1888 N338-2 S. F. Hess SGC-Graded Partial Set (15/23) Including Keefe, Ward, and Welch

Sold For:

$99,000

Year:

1888

Auction:

2025 Spring

Lot #:

15

Category:

Pre-1900 Baseball Cards (1830-1899)

Presented is an extraordinary collection of fifteen different extremely rare N338-2 S. F. Hess tobacco cards, including Hall of Famers Tim Keefe, John Ward, and Mickey Welch. The S. F. Hess series features primarily New York Giants players. Of the twenty-three subjects known to date, sixteen are members of the Giants, champions of the National League in 1888 and 1889. This incredible offering includes twelve of the sixteen Giants featured in this series. While we have handled individual examples over the years, we have never seen a complete (or near-complete) set of N338-2 S. F. Hess cards offered at auction. To put the rarity of these cards into proper perspective, one should realize that we have sold only fourteen different examples of these cards in the past 21 years. This is an unprecedented offering and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire a sizable collection of this ultra-rare card issue. Each card is graded and encapsulated by SGC. SGC Grading Composite: EX/NM 6 (1 card): Foster (only graded example). EX 5 (1 card): Ward (HOF). VG/EX+ 4.5 (1 card): Brown. VG/EX 4 (4 cards): Richardson, Slattery, Titcomb, and Whitney. VG 3 (4 cards): Crane, Latham (VG 40), Orr, and M. Welch (HOF). GOOD 2 (2 cards): Hatfield (GOOD 30) and Keefe (HOF). FAIR 1.5 (1 card): George. Authentic (1 card): Gerhardt. This is an extremely impressive grouping of 1888 N338-2 S. F. Hess! Every card in this partial set presents with outstanding photo contrast. This tremendous collection represents an incredible opportunity to acquire a partial set of one of baseball card collecting's most elusive and desirable sets. Total: 15 cards.