennings (twice), Blue/Young (twice), Green Young (twice), Blue/Bridwell (twice), Red/Bridwell (once), Blue/Brown(once), Green/Vaughn(twice), Blue /Tenney(once), Red/Lajoie(three), Blue/Tinker(once), Blue/Mack(twice), and a Blue Coombs(once). These have been my observations anyway.
Anyway, best wishes if you go after a set of 30, or just enjoy a few. Chase, Cobb, Tenney, Jennings, and Kling are probably my favorite poses.

Jason, What is your first E98 and in what color?

Take Care, Tim Kindler

[VoodooChild]

Pete and Tim....thanks so much for the info.

Tim, I just checked out you master set and it is truly stunning! The collections I have seen since joining The Board are just incredible.

I will not be going after anything like a master set. I won the orange Fred Clarke at the last Sterling auction and am considering going after all four colors. You answered one of my questions that I was going to follow up with in that now that I've seen your set I know that all 30 subjects are available in all 4 colors. Now it will remain to be seen if I have to pay any sort of premium for the other 3 Clarke colors.

Thanks again for the info, I really appreciate it.

[E93]

In my experience none of the colors is particularly tougher than any other, though as Tim mentioned, if you are looking for a particular player in a particular color, some may prove to be more challenging.
JimB

[Tim Kindler]

Jason,
Nice pickup on that Clarke. Thanks for the compliment on my Master Set and I hope you and others can use it for a reference in the future. Some came really easy while other player/color combos were much more difficult for me. As you can see, the green Clarke in better condition has eluded me, but I hope to find it and many other e98s in the future as I upgrade my set. As for Clarke, in my experience, the red, orange, and blue are pretty easy to find, while the green will be more difficult. Anyway, enjoy the hunt, because that is what makes collecting e98s fun for me. I'm still hunting too, for upgrades!
Tim