November 2010

Lot #2:

1914 Cracker Jack #88 Christy Mathewson PSA 5 EX

From our break-up of the #1 Current and All-Time Finest 1914 Cracker Jack PSA Set Registry comes this remarkable example of the celebrated Christy Mathewson issue, the hobby-famous horizontal pose, the single most difficult Hall of Famer from the stain-plagued 1914 Cracker Jack issue to encounter in top grades, and arguably the single most significant Christy Mathewson baseball card ever produced. As most collectors are too well aware, the 1914 Cracker Jack set is one of the hobby's most notoriously condition sensitive issues; as opposed to the 1915 issue, which was available as a mail-in redemption, the 1914 Cracker Jack cards were only available in boxes of the Famous Popcorn Confection, into which they were inserted with absolutely no protection at all. Nearly 100 years later, population reports at PSA confirm that this method of distribution afforded very few high-grade examples for each of the set's 144 cards, if any at all. Indeed, the population data for almost every one of the cards in the set (all but a handful, actually) resembles the population data for several other historically significant sets celebrated for their aesthetics as much as for their condition challenges. Like the 1909 T204 Ramly Tobacco and the 1910 E93 Standard Caramel sets, for example, nearly every line on the 1914 Crack Jack pop report appears similar to the last: a mass of maybe 20 examples in lower grades, usually followed by a few blank columns in the mid to upper mid-grade range, and then finished by a single "1" or "2" in the NM 7 or NM/MT 8 columns, and that's it. Nearly all of those high-grade, hobby-leading Pop 1 and Pop 2 examples are currently being offered in our break-up of the hobby's finest-ever-assembled 1914 Cracker Jack Set Registry, but there remains one notoriously uncommon star card that unfortunately doesn't exist in high-grade, one mythical issue that has escaped collectors in search of that elusive "like-new" example for nearly 100 years, and that is, of course, the coveted Christy Mathewson card, offered here in EX 5 condition from PSA and ranking as one of the second highest-graded copies on record, with only one graded like it and only one graded higher, and that in the NM 7 tier. The key feature to the offered example is without question its near perfect centering, an extremely uncommon characteristic for the issue, but the print quality is equally as impressive, with bold and accurate registration highlighted by noticeably thorough saturation and retention of the iconic red print of the backdrop. While the top border reveals some uniform toning or soiling, there appear to be no real traces of caramel stains on either side, making for a noticeably neat example in the grade of EX 5. Indeed, the only discernible EX feature throughout is a self-evident touch to the top left corner, which is balanced by uniform EX/MT or better corners elsewhere. A remarkably presentable top-end example of one of the top-10 most coveted cards in the entire hobby, please understand that the occasion for its availability--that is, the break-up of the all-time finest 1914 Cracker Jack set--is nearly as rare as the card itself, so don't expect to encounter another comparable example any time soon. One of only two 1914 Cracker Jack cards to famously change its design between 1914 and 1915, the 1914 "Matty" ranks, at least in the minds of most long-time hobbyists, right alongside such hobby legends as the T206 Wagner, the '33 Goudey Lajoie, and the '52 Topps Mantle, and it would perhaps rank equally as high in American popular culture, and indeed in world fame, if only a few more copies existed. With just 16 on record at PSA and only 19 at SGC--hardly more than half the total known numbers of T206 Wagners, mind you--the 1914 Cracker Jack Christy Mathewson manages a much higher level of obscurity than the aforementioned hobby icons, but that could of course change significantly with the outcome of this auction. Very strongly encouraged, this is a veritable once-in-a-decade opportunity to claim a stake in the hobby and join the ranks of the collecting elite with a masterful bid on this undisputed hobby masterpiece.