1909-1911 T206 White Border Near-Complete Set (520 of 524)

Sold For:

$105,750

Year:

1909

Auction:

2007 Spring

Lot #:

152

Category:

Prewar Baseball - T Tobacco Cards

Grades 50% Vg-Ex/Ex to Ex (includes some Ex-Mt or better), 45% ranging from Vg to Vg-Ex, 5% lesser (includes a few which appear Ex but may have a very slight trim). Near-complete 1909-1911 T206 set (520 of 524), missing only the "Big 4" for completion. Due to their high value, Plank and Magie are being offered separately. There is little need for a formal introduction to the T206 White Borders set, the single most important and highly collected issue among all tobacco and all vintage cards. Presented is an extremely attractive and clean near-complete set of 520 cards. This set was assembled many years ago, as opposed to having been compiled recently in the modern era. The cards span all grades and include many significant condition highlights; the entire set has tremendous eye-appeal across the board and even the lesser-graded cards are very pleasing and exhibit bright colors and crisp focus. This is a very carefully assembled set put together by an old-time collector who was unusually condition-conscious for his time: few cards have creases, and most cards have been downgraded due solely to normal corner and edge wear. It would be a challenge in any era to assemble such an attractive T206 set, and all the more challenging to find a set of this extraordinary quality already assembled and available for sale as a unit today. Any T206 set, of course, naturally has a tremendous "break value" and most quality sets are broken up and sold individually. The T206 set is highlighted by seventy-four Hall of Famers, including all four Ty Cobb cards, three Christy Mathewsons, two Walter Johnsons, three Cy Youngs, as well as many rarities. The near-set includes the rare St. Louis varieties of Demmitt and O'Hara (collectors are just beginning to fully appreciate how rare these cards really are and they are often not included in sets), Elberfeld -port. (Wash.), and, of course, the forty-eight scarce Southern League series cards. This is a beautiful T206 set, one of the nicer sets we have seen, and in a particularly desirable grade offering an exceptional value. The Hall of Famers and key cards are each graded individually. We have selected forty-four cards among the many highlights to be graded and encapsulated by SGC. The key cards grade as follows: Baker (SGC VG 40), Beckley (SGC EX 60), Bender/no trees (SGC EX/NM 80), Bender/trees (Vg), Bender/port. (Vg), Bresnahan/port. (Vg), Bresnahan/bat (SGC VG 40), G. Brown/Wash. (Gd), Brown/Chi. (SGC NM 84), Brown/Cubs (Vg-Ex), Brown/port. (ink notations on back, otherwise Vg-Ex/Ex), Chance/bat (SGC EX 60), Chance/red (SGC EX 60), Chance/yellow (Vg-Ex), Chase/holding trophy (Vg-Ex), Chase/blue (Ex), Chase/pink (Vg), Chase/black cap (Ex/Ex-Mt), Chase/white cap (Vg), Chesbro (SGC EX 60), Cicotte ("Black Sox", Vg-Ex/Ex), Clarke/bat (SGC EX 60), Clarke/port. (Vg-Ex/Ex), Cobb/green (SGC EX 60 Perfectly clean front and back, with light wear to the corners [predominately the upper left], centered 30/70 left to right), Cobb/red (SGC GOOD 30 Great-looking card! It is a crime to grade this card Good! The card has a single very light horizontal crease, which is mostly visible from the reverse, that runs across the center of the card, but at arm's length the card looks Ex to Ex-Mt), Cobb/bat off (SGC GOOD 30 Vg-Ex card with a small pencil notation on the back), Cobb/bat on (SGC EX 60), Collins/Phila. (Vg-Ex), Collins/Minn. (Vg-Ex/Ex), Crawford/throw (SGC EX 60), Crawford/bat (SGC EX/NM 80), Dahlen/Brooklyn (Vg), G. Davis (SGC EX 60), Demmitt/St. Louis (SGC VG 40 Bright and crisp, with perfect centering, and extremely fresh colors. No tobacco staining, which is particularly rare for this card.), Duffy (Vg), Elberfeld/port., Wash. (SGC VG 40), Evers/port. (SGC EX/NM 80), Evers/Chi. (Vg-Ex/Ex), Evers/Cubs (Gd), Flick (Vg), Gandil ("Black Sox," American Beauty, Ex), Griffith/bat (Vg), Griffith/port. (SGC VG/EX 50), Huggins/hands (SGC VG 40), Huggins/port. (SGC EX 60), Jennings/one hand (SGC EX 60), Jennings/both hands (Vg), Jennings/port. (SGC EX+ 70), Johnson/hands (30/70 L/R, otherwise Vg), Johnson/port. (SGC EX 60), Joss/hands (Vg), Joss/port. (SGC VG/EX 50), Keeler/port. (Vg), Keeler/bat (Vg), Kelley (Vg/Vg-Ex), Kleinow/Bost. (Vg-Ex), Lajoie/port. (SGC EX 60), Lajoie/throw (SGC EX+ 70), Lajoie/bat (SGC EX 60), Lundgren/Chi. (SGC EX/NM 80), Marquard/hands (Ex), Marquard/pitch (ink spot on the front, otherwise Ex), Marquard/port. (SGC VG/EX 50), Mathewson/dark cap (Vg), Mathewson/port. (SGC VG/EX 50), Mathewson/white cap (Vg/Vg-Ex), McGinnity (SGC EX 60), McGraw/finger (SGC EX 60), McGraw/glove (possible slight trim, otherwise Ex), McGraw/no cap (SGC EX 60), McGraw/cap (Vg-Ex), O'Hara/St. Louis (SGC FAIR 20 A single light horizontal crease and a tiny touch of paper loss; otherwise a crisp card with a bold blue background and perfect registration), Smith/Chic. & Bos. (Polar Bear, Vg), Speaker (SGC EX 60), Tinker/bat off (SGC EX/NM 80), Tinker/bat on (Vg), Tinker/knees (Vg-Ex/Ex), Tinker/port. (Vg), Waddell/port. (SGC VG/EX 50), Waddell/throw (Vg/Vg-Ex), Wallace (Vg-Ex), Walsh (Vg/Vg-Ex), Wheat (Ex), Willis/Pitts. (pencil mark on back, otherwise Ex-Mt), Willis/bat (SGC EX+ 70), Willis/throw (SGC EX/NM 80), Young/glove (SGC VG/EX 50), Young/bare hand (SGC VG 40) and Young/port. (SGC VG/EX 50). This is a set with tremendous eye-appeal, appearing at a glance considerably stronger than suggested by the very respectable and accurate condition composite and individual grades listed above. T206s in PSA 7 NM, PSA 8 NR-MT, or higher grades have risen to astounding levels which are unaffordable for most collectors. Impressive cards ranging in grade from Vg to Excellent condition, of which this near-set is primarily comprised, represent one of the most outstanding values of all vintage cards. This is a beautiful near-complete set of T206 White Borders, the most popular and classic set of the era, in an extremely desirable overall grade. Total 520 cards. Reserve $10,000. Estimate $20,000/$30,000+. SOLD FOR $105,750.00