Completing the t218 Master Set Checklist - Cash Reward for proof of missing cards

[G1911]

Originally Posted by wisdom132000

Warshaw's last boxing book states that Red Cross are more rare. I have seen more Red Cross sold during the last 20 years. SGC population report has it real close. What do you guys think?

I think Red Cross is scarcer on the whole. I suspect the Tolstoi's have 3 different levels of scarcity, representing two different sheets and the super printing of the Jack Johnson (and probably Jeffries) card, which is a pretty easy card. The tougher half of the Tolstoi's I don't think are hugely different from the Red Crosses. Tolstoi's have tended to appear as singles or a few at a time, most Red Crosses seem to have come from large big batch finds and sales, centering them in fewer collections.

Then again, collectors have shown an inability to correctly discern rarity. When scarcity and SP's have been decided by collectors before subsequent 100% proof of production, collector conclusions have been shown to be wrong almost every time. 1955 All American, 1957 Topps football, 1962 Topps football, 1966 Topps highs, authorities determined the short prints through their judgements of what was tough and what was not, and these lists did not match up to subsequent sheet finds and recreations. I would not declare with certainty here (beyond the obvious that Tolstoi is a lot harder than Mecca and Hassan on the whole), as I am surely no better a judge than anyone else has proven and the problem of biased samples and surveys plagues my attempts to try and come to a data based conclusion on these points. I do know I would trade a Tolstoi for a Red Cross, but I wouldn't trade a Red Cross for a Tolstoi.

T219's are mid 1911 at the earliest.