Fresh To Market 1916 M101-5 Blank Back Babe Ruth Rookie Card PSA 3

[Lucas00]

Originally Posted by SAllen2556

"Few of Babe Ruth’s rookie cards have such a complete story of their provenance"


Truly curious - does the provenance really matter as long as the card is real?

If it's meaningful it matters. There are more stories than one could imagine of common $100 items owned by somebody famous or were somewhere important that makes the items worth exorbitant amounts. For example, a wooden deck chair from the tiranic, its provenance turns it from a $100 chair into $100,000.

[nolemmings]

I would be very interested in learning more about the provenance, mostly because m101-5 blank- back distribution remains mysterious. There is little or no known advertising for these cards, other than the Chicago Examiner March-April, 1916 ads that offered the entire set for 15 cents. The OP says the original owner had a near-complete set as a teenager, yet I have not seen any ads for collecting them piecemeal or in groups, as is the case with m101-4 and the advertising backs for both sets, so how does one amass a near-set? Perhaps we can learn more, such as how many are in the near set and which cards are missing? Are the remaining cards headed for auction? Finally, where was the family living in 1916--maybe that can give clues as to how the cards were available.

[oldjudge]

Todd—my guess is that near sets started as full sets where some cards were subsequently lost. I also believe that some blank backs came from post 1916 unsold uncut sheets being cut up.
I have also never been impressed by blank backs—like all Ruth rookies they are desirable, but they are not that scarce. Ad backs, on the other hand, are both scarce and desirable.

[nolemmings]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

Todd—my guess is that near sets started as full sets where some cards were subsequently lost. I also believe that some blank backs came from post 1916 unsold uncut sheets being cut up.
I have also never been impressed by blank backs—like all Ruth rookies they are desirable, but they are not that scarce. Ad backs, on the other hand, are both scarce and desirable.

Jay you may be right, as these are the prevailing theories surrounding m101-5, although there is room for extra or other explanations. I just read the auction write-up and see that the young man collected while growing up in Chicago. He could have obtained his cards from the Chicago Examiner ads or from Mendelsohn's Chicago offices directly. Still, the grouping of the remaining cards may provide insight. If for example the only cards missing are sequential- say the last twenty or the first twenty– it may be that these were distributed in series ala many of the m101-4s. Incidentally and FWIW, I believe the Ruth looks more like an m101-4 than m101-5, given the vertical pressure marks found on cards in the m101-4 set (also note the lack of the tell-tale print line from the right border to Ruth’s hip that is often if not usually seen on m101-5 Ruths). However, I was told that the rest of the group is indeed from m101-5, so maybe this was an intermediate print-run from the end of m101-5 to m101-4. As usual, I am geeking out over these things.

[BobbyStrawberry]

I'll add to the chorus of comments about the slabbing - what an absolute embarrassment. This is like putting a rare piece of jewelry in a display case where it can roll around inside. Set it properly in the holder, FFS.

[oldjudge]

Todd--I agree that it was either an intermediate print run or possibly he got the Ruth later and it was an M101-4. The cardboard definitely looks like a 4.

[mrreality68]

Originally Posted by BobbyStrawberry

I'll add to the chorus of comments about the slabbing - what an absolute embarrassment. This is like putting a rare piece of jewelry in a display case where it can roll around inside. Set it properly in the holder, FFS.

+1 agree

But simple solution is to simply contact them about getting it re-done