Please help identify this mystery Cobb card, what the heck is it?

[bbcard1]

I bought my first 1970 Topps cards at a Kresges in Huntington, WV.

[T206Jim]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. The hand cut from a box theory may be plausible.

There is indeed writing in the right corner which does not appear on the copies of this photo I have found, but unfortunately it is not legible even through a glass or loupe magnification.

Using a black light it does fluoresce more than other prewar items I own but less than modern cards and paper which indicates it is more likely than not to be postwar. It does appear to be vintage in hand and I doubt it is a fantasy card. My current guess is probably a 1940's to 1960's piece hand cut from a box or poster and somehow tied into a Kresge's promotion. An interesting piece whatever it is.

[Leon]

It really shouldn't flouresce at all if it is period to Cobbs playing days. This is taken from a David Rudd Cycleback (hi David) site...

"Starting in the late 1940s, manufacturers of many products began adding optical brighteners and other new chemicals to their products. Optical brighteners are invisible dyes that fluoresce brightly under ultraviolet light. They were used to make products appear brighter in normal daylight, which contains some ultraviolet light. Optical brighteners were added to laundry detergent and clothes to help drown out stains and to give the often advertised `whiter than white whites.’ Optical brighteners were added to plastic toys to makes them brighter and more colorful. Paper manufacturers joined the act as well, adding optical brighteners to many, though not all of their white papers stocks."


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[ullmandds]

ya...not to burst any bubbles but this piece is not vintage...meaning from cobbs playing days...it has a modern...repro'd(copied) appearance...and I'd surmise has very little value.

[T206Jim]

Thanks Leon, David's article is indeed excellent and is what I relied upon in stating that the card is likely postwar.

I use the term vintage to indicate that it was not produced recently, as previously stated my best guess is 1940's to 1960's as examining the card in hand I would be very surprised if it was produced in recent decades. I agree the card is of nominal value, but find it to be of interest.

We all on the board tend to gravitate towards issue of value, but that was not the intention behind this thread. For me the joy of collecting our beloved baseball curiosities is the thrill of discovering just what something is. If you share that curiosity I would suggest you check out all my other initiated threads on items I have acquired over the last couple of years.

[milkit1]

David is the best and the Facebook posts about his dog are the highlight of my day

[Bocabirdman]

Here is another Fantasy piece where the creator tried w-a-a-a-a-y too hard to make it look from the period.

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