Were T215 Pirates distributed?

[Sean]

The recent thread on scraps got me wondering: were the T215 Pirate backs that have surfaced recently actually distributed in packs?

The story behind this set is that they were printed in England, then sold to American sailors in the Philippines.That means that to make it back to America they would have been stashed in the personal effects of a sailor for months at a time. We assume that this is why so few have ever surfaced. After all, how many sailors ever made collecting and properly storing these cards a priority while at sea?

And yet, of the few such cards that have surfaced, all seem to be in excellent condition. The 2007 set of 96 cards sold by Legendary were mostly graded Ex or NM. The five sold last year by REA were graded Authentic, but only because they were hand-cut. They presented as Near Mint (see below).

So here's my question: how could these cards all have survived the trip from Manilla to America so well. None of them have creases, stains, or any marks at all. Compare this to T206s. How small a percentage of them are in such condition today; and T206s didn't have to survive an ocean voyage in a sailor's locker.

I believe that it's likely that at least these two groups of T215 Pirates were never distributed. I think that they were obtained in England, whether directly from the manufacturer or not I don't know. Does anyone else have any thoughts on these cards?

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