T218 series breakdown and ad backs

[davev]

Hello everyone on this thread. I have read with great interest all of the posts and am impressed with all of the expertise and camaraderie.

I have recently come into possession (they were gathered by a past family member) of a booklet of "Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter" cards (some labelled Series 2). I am looking for information regarding them.

Most of them do not have any adds on their backs (does that mean that they are Canadian cards? which would make sense given where in the family they were collected).

I think most of the cards are in decent condition (so any information concerning proper handling of them would also be appreciated).

I also have a bunch of "Cowboy Series" and "Indian Life in the '60'S" and one "Wild Animals of Canada" cards.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks

[scooter729]

Hey Dave - welcome! Definitely sounds like you came upon the Canadian version of the T218s, which are known via the catalog code of C52. We've got a long thread going about these as well:

C52 thread

The C52 cards are very hard to find, compared to the T218s - though there aren't a lot of folks assembling sets of these (I'm one who is though!). There typically may be a small premium over the T218s for the C52s. The Jack Johnson is definitely the prize of the set, and likely would sell for a few hundred even in rough shape, and just go up from there!

Would love to hear / see more about what you have, and potentially would have some interest in these if you're looking to sell!

Scott

And sorry, I don't really know anything about the Cowboy and other series you had mentioned....

[G1911]

Originally Posted by davev

Hello everyone on this thread. I have read with great interest all of the posts and am impressed with all of the expertise and camaraderie.

I have recently come into possession (they were gathered by a past family member) of a booklet of "Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter" cards (some labelled Series 2). I am looking for information regarding them.

Most of them do not have any adds on their backs (does that mean that they are Canadian cards? which would make sense given where in the family they were collected).

I think most of the cards are in decent condition (so any information concerning proper handling of them would also be appreciated).

I also have a bunch of "Cowboy Series" and "Indian Life in the '60'S" and one "Wild Animals of Canada" cards.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks

Pics would help, but the Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter Series cards without the brand advertisements on back are probably C52 cards, the Canadian (presumed Canadian, at least) version of T218. It was issued in 2 series, the first of which is primarily cards from the first series of T218 (and a smattering of second series cards, with duplicated card numbering on reverse). The second series of C52 mimics the third series of T218. C52 (whether it should be part of T218 or a separate set is arguable) is tougher than Hassan or Mecca backed cards. They are not super valuable, as there are not a lot of collectors of them, but they can bring a good premium and are fairly tough cards, particularly if someone is looking for a specific subject.

The Cowboy Series cards would be T53. They were issued with Hassan backs from two factories, 49 cards to a set. Going off memory, I believe they are a late 1909 set. Some clones of the artwork were issued in subsequent years, so if your cards have different advertising form Hassan they are from one of these cloned sets.

The Indian Life in the 60's series would be T73, 50 in a set. Issued with Hassan, and US Marine. US Marine backs are much tougher and carry a good premium.

T53 and T73 are not very valuable, but they are very cool cards. I have a set of T53 from both factories. Nice find!

[G1911]

Adding that the non-sports side hosts a gallery of card sets that make it easy to confirm what you have.

T53: http://www.moviecard.com/gallery/tcards/t53.html

T73: http://www.moviecard.com/gallery/tcards/t73.html

[davev]

Thanks for the quick and helpful replies. It makes sense that these cards are Canadian as they came down through my Canadian family.

I have 50 of the “Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs” cards, including Jack Johnson, with no tobacco adds. I also have 17 “Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series No 2 - 50 designs” cards. And I have two Hassan cards (not mentioning “Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter”, Lawson Robertson & Robert Cloughen.

Here is a list of what I have.

Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 1 Jack Johnson
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 2 James J. Jeffries
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 3 Clarence B. Tippett
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 4 James P. Sullivan
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 5 Walter Bursch
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 6 Unk Russell
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 7 Frank Riley
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 8 Packey McFarland
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 8 H. E. Gissing
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 9 James Crowley
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 10 S. P. Gilles
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 11 Andrew Glarner
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 12 Battling Hurley
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 13 Melvin W. Sheppard
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 14 Lou Manley
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 15 Ray Ewry
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 16 Frank C. Irons
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 17 Jim Stewart
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 18 Robert Cloughen
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 19 W. C. Robbins
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 20 Thomas O'Callaghan
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 21 Harry Hillman
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 22 Martin Sheridan
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 23 C. M. Daniels
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 24 Johnny Coulon
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 25 Platt Adams
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 26 George J. Obermeyer
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 26 George J. Obermeyer
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 27 Tom Collins
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 30 Jack (Twin) Sullivan
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 31 Jack Eller
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 32 John Flanagan
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 33 Emilo Lunghi
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 34 Jem Driscoll
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 35 Eddie Walsh
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 36 R. E. Frizelle
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 37 Chas J. Bacon Jr.
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 38 Dan Ahearne
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 39 Owen Moran
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 40 Willie Lewis
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 41 Billy West
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 42 Johnny Marto
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 43 Jimmy Gardner
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 44 Harry Lewis
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 45 Stanley Ketchell
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 47 Walter Lee
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 48 Abe Attell
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 49 Sailor Burke
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 50 Jimmy Walsh
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series - 50 designs 59 Chas K. Hamilton
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series No 2 - 50 designs 53 Matty Baldwin
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series No 2 - 50 designs 65 Chas Eyton (Referee)
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series No 2 - 50 designs 67 Patsey Kline
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series No 2 - 50 designs 68 Frankie Conley
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series No 2 - 50 designs 69 Frank Klaus
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series No 2 - 50 designs 71 Johnny Summers
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series No 2 - 50 designs 72 Johhny Summers
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series No 2 - 50 designs 73 Thure Johansson
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series No 2 - 50 designs 74 Abel Kiviat
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series No 2 - 50 designs 75 E. J. Sweeney
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series No 2 - 50 designs 81 John Daly
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series No 2 - 50 designs 84 George Sutton
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series No 2 - 50 designs 90 Thomas Hueston
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series No 2 - 50 designs 93 Ora Morningstar
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series No 2 - 50 designs 95 Albert Cutler
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series No 2 - 50 designs 97 Calvin Demarest
Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter - Series No 2 - 50 designs 100 Lee R. Johns
Lawson Robertson
Robert Cloughen


These last two have the Hassan Cork Tip Cigarette add on the back and no card number.

Thanks for the information and listings on the Cowboy and Indian Life cards. I will look through that list. I have 14 of the Cowboy cards and 25 of the Indian Life cards.

I may be interested in selling at some point – I will be discussing this information with my two brothers.

I could post some pictures – let me know if any of my cards would have particular interest in having a picture posted. I will probably shift over to the C52 thread as it seems more appropriate for my set – but let me know if that makes sense?

[wicker56]

Dave,

Wow! It's been a long time since I've seen a collection of C52's this large. As others have said, the Johnson card is the key card, and you have one. I'm not sure if you have checked the pop reports, but only 7 have been graded to date. That number is a bit misleading to me because I'm aware of a few more in private collections, at the moment. I have only come across a few C52 Johnson's offered for sale, over the last 14 years of my collecting.


Hopefully you'll be able to keep us updated, on whatever you decide to do with the collection.

Thanks Chad

[G1911]

Those are definitely the C52's. There are a few of us here building the set, but not many (I am one of them, love the cards).

Johnson is probably over half the value of the entire batch these days. It's a tough card and Johnson is a big name.

Attell and Jeffries can sometimes carry small premiums.

I don't think the series 2 cards are any tougher than series 1, just happen to be less of them in this particular batch.

[davev]

Thanks again for the information. That's pretty exciting. I have some prior relative to thank for putting them in an "album" and others for keeping them safe. Here are copies of my Jack Johnson cards. I am hoping that my attempt at attaching these cards works.