What's the story with the E102 set

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Posted By: Josh H

I see posts regarding caramel cards quite regulary. I have also noticed that caramel cards are popular right now. Is the E102 set considered a caramel card set? Why does it seem to get less attention?

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Posted By: Frank Wakefield

Yes, it is a caramel card set.

Strikes against it are several... anonymous, folks prefer a "name"; it says there are 25 cards when there are really 29; the cost of obtaining both Wagners, the Cobb and the Mathewson deter some collectors; Mathewson is misspelled, as Matthewson, that is a bit annoying; and I think the availability of other card sets from the same time period makes the set less attractive.

I kinda like 'em. But their cost has gone up so much of late that I've been slow to add any the last year.

Frank.

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Posted By: Brian McQueen

I'll add a couple "strikes" to the list that Frank started. Personally, I've never been a fan of the artwork used in this set, e101, e92, etc..etc...A lot of the poses are very crude and some of the specific players (ie..the Miller batting) almost remind me of a "w" card released in one of those strip card sets from the 20s.

Another strike is that these identical cards can be found in so many other sets from that time period. Dockmans and e101s in particular are easier to come by than their e102 counterparts so some people tend to shy away from e102s. It's sort of like comparing e104-2s to e90-2s....the popularity of e104-2s would be much greater if the easier-to-be-had e90-2s weren't around.

I agree with Frank's comment about the set being tough. Despite the fact that you may have great success rounding up the first 15-20 cards, this set is deceptively difficult and most people hit a wall once they get to within 6-8 cards of completion (if not sooner). The Wagner batting and Matty are always popular cards and tough to find under a grand. The Cobb has a lot of hype surrounding it ("is it a rookie card or not") so competition for those is always fierce. If you manage to get all three of these, then you have the four variations to contend with and those come around very very seldom.

Edited to add....

I was also curious if any board members were actively pursuing this set at the present time? Josh is right in that you really don't see the e102 set brought up too often...

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Posted By: Bruce MacPherson

I collect the set and know at least two others that are in the chase. As far as difficulty, I found that the base 25 cards are not that hard to obtain. It's the variations that prevent completion. Yes the Cobb, Matty and Wagner cards are expensive, but the same holds true for all other sets as well. Also, there are fewer HOFers in this set than in other caramel sets which helps keep the total price lower. I am not a huge fan of the artwork either and find the e93, e94 etc. group to be much nicer looking, with the Matty card being the exception.

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Posted By: Richard Masson

Doyle batting, Magee, Schmidt, Wagner throwing.
It has been many moons since I have seen one I needed.

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Posted By: Frank Wakefield

Amen to Brian's comments about identical fronts being easier to find in other sets. Even if someone likes one of the E102 poses, it is easier to find in another set.

One more downer for the set, is that it is a caramel card set. Which means that the cards are usually found in worse shape than the white border tobacco cards of the same era. Kids would pack the candy cards around and the cards would wear more. While I don't care to collect slabbed cards, I do prefer cards that aren't just worn down to scrap. And some of the E102s are pretty worn. My Wagner batting has a seriously folded corner, and worn edges. But ya gotta love him!