Blank backed E121?

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Posted By: Rhett Yeakley

I just saw this thread otherwise I would have responded earlier.

A few years ago I noticed there were actually 2 different sets people were referring to as W575-1, just as Frank has stated. I decided to call the High quality photo/paper cards as W575-1A and the low quality paper/photos as W575-1B. The A subset is 100% factory cut and NEVER HAND CUT (despite what might be on a flip), while the B subset is factory cut on both sides with a cut top and bottom border (as they were originally issued in strips on a roll and ripped or cut off on at a time (similar to W573's and W501's). The B subset is actually a 100% reproduction of the W501 set, save the card # and G-4-22 at top have been eliminated. Honestly the W575-1B's should be called W501-2 or W501B's but proplr seem to prefer to call them W575-1B's it seems.

The W575-1A set is what would be commonly referred to as "Blank Back E121's" as they are exactly like E121 cards in every way but have a blank back. Included in this set would be the cards produced for the Henry A. Johnson, and James P. Keating companies, as these cards are simply W575-1A's with a stamp placed on back. Cards produced by Koesters Bread for their 40-card World Series promotion would be included in this group as unless a card differs substantially from the W575-1A version (ie was only produced for Koesters like Jesse Burkett, Alex Ferguson and a few others are thought to have been) the cards are indistinguishable, despite what many dealers would lead a potential buyer to believe.

I will include a picture of Walter Holke in all 3 versions (W575-1A, W575-1B, & W501) to show the differences.

In my opinion SGC made a mistake in holdering this card the way they did, as the card is 100% a W575-1A card.

Let me know if this wasn't clear, we have discussed these sets in the past a few times as well.

-Rhett

Holke photo:

From Left to right W575-1A, W501, W575-1B (or W501-2)
Important to note the same white splotch on the front of the later 2 proving them the W575-1B's to be a reissue of W501 (or vice versa).