Discussion re E Cards -- Opinions Needed

[brianp-beme]

1. How desirable are E cards today compared to (a) T206, (b) other T cards, and (c) compared to their desirability a decade ago?

.....1a. They have their fans, but trail wildly behind T206 (check out my E90-1 thread versus the T206 Monster thread).
.....1b. They also lag behind T205, but overall just slightly behind the other T cards, which for the most part are more for the more serious collector.
.....1c. Their value and interest is way down...back in their heyday on this forum there were almost as many threads and interest in caramel cards as the T206 set (gasp!)


2. It appears that the value of E cards are down substantially since 2006-2008. Is this accurate, and if so (a) why?, and (b) do you feel they have bottomed out (and will rise) or is their fall in value to continue?

.....2a. The cards are definitely down in value since then. I believe this was due to the rise of the internet and ebay specifically and how it revealed relative scarcity in collectibles in general, making this info more easily obtainable and more widely known than it was previously. Collectors at this time seemed to realize that the small e-cards were definitely scarcer, and collecting them became somewhat of a fad.

.....2b. They will rise, but T206 will still be king.



3. Do you care about the various back variations on the cards, or is it all about the front pose; take for example E90, E92, E101, E102, E105 (maybe E106), etc., which all have the same fronts but many different backs, and would you pay up for a scarce front/back combo (like a Wagner blue crofts candy or a crofts cocoa)?

.....3. I collect vintage preWW2 cards and have done so for a long time, so of course I care. Would/do I pay up for front/back combos? I rarely pony up for anything. I am a cheap bastard.


4. Would you agree that the E92/E101 (those listed above) front poses are more desirable than other candy/caramel issues, like E91 E93, E94, E95, E98, etc?

.....4. I would say not necessarily so. I think collectors view the whole group (except for the E91 sets...which, dangit, are not generic!) on a somewhat similar level, with collectors of course having personal favorites.


5. Related to question 4 -- what is the "T206" of E cards?

.....5. In terms of set size and relative scarcity of cards within a set, I believe E90-1 is the closest E-card set comparison to the T206 set. I have always thought that the E95 and E96 cards are extremely attractive, and if they were instead just one set (and perhaps closer to 100 quantity total instead), they would be the most popular E-card set. I believe the smaller set size of the caramel sets has always been a limiting factor in their overall popularity to collectors...sometimes we just like to have something that we can dig in for the long haul.


Brian