1915 Cracker Jack

[Rhotchkiss]

In my opinion, the 1914 CJ set is one of the top 4 baseball sets of all time (t206, 1933 Goudey, and 1952 Topps). To boot, 1914 CJ are super rare/tough bc they are not only old, but so fragile and they were distributed in boxes of sticky and perishable Cracker Jack candy. Just to be clear, the 1915 CJ set, which is basically the 1914 set run back a year later (with a few material picture/card/player differences and upside down text), is NOT on par with the 1914 CJ set. That said…

I think the 1915 set is a great investment. 1914 CJs can be crazy expensive. 1915’s look almost exactly the same and are more affordable than 1914s. Thus, you can get that classic pose of Jackson, Cobb, Wagner, Wajo (and a better looking Matty pose), for a fraction of their 1914 counterparts. For this reason, and bc the 1914 set is so iconic, I believe the 1915 set will always be in demand. I say to go for it, in earnest!!

However, one bit of advice, if I may- get the HOFers and low pop cards first. And, spend the money on the higher grade HOFers and buy the commons in lower grade - like all HOFers in a minimum of 4 and commons in a 2 or better. All the value and almost all the upside is in the HOFers. Taking it further/specifically, get the very best Jackson, Cobb, Wagner, Johnson, and Mathewson you can.

[Brian]

In my humble opinion, Cracker Jacks are the most beautiful cards ever produced, and the 1915 CJ Cobb is probably my favorite card of all, a tall order since I have many favorites.

I liked them so much that I decided to collect the set in early 2003 and started picking up cards from '15 and '14, mostly HOFers. However, after buying many of the commons, I gave up on trying to complete the set. I just could not see myself buying the vast number of commons to get to the finish line. At the same time, they are all beautiful (and some are downright humorous).

How could you not love these cards? My advice is: go for it. Like others have said, they are totally mesmerizing, and the journey is really fun.

Brian

[Peter_Spaeth]

It's a great project as a collector. But as was said above, if your real goal is "investment," then buy HOFers.

[Kidnapped18]

Congrats on the team set DHutch!
I collect the '14s and not the '15s and they can get expensive really fast especially for 4s, 5s and 6s. All the HOFers are great cards to get in either set! Good luck on your CJ journey!

[cgjackson222]

The rarity of 1915 Cracker Jack seems underrated to me.

Yes 1914s are rarer, but there are not many 1915s either.

For example, there are a combined 151 graded '14 Cobbs between PSA and SGC, and 213 '15 Cobbs (there are actually more '14 Cobbs graded by SGC than '15).

There are a combined 66 graded '14 Jackson between PSA and SGC, and 197 '15s.

A combined 112 '14 WaJos, and 183 '15s.

A combined 91 '14 Wagners, and 187 '15 Wagners.

A combined 72 '14 Alexanders, and 143 '15s.

So yes, the '14s can be twice as hard to come by as the '15s, but there aren't a ton of '15s out there either.

[Lorewalker]

Great set and my favorite (along with the 1914) prewar set but I caution you about commons in lower grades and the investment potential. Just as a for instance here is Hoblitzell in a PSA 3 over the last 10 years.

2/4/2021 $181.20
5/21/2019 $169.00
9/28/2018 $177.73
7/31/2017 $178.25
5/17/2016 $208.50
11/26/2013 $195.00

At the end of the day, screw the investment and buy what you like. Sometimes buying what you like clashes with buying for what is the best investment.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Not exactly Nvidia.

[icurnmedic]

Not sure how to ask the question , and probably does not make sense to most, but given that the 15's were both distributed in set form as well as in candy packs, does this fact increase the value of a mid/high grade card that was obviously distributed in a candy pack as compared to one that was clearly out of a set?

I know most would disagree and that's fine, but I feel that the ones that come out of the CJ boxes are more on par with the 14's , other than paper stock I guess.

Would be really interesting to know how many of the ( insert player name here)
from 1915 were inserted in boxes vs sets.
May find that for some players the inserted are actually as or more rare than their 14 counterparts.
Not sure if that adds value though.

FWIW I collect both 14 and 15's.