T207 Brown-ink/Brown-print back confirmation thread

[frohme]

Its time for another (and the last) T207 back confirmation thread. This time, its the oft-maligned brown-ink back... similar in most respects to its Brown Old Mill or Brown Lenox T206 counterparts. I say oft-maligned as many who have not held one in person, and/or compared one side-by-side with a 'normal' T207 are likely to call it 'faded-black', or altered, or something else. T207's with brown-inked backs are as different from normal ones as a Brown Old Mill is from a normal T206 Old Mill.

This thread is dedicated to cataloging the number of T207's with brown-inked backs. These should all be Recruits, and are believed to be only Factory 240. While there are some Broadleaf-class cards with apparently brown-ish or purplish-ink ink, some of those have clearly been clearly affected by a liquid at some point. At this point, those are a subject left for future research and are outside the scope of this survey.

I've separated 'brown-ink-back' out into a distinct back of its own for a number of reasons, some somewhat arbitrary...

• Only a few poses are known at this time - see below
• The are exclusively a Recruit subset at this point. They also appear to found on Factory 240 cards.
• They grade normally, have the normal lacquered finish and look just like any other Recruit T207 from the front, but the back is printed in brown ink, and the stock is often times seen to have a more yellow-ish hue than is usual.
• Though uncommon, examples pop up with some irregularity on eBay and in auction house listings. Most are not noted as such, but can usually be determined by inspection of provided images.
• They are not unique - multiples are known for a couple subjects (McIntire, Simon, ... )
• SGC used to label these as 'Brown Back', but that doesn't appear to be the case these days.

Some earlier threads

• T207 Brown Back Variation Confirmed (2005)
• T207 Recruit Ink (2015)
• Question about Anonymous brown ink T207 back (2010)

Note that the last thread listed above has both a question about the brown ink seen in Broadleaf-backed cards, as well as a comment about Factory 606 examples. When asked (many years later) about those backs, the poster did not have further information or an example image, so the existence of brown-ink printed Factory 606-backed T207's remains speculation at this point.

Post an image of any T207 brown-ink back - on the list below or not - can be yours or one you find online. Source info (VCP, eBay, website URL, auction XYZ...) would be helpful if its not yours. Curious to see how many can be accounted for now. If you've got one, post an image on this thread!

Confirmation Notes (as of 2024-11-03):

1. Confirmed count is 21.
2. Some cards have received the 'Brown Back' notation from SGC (Gardner, Stack, ... )
3. Cards with multiples confirmed:
   • McIntire - 2
   • Simon - 2

The list below includes the subjects currently cataloged with a brown-ink back. Additions since the inception are marked in bold and dated.

It is not expected to be complete - two or three more examples have surfaced this year... there are bound to be more!

Austin (w/StL)
Ball
Chalmers - 2024-11-03
Cole
Daubert
Devlin
Gainor
Gardner
Harmon
Johnson
Konetchy
Marquard
Marsans
McBride
McIntire
Milan
Schaefer
Simon
Stack
Turner - 2024-11-03
Wilie

With this thread, I'd like to get images posted for posterity of as many of the T207's with brown-ink backs, so if you've got an image, post it, please (you don't have to have the card).

Thank you all in advance for any help you can provide confirming T207 brown-ink backs - it is much appreciated.

--
Mike

[Seiklis]

I used to own the Cole


But the fact I now know that a Neal Ball exists just adds another card onto the list

[kmac32]

I have a Cole brown back also.

[ValKehl]

I have this Wajo:

[The Nasty Nati]

How rare are these compared to other T207 backs?

[frohme]

Good question, Ben.

Seeing how they were first really noticed in the early 2000's they certainly haven't stood out. If you search the threads here, I believe Jay Behrens may have brought an example to light in about 2002 or so and now we've got around 20 or so poses known, a scant few with a couple known copies each. So end of the day, they're pretty high on the difficulty list.

There will shorty be a follow-up post revisiting the T207 backs with a back run discussion thrown in for good measure. Once I'm over the effects of COVID (first timer )

--
Mike