1921 Herpolsheimers graded w/o mark

[steve B]

Here's a few thoughts I have on them.

I've seen a few things related to memory and how two people can recall the same event differently, or a person can combine memories into a single inaccurate one.

I think that's what we have here.
Were there fakes of that group of sets made in the 1970's? Yes, I own one.

Is it possible a dealer would have ended up with a bunch of them having thought they were real? Yes.

But here is where it gets odd. The 70's fakes didn't have Herpolshimers backs.

Given those facts, a few possibilities
A dealer had a bunch of the fakes, and a later dealer sold a group and those were remembered as the fakes, but it was two different lots
Or
A dealer had a big lot of Herpolshimers, but not finding them in any references, believed them to be fake. (I used to really like dealers like that.. "it's not in Beckett so it's fake or worthless")
Or
Someone had a bunch of blank backed cards either fakes or originals, and added an ad back.
Or
Someone outright faked a set in small quantities.

All are possible, The first two seem somewhat likely.
The last..... I think is highly unlikely.
Fakes/reprints in general have been poorly made. Wrong stock, wrong process, wrong inks etc. To fake this set, you'd have to have all that stuff right. Plus
Youd need to know the checklist. Which as it's been pointed out isn't precisely known and certainly wasn't in the 70's. (My fake is both poorly made, and has the wrong back... )
Hardest perhaps would be having originals to copy.
Is it possible to make a typography plate that's a duplicate of the original, right down to the exact halftone so the dots in the pattern would match up? Yes
Is it likely a hobby printer could do it at home? Or that a professional would spend the required effort on making plates for 30-80 individual cards (likely at least a few days work. Then only print a handful of sets?

AND
Have the presence of mind to produce imperfect cards with deliberate offset transfers?

That would be some world class fakery at any time. And someone with the ability to make that work back then would be better served to produce the same quality fake for a smaller group of cards. Or a different set entirely.
Not a fake of a very obscure set made in the single digits and doled out over the course of decades. and somehow inserted into very different situations in different places.
Consider what similar cards went for back then.
My fake cost me $2 RETAIL in 1978. I'm still amazed someone thought it was worth the effort.

It makes no sense in any way.

The border...
While the design book may be from the 30's-40's, the actual type elements could have been around for a very long time.
Type is similar to industrial hardware.
While I was at the hydraulic place, I worked on stuff that was fairly old. One jack was made in 1945, and that model could still be bought new well into the 1990's.
A common bicycle hub was first offered in 1938. Had a minor change a year later, then no real changes until 2000... 62 years with only minor cosmetic changes, Parts bought new in 2000 would fit a hub from 1936. (also a fine example, as I recalled the intro date as 1935)

I would not be at all surprised that that border type was much older than 1920's.

There's so much that says these are real, I have to think one of the options where the memory of the dealer involves other cards, or that the dealer was mistaken seem to be very likely.

And a very appropriate card.