Obak Stamps

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Posted By: brian parker

Like Jeff has said, there are an abundance of Obak cards (and some other issues as well) that have the Gilliam T. Squires stamp. And Bob is also correct that the noted hobby pioneer Buck Barker penned on the back of many cards. I would like to add that the various notes he wrote on the back (which besides who Buck purchased the card from and the year, also included the player's full name and some cryptic codes designating that player's complete career including dates they played for various minor and major league teams). Although I don't know that much about him, I know he was at one time involved, along with the recently deceased Don McPherson (whose massive collection Lew Lipset auctioned off in several increments a couple of years ago) in researching the players involved and coming up with a list of Zeenut cards that picture players who made it to the majors. Thus there are also many Zeenuts out there with Buck's writing. He probably appreciated the larger size and the blank backs the Zeenuts offered--writing clearly on the back of an Obak must have been tough.

One thing I have noticed on many Obak backs is a small, two digit number stamped in purple ink, usually not that boldly. I would say almost 10% of the cards have them. Anyone else out there also notice this type of number stamp?

Brian