This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 3/23/2018
If you're not familiar with the Baltimore News Newsboys series, don't feel bad; nobody is. It's one of the rarest issues of the 20th century and the staff at MHCC, with its 100+ years of combined experience in the hobby, can count the number of prior examples we've seen on one hand. Not to be confused with the 1914 Baltimore News Orioles minor league set that houses the mythical Babe Ruth card, his first appearance as a baseball player, the 1911 Baltimore News Newsboys collection is a 30-card compilation that closely resembles many of the candy and caramel collections of the time. In fact, the cards appear nearly identical to the E94 George Close Candy series but have two distinct differences; cards from the George Close series have an assortment of colored backgrounds while all the cards from the Baltimore series are light blue, and the reverse is different with the Baltimore series offering "Prize of $1.00 to First 35 Boys Getting Full Set." Since it was printed in such limited numbers as a small regional issue, the American Card Catalog opted to separate it from the E94 category and give it a designation of M131. Presented is one of the rarest cards you will ever see; a 1911 Baltimore News Newsboys Ty Cobb, graded SGC 20 FAIR 1.5. There are less than 10 graded specimens known of any of the 30 cards in the series and our research was only able to unearth two other known specimens of Ty Cobb, the key card in the series. For the grade, the card presents surprisingly well with decent centering, heavily rounded but above-grade corners and no creases to detract from the overall eye appeal. Some slight spots of paper loss can be seen in the blue background and on the nameplate but they're relatively minor and completely tolerable given the magnitude of the issue. Flipping over to the reverse, the onlooker is greeted with a completely legible checklist of baseball greats that include Cobb, "Old" Cy Young and "Hans" Wagner, printed on a toned white canvas that presents well above grade level with no creases, wrinkles or missing paper visible. An opportunity like this may not come again for a very long time, so if you're ready to add a collection-defining world-class specimen to your stable of prized treasures, you better get aggressive and do the distance with this one!