R423 Research In Progress

[Harford20]

Quote:
Originally Posted by sflayank
have the whole set in orange in 15 13 cards strips lots of dupes exist
have 10 of those same strips in purple seems likely the other 5 strips exist
only have 1 green strip and 1 red strip
but i would guess they exist

As I have been working on research for this R423 card variations, I came across this old thread on CATALOGUED cards. Larry S (see the above quote) has noted the largest collection of these cards. As Larry noted above, I have concluded:
1. (Confirmed by Larry) The Orange back is far more common than other backs. The total of 15 different strips completes the set (with many duplicates). I only have 12 of these in my collection.
2. (Confirmed by Larry) I have several purple back strips that also directly correspond the the Orange back strips, so I ASSUME that there is a complete set of 15 Purple back strips as well.
3. Have only 1 Green back strip, but it also corresponds directly to one Orange back strip. Would like to confirm other Green Back strips with the Orange backs if anyone has those available.
4. (Confirmed by Larry) I have never seen the Red back strips, but have only seen a single card with the Red back. Would be interested in any collector with Red back strips have either a photo/scan they could send or the 13 names in order to confirm whether these strips also correlate with the Orange backs.
5. I have one Navy Blue back strip, and this also corresponds to one Orange back strip. Does anyone have any other Navy Blue back strips to confirm all 15 exist?

My goal would be to confirm that 15 strips of R423 cards exist, all with the same 13 players on a given strip. I would also like to confirm that each of these 15-strip sets exist in Orange, Purple, Green, Red and Navy backs.

Any help with photos/scans or 13-player lists would be great!

[cardinalcollector]

Hi Dave, I only collect Cardinals so I have no strips. I can confirm the following:

Purple-8 Brecheen, 21 Dean, 32 Frisch, 72 Musial, 83 Pollet
Black-32 Frisch
Orange-11 W Cooper, 21 Dean, 32 Frisch, 44 Hearn, 48 Hornsby, 53 Nippy Jones, 70 Mize, 71 Terry Moore, 83 Pollet, 87 Rice, 96 Slaughter, 97 Schoendienst, 98 Staley, 99 Shoun.

[GoldenAge50s]

Are you sure a true Red exists? I have heard for yrs that many have called the Orange as Red--the colors are so very close that they were easily mistaken.

I can verify that as a kid in the late '40's --early '50's that I got mine out of penny gumball machines--all folded up w/ a tiny rubber band around them. The Orange was by far the common color found in my WNY state area (some kids called them Red), altho I recall seeing Purple & Green also. Don't EVER recall seeing Black or Navy.

[Harford20]

Fred,
I have seen one card scan (not even the real card), so NO, I cannot confirm that the Red back exists. I certainly have not seen a strip of Red. I have several individual cards that I called Navy Blue back when holding directly next to a Purple back, but I was never really convinced until I recently picked up the Navy Blue back strip (posted above). Side-by-side, these are clearly different colors, and I now believe these to be a true variant back.

This research has been ongoing for several years. I know other collectors out there have further info, I am just trying to gather it.

Here is a discussion/quote from dblyn.hubpages on the 1950 R423 Vintage Set:
"The cards in this series from the early 1950s are printed on thin stock and measure 5/8" by 3/4" (smaller than the size of a US quarter). They were initially offered as a long horizontal strip of 13 cards connected by a perforation. The cards were available with a variety of back colors with orange being the most common, green backs are uncommon and purple backs are rare. There have been isolated findings of Red and Blue backs which would be the rarest of the varieties. Complete strips intact are worth 50 percent more than the sum of the individual players on the strip. The numbering of the cards in the set is close to alphabetical. The strips are found with the cards in no particular order (though the players on the strip are consistent). These strips were found in one-cent bubblegum machines, folded accordion style and held together by a small metal clip."

As I have strips that have clearly never been folded, I also am interested in verifying the method of dispensing these cards and how so many complete/intact/non-folded strips surfaced.

Dave

[CharleyBrown]

The Jackie Robinson is damn near impossible to find. I've been searching for 3 years now, and the only one that's come up was bought within 30 minutes of it being listed.

[jasoneggert]

Originally Posted by CharleyBrown

The Jackie Robinson is damn near impossible to find. I've been searching for 3 years now, and the only one that's come up was bought within 30 minutes of it being listed.

By Me!

-Jason

BTW, mine has a purple back.