1928 Fro-Joy Ice Cream Babe Ruth Complete Set (6)

Sold For:

$5,640

Year:

1928

Auction:

2023 Summer

Lot #:

691

Category:

Prewar Baseball - 1910s and 1920s Cards

Rarely offered complete set of AUTHENTIC 1928 Fro-Joy Ice Cream cards. During a single week in 1928 (August 6th-11th) Fro-Joy Ice Cream issued this six-card set, with each of the cards featuring Babe Ruth. The approximately 2-1/16 x 4-inch cards feature black-and-white photos with captions on the fronts and Fro-Joy advertising on the backs. The backs of these cards invited youngsters to submit (by mail) a complete set in exchange for a large (8-5/8 x 12 inches) premium card. One of the problems for collectors that has developed over the past forty years is that for some reason an abundance of reprint Fro-Joy cards and sheets have been printed and are circulating. It's gotten to the point where collectors are now so wary of the issue, and confused by the reproductions, that they now tend to just shy away from the set completely. Some grading companies have even stopped grading them. In the 1970s, before there were any Fro-Joy reprints, a single card would create chaos at a card convention. No one had them! They were so rare that most collectors didn't even know what they looked like. An exciting find of a couple of hundred authentic cards in the late 1970s satisfied the most advanced collectors, but soon after reprints became so common that Fro-Joys understandably began to get a bad reputation. As time passed, some of these reproductions even had some age to them, confusing collectors all the more. But there also exists a small number of authentic examples. The condition of the set is as follows: #1 (small ink marks on reverse, otherwise Vg-Ex+), 2 (Vg/Vg-Ex), 3 (Vg), 4 (Gd+), 5 (Pr-Fr due to spot of paper loss), and 6 (Pr-Fr). This is a very attractive medium- to lower-grade complete set of these unusual and undervalued 1920s cards of Babe Ruth. Total: 6 cards. Opening Bid $300.