T207....indeed a strange set....let' talk about it ?

[Bridwell]

After working on sets of T206 for 25 years and T207 for the last 2 years, I've noticed some interesting comparisons between the 2 sets.

The most common commons in T207 have 70-80 graded examples (SGC & PSA). The most common commons in T206 have 400+ graded examples (SGC & PSA). Yet those commons sell for about the same price as T206's, in similar condition. I guess there is about 5 times more collector demand for T206's than T207's.

The toughest non-HOF's in T207 have only 20-25 graded. Southern Leaguers in T206 have about 200 graded. The tougher non-HOF's in T206 (such as Dahlen/Brooklyn or Frank Smith/Chi.&Boston have about 180 graded.

So the ratio of tough T207 pop numbers to commons is less than 1:3, while the tough T206's are in greater supply and have a ratio of almost 1:2. Hence, the tougher T207's are surprisingly hard to find, if any condition. They can sell for ridiculous prices, sometimes, while other times can be found at near the common price. The opportunity to find some rare cards at great deals helped draw me to keep working on this set. From the set registries and networking, I can identify about 10 sets, or near sets of T207's. There may be a few other 'raw' sets out there. With a total population of 20-25 of some cards, that leaves very few T207 cards in circulation for collectors to bid on. The 20-25 pop number might even be overstated, since there have been some crossovers occuring in T207's. There seem to be about 20-30 players in T207 that are the toughest ones to find. The toughest of all are from the Broadleaf Class, which includes Broadleaf, Cycle and Anonymous backs.

The most common T207's are all from the Recruit Class, which includes Recruit, Napoleon and Anonymous backs. The 10 cards I researched seem to have high populations of Recruit backs, but hardly any Napoleon backs and I'm thinking there are no Anonymous backs of these. The 10 sample cards are: Devlin, Konetchy, Wilie, H. McIntire, Wolverton, Devore, Simon, Crandall, Knabe and Covington. So it leads to more theories. I'd say that a portion of the Recruit Series cards, perhaps 50 players, were double printed with Recruit backs, but not made with Anonymous backs. I have no idea why. That would help explain why some Recruit Class cards have populations of 25-35, while many others have pops of 60-80. It also seems that the low pop Recruit Class cards are regularly found with Anonymous backs, when they do turn up.

Perhaps T207 collectors can share their thoughts and keep this thread going... As Ted said, it is a very strange set.

Ron R