Pre-War Ruths on a budget?

[glchen]

You've said that you don't like strip cards, but if you raise your spending limit to $250, you have a bunch of different options for beater strip cards of Ruth (but as usual, you need to wait for a good deal). Looking at my records, here are some that I got:

W514: $215
W516-1: $240
W520: $180 (ripped in half, but taped together)
Schapira (portrait): $220
Schapira (over the fence): $210
W551: $180 (chunk of paper loss on front)
W575-2: $225 (corners ripped off)
W512: $110
W511 #1: $180

These are all prices for complete beaters (and where I was able to find a good deal) and nicer examples will be more expensive. As others have said, Josetti, Bulgaria, and Sanella also offer good options for cards between $100 and $200. Many people have said that they like the Sanella for its colors and the pose.