Washington T206 Mini-Set Comparison to High-Grade Competitor

[GeoPoto]

Card 7: Norman A. "Kid" Elberfeld. "The Tabasco Kid". Shortstop for the Washington Senators 1910-1911. 1,235 hits, 10 home runs, and 213 stolen bases in 14 MLB seasons. Fiery temper involved him in numerous ferocious arguments and assaults on umpires. Managed the New York Highlanders in 1908. Debuted with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1898. Had a career OBP of .355 and 7 MLB seasons with at least 500 plate appearances.

Kid Elberfeld Washington Fielding Piedmont 350: Elberfeld Fielding T206 cards are common (PSA-604). PSA has graded nine Elberfeld Fielding T206cards at PSA 7 and another six at PSA 8. The Elberfeld Fielding card is often designated as Washington despite it being the only Elberfeld Fielding card in the T206 set. However, there is another Elberfeld card in the T206 set, the Elberfeld Portrait card. The Elberfeld Portrait does come with different team designations, which requires the use of Washington and New York in titling Elberfeld T206 cards. The Elberfeld Fielding T206 card is in Print Group 3.

Heritage/Rounders Entry: This is another PSA 7 with strong corners, edges, and surface, suitable to the grade. The centering is excellent, debatably a tad high, which is exacerbated by the odd location of the name and team designation. The borders are good. The back is a disappointment with moderate fading and staining.

My Entry: This PSA 3 presents a clear image, with corner, edge, and surface wear typical for the grade. The centering is quite good, probably a little high. Note the more pleasing location for the name and team designation in contrast with the H/R card. The borders are good. The back is not good, showing moderate fading, staining, and maybe even a spot of paper loss.

Comparison: The H/R card presents extremely well with two minor exceptions: the back is drab compared to the front; and the name and team designation is located oddly. My card can match the H/R card for centering and borders but concedes the technical ground to be expected in a PSA 3 compared to a 7. The H/R card's back, while hardly excellent, is superior to the back of my card.

My conclusion: I can go either way on this one. The H/R card is quite attractive. My card is hard to dislike, however, as it presents well for centering and borders. This is another one where I would hope to upgrade my card to one with stronger borders, if I can find it. The H/R card is not that card as its centering and borders are no better than my card.

The bottom line: If we ignore resale value, I might trade my card for the H/R card. Probably, wouldn't. I think it is a close call. I'll call it a tie. I'm probably biased in favor of the sincerity of my card over the technical excellence of the H/R card. Plus, I don't like the location of the name and team designation.

Additional Kid Elberfeld Fun Fact: He still ranks 13th on the career hit by pitch list, with 165.