1922 E120 American Caramel Near-Complete Set (232/240) Including Ty Cobb

Sold For:

$13,200

Year:

1922

Auction:

2022 Fall

Lot #:

587

Category:

Prewar Baseball - 1910s and 1920s Cards

This rarely offered, lower-grade, near-complete set of 1922 E120 American Caramel (Series 240) cards includes 232 of the 240 cards in the set, highlighted by twenty-eight Hall of Famers, including Ty Cobb, Grover Alexander, and Tris Speaker. Condition is 56% Gd to Vg (including 3% better) and 44% Pr to Fr (including three altered and one trimmed). Missing the following eight cards for completion: E. Collins, Gardner, Hauser, Hooper, W. Johnson, B. Meusel, Morrison, and Ruth. The E120 American Caramel Company set issued in 1922 is the classic set from the 1920s. The E120 set’s 240 cards make it the only comprehensive set of the era, and its striking design make it one of the most attractive baseball card sets of any era. The set features fifteen members from each of the sixteen Major League teams. All the players are pictured in full-length poses. The National Leaguers are printed in a green tone, the American Leaguers in a sepia tone. We have selected three cards to be graded and encapsulated by SGC. Keys: Alexander (VG/EX 4), Baker (Pr), Bancroft (Vg, blank back), Carey (Pr), Cobb (Pr due to two strips of clear tape on top and bottom), Faber (Gd+), Frisch (Pr), Grimes (tape repairs, otherwise Pr), Haines (Fr), Harris (Pr due to two strips of clear tape on sides), Hartnett (Ex-Mt), Heilmann (Pr-Fr), Hornsby (Pr), Hoyt (Pr-Fr), Kelly (Pr), Maranville (Gd), Marquard (Pr due to paper loss on reverse), Pennock (EX 5), Rice (VG/EX 4), Rixey (Gd), Roush (Pr-Fr), Schalk (Gd+), Sewell (Vg), Sisler (marks on reverse, otherwise Gd), Southworth (Pr-Fr), Speaker (Fr), Traynor (Pr), Wheat (Pr), and Youngs (Gd, blank back). E120s are almost never found in set or even near-set form. They could be collected only one card at a time by buying packs of American Caramel. They were never offered by the company in complete-set form, and with 240 cards to collect a complete set was a great challenge even in 1922. Assembling a set today, while theoretically possible, would be even a greater challenge and might be considered somewhat impractical by most collectors. This is a rare opportunity to acquire a near-complete set of 231 different cards (out of 240 in the set) of this all-time classic 1920s baseball-card issue. Total: 232 cards. Reserve $1,000.