Washington T206 Mini-Set Comparison to High-Grade Competitor

[GeoPoto]

Card 12: Clark C. "The Old Fox" Griffith. Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1912-1914. Debuted with the St. Louis Browns in 1891. 237 wins and 8 saves in 20 MLB seasons. Was 1898 MLB ERA leader. Managed the Chicago White Stockings (1901-1902), the New York Highlanders (1903-1908), the Cincinnati Reds (1909-1911), and the Washington Senators (1912-1920). Was principal owner of the Washington Senators from 1920 until his death in 1955. In 1946, was inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame.

Clark Griffith Batting Sweet Caporal 460-42OP: Griffith Batting T206 cards are common (PSA-823). His presence in the Hall of Fame is reflected in the high number of cards graded. PSA has graded eighteen Griffith Batting T206 cards at PSA 7, seven at PSA 8, and one at PSA 9. The Griffith Batting T206 card is in Print Group 3.

Heritage/Rounders Entry: Here we have a PSA 7. Not the sharpest of PSA 7s, but decent surface, edges, and corners. The centering is excellent for my tastes, some might say a bit high. The borders are tight. The back is excellent, well centered with good color, showing only minor fading.

My Entry: My card was graded SGC 5. It shows moderate wear throughout, particularly the surface of the borders, which shows a variety of dings and staining. The card is centered well, perhaps a little high, but the borders are tight. The back is nice, well-centered with moderate fading.

Comparison: The H/R card presents a much cleaner surface than my card does and has stronger edges and borders. Both cards are well centered with tight borders. The H/R card has the nicer back but both work.

My conclusion: I like the H/R card better than mine. Not by a lot, but it presents nicer. My overall concern would be the borders, but that would apply equally to both cards.

The bottom line: If we ignore resale value, I would trade my card for the H/R card. The H/R card presents better. I would stay on the prowl, however, looking for a card with better (bigger) borders.

Additional Clark Griffith Fun Fact: He has the second-most ties by a manager in MLB history, with 59. Only Connie Mack has more (76) and he managed 4,838 more games than Griffith did.