Help with T207 - Newbie collector - enter at your own risk!

[ghooper33]

Hello all - I have been a lurker for some time now and I would like to be taken to school on the T207 set. Searching these forums have been a wealth of information but I have a few "101" questions about this set.

They say there are no dumb questions - time to put this theory to the test!

• Do the horizontal cards command more of a premium?
• How many different backs are there other than the Recruit, Cycle, Broadleaf, and Red Cross?
• Were these distributed regionally (other than the Red Cross backs)
• I read that the Irving Lewis cards and the Louis Lowdermilk are expensive "commons" but are there other commons that are difficult to find?
• Any other comments for a beginner collector of this set?

[HRBAKER]

This may help.
Good luck.

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthr...highlight=T207

[ghooper33]

Originally Posted by HRBAKER

This may help.
Good luck.

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthr...highlight=T207

Thanks Jeff - I missed this thread in searching the forums!

[kmac32]

You left out anonymous backs. Also the expensive Ward Miller and Vic Saier cards are really tough. Those two cards alone can break the bank.

[ghooper33]

Of course this is a great opportunity to show off some T207 scans!

I have only a dozen cards, but here are a few I have found. I know it is economically better to buy in lots, but I am buying one at a time because I am finding great value in enjoying each card as it arrives and researching the player.

[marcdelpercio]

The T207's are one of the least understood and most challenging of all major tobacco issues. It tends to inspire a "love it or hate it" response out of most collectors. I'm guessing that by your post, you fall more towards the former (as do I). There are a few hardcore T207 fans on the board so I'm sure they will weigh in as well.

To try to answer your questions:

Within the T207 set, there are 150 cards that appear with only Recruit, Napoleon, or Anonymous Factory 3 backs. There are many levels of scarcity within this group and some of these cards are quite difficult (although none are in probably the top 20 toughest overall in the set).

There are another 50 cards that appear with only Broadleaf, Cycle, Red Cross, and Anonymous (Factory 3 or 25) backs. These are generally referred to as the "Broadleaf/Cycle class" cards. ALL of these cards are very difficult although a few such as O. Miller, Herzog and Gregg appear slightly more often, which is still rarely. The Broadleaf/Cycle group contains all of the very toughest cards in the set such as Donlin, Donnelly, Downey, Pelty, and Mogridge (as well as Lewis, Saier and W. Miller that were mentioned) and many of these almost never appear for sale. Ironically, the Lowdermilk, population-wise, is one of the (relatively) most common of this group although remains one of the most expensive cards in the set.

There is only one horizontal card in the set, Jack Barry, and this card generally commands a very slight premium although it is quite common.

There is an excellent previous thread that discusses possible distribution of the set, so definitely search that one out if you haven't already. Also, Tim Newcomb wrote and published an outstanding article on the set that originally appeared in the February 2004 #37 and June 2004 #38 issues of VCBC magazine.

Overall, completion of this set would be an impressive feat and a challenge that would likely take years as many of these cards very rarely appear for sale individually. There are a good 75-80 difficult cards in the set. That said, the set is surely one of my favorites and is truly like no other, for better or worse.

[sox1903wschamp]

Originally Posted by marcdelpercio

Also, Tim Newcomb wrote and published an outstanding article on the set that originally appeared in the February 2004 #37 and June 2004 #38 issues of VCBC magazine.

I second these article's by Tim. Very informative!

[DaveW]

I can't add much that hasn't been said above, but if you want to see pictures of all the cards and get a checklist (without back info) you can check out:
http://www.vintagecardtraders.org/vi...t207/t207.html

I love this set.

[kmac32]

Hey Ghooper,

How many cards do you have from this set? Which players do you have?

[caramelcard]

I started collecting T207 by accident about 10 years ago. I bought a small lot of t206 cards that had 3 or 4 t207 in there. As time went by I started to appreciate the poses more and more. Hard to describe, but for me the set really represents the roughness of the time period and the brown backgrounds with small hints of color are actually really ornate when you handle the cards in person. The fact that so many of the cards are tough to find has allowed me to enjoy the set even more. Most of the hall of fame players are plentiful, but lots of folks probably tossed some of the really common players not to mention the broadleaf class of cards which were less plentiful even during the period. I'm down to two cards to complete it and would love to upgrade a few as well.

There seems to be a lot less of them for sale lately. I'm guessing that's due to the economy, but I would imagine as more tobacco collectors begin this set the demand for the tougher cards will increase even more.

Rob

[ghooper33]

Originally Posted by kmac32

Hey Ghooper,

How many cards do you have from this set? Which players do you have?

Hi Ken - I can check the players when I get home from work, but I only have around 15 cards so far.