Signed Ty Cobb Tobacco Cards

[T206Collector]

In February 2020, a signed T206 Green Cobb sold for $144,000 in Heritage Auctions.



https://sports.ha.com/itm/baseball/s...umbnail-071515

I have been following the travels of this beautiful card for some time. The last time it was sold publicly, it sold for $3,800 in the February 22-23, 2002, Hunt Auctions here:



https://www.huntauctions.com/online/...664&lot_qual=a

In the auction description, Hunt explained that this card was “[o]riginally discovered with an estate collection of T-206 cards including (5) signed Ty Cobb cards and the original envelope of Cobb's in which they were mailed.”

I have wondered for nearly two decades where the rest of these signed T206 Cobb cards may be, but with the substantial help and assistance of Kris Sweckard, I have finally figured out where they came from and what they look like.

Kris shared with me a Hunt Auction catalog from August 11-12, 1995. Indeed, just 7 years before the Green Cobb sale, Hunt had previously auctioned the other 4 signed Ty Cobb T206s, as well as a signed T205 Cobb and a signed T202 Cobb, with the original mailing envelope dated to the 1940s, and a Hassan cigarette pack from which the T202 was supposedly pulled.





As described in the auction catalog that Kris sent me, these six cards were part of the George Sands tobacco collection, and “[e]ach was personally signed by Mr. Cobb in the 1940s and returned to Mr. Sands in Pennsylvania.”

I reached out to David Hunt about this, and asked him to confirm whether the signed T206 Green Portrait Ty Cobb card that Hunt sold in 2002 was from the George Sands collection from which Hunt sold 4 other signed T206 Cobbs on August 11-12, 1995. David replied, “It has been a long time ago, but, it is my recollection that the green signed Cobb was in fact from that same collection and given to us at a later date. I noticed it sold recently, and did quite well.”

Several of these cards have turned up in more recent auctions.

The signed T206 Cobb Bat Off was auctioned by Heritage in August 2016:



https://sports.ha.com/itm/baseball/1...umbnail-071515

The signed T205 and signed T202 showed up about the same time over 10 years ago in a Mastro Auction and an SCP Auction, respectively:





And Ron Keurajian included a photo of the T206 Red Cobb as Exhibit 1 in his 2012 book, Baseball Hall of Fame Autographs: A Reference Guide:



In his book, Keurajian wrote, “Today the handful of genuinely signed Cobb T-206 cards that exist are true gems of the hobby. I have examined four genuine specimens. Exhibit 1 is a nicely signed T-206 specimen. These are very rare and have an estimated value of $20,000 to $25,000, but in an auction could go much higher.” Keurajian also referenced the signed T202, acknowledging that, “A rare T-202 triple fold card of Cobb and George Moriarty signed by Cobb sold for $17,300 in 2009 (SCP Auctions).”

This might also explain why Keurajian was willing to share with several hobbyists that the Green Cobb was authentic:



This clip was pulled from Hauls of Shame, but the T206 Red Cobb here is not the same one from the 1995 Hunt Auction that is featured in Keurajian's book.

Please let me know if you have any information regarding where any of these Cobbs sit today, or if you have anything to add to this history. I would also appreciate a good scan of a Ty Cobb envelope with the address as follows:

Tyrus R. Cobb
Box 265
Menlo Park
California

I am interested because I am trying to narrow the dates that Cobb used the envelope found in the original Hunt Auction catalog.

Thanks for reading!