N173 general questions

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Posted By: robert a

Questions for those of you who have been around these for a while:

Were N173s ever a bit easier to find?
Are they all absorbed into collections or is there just not that many out there?

How did the black mounted cards come about?

Thanks for any info.

Rob

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Posted By: Tom Boblitt

right behind W600's........

I've heard that there are probably no more than 20-25 of most of the N173's out there. Of course, you could 'order' what player you wanted from the checklist, so there are more Ansons, Kellys and more popular players out there likely than the obscure players.

I had about 30 or so at one time with 3-4 dark mounts, no Dogs Heads though. Don't really know about the dark mounts. They are very scarce and usually command a premium, although not as significant as a Dogs Head mount. Just like the small N172's, I think photo clarity should add a premium on them. Some are really beautifully clear and others not so much.

I know of a couple collectors with 100-200 each of them and I'm sure many more collectors have great collections of them. Lots more people more knowledgable about them than myself out there. Hopefully some of them will chime in...........

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Posted By: Paul

In my (fairly limited) experience, the N173s almost always have nice photos. Certainly, it doesn't seem to be as common a problem as with N172s. Any idea why this would be? Or has my experience with N173s just been unusual?

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Posted By: barrysloate

N172's were mass produced in very large numbers, and negatives were often overused.

N173's were made to order and produced in smaller quantities. That's my guess for why they generally have better photo quality.

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Posted By: robert a

My guess to why the n173s might be found with a better image or in better condition overall might have to do with the fact that they were sent directly to the "collector/consumer" and were probably packaged safely in an envelope similar to m116s which are often found in astounding condition.


Wow that was a run-on sentence.

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Posted By: Joe_G.

There are plenty of horrible condition cabinets out there. Many have light images, staining, pin holes, trimming, writing, etc. But there are also some well preserved examples. I'm sure most were taken better care of initially as the owner that collected them were far more serious than most who only kept the "freebies" that came with the smokes. As the N172s & N173s passed thru a couple generations of owners, I'm sure some took better care of the cabinets than the smaller N172s. Just look at them side by side, the cabinets are terrific pieces. Then again, some placed little to no value on the cabinets, even within our hobby, and would use them to stiffen a weak box bottom or similar not caring if it snapped in two (true story shared by a collecting friend). My how times have changed.

Best Regards,
Joe Gonsowski