Los Angeles Angels 1961 Club Falstaff Brewing Postcard Type Photo

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I’ve been getting into baseball postcard collecting lately; here’s one of my favorites, published by the Angels’ radio and TV sponsor, Falstaff Brewing.

I was attracted to this niche after I flipped through Tuff Stuff’s Baseball Card Postcard Collection by Ron Menchine and saw so many interesting items.

Here’s how Menchine described the Angels piece.

One could wonder if this one is really a postcard; it’s ~6 1/4” x 9”, but I’ve seen other postcards about that size. A collector told me it’s likely an unused, team-issued item to which a person would have either typed/written a shipping address or applied a delivery address label.

2001 Barry Bonds Full Home Run Ticket Run

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Bonds shattered the single-season HR mark with 73 in 2001, and someone managed to put together a complete run of 61 full tickets from each of his home run games. 

The lot was available for sale in Mastro’s April 2002 catalog, and each was described as being in NM/MT to MT condition.

The keys were home run #60 on September 6 vs. the Diamondbacks, #70, which tied Mark McGwire for the single-season home run mark on October 4 vs. the Astros, #’s 71-72 when he set the new single-season home run mark on October 5 vs. the Dodgers, #73 when he established the new record on the last game of the season on October 6 vs. the Dodgers, and #6 on April 17 vs. the Dodgers which was his 500th career home run.

A lot of the tickets were obtained from season ticket holders by a collector who started the set on the first game of the season.

1991 Topps Desert Shield Soldier Stories

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Topps Magazine usually had a section up front called “Fans Notes,” essentially letters to the editor. The first “note” in the Summer 1991 edition was from a reader who read about the Desert Shield cards in the Winter 1991 issue and was frustrated because he had not seen any yet (he was a LCpl). He wrote that he searched and managed to buy a few and thanked the magazine for their contribution. 

The magazine then shared the following incredible story and picture from a GI who was a reserve nurse and Topps photographer:

If you’re interested in getting the issue with this picture in it, here’s the cover:

1872 Warren Studio Boston Red Stockings Harry Wright CDV

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I ran across this 1872 Harry Wright CDB (Warren Studio Red Stockings) in Mastro’s December 2001 catalog; it’s the same image that Old Cardboard and TCDB reference for the card.

The Standard Catalog of Vintage Baseball Cards describes the set as follows, “The champions from the premiere season of baseball’s first professional league (some wearing their championship pins), are pictured on these cartes de visites. Members of the Boston Red Stockings were photographed at a local studio, most of them being pictured in coat-and-tie with only Harry Wright in uniform. The cards measure about 2-1/2” x 4-1/4” with sepia photos bordered in white. In the bottom border is the name and address of the studio; information which is repeated on the otherwise blank back. Player identification is not found on the card but can be deduced by studying contemporary team pictures.”

The example of Harry Wright pictured above has a heavy crease the center; despite this flaw, Mastro still graded the card Vg due to its visual appeal. I don’t know what it sold for, but my 2016 Standard Catalog gives it a book value of $10k in NM, $5k in E, and $3k in Vg condition. If this card came up for auction today, I’d guess it would easily double the NM value.

The Hobby’s Biggest Scam

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I jokingly shared a scan of the May 1993 issue of Sports Cards (former Baseball Cards) magazine and tagged Dr. Sports Antagonist, who wrote, “Coincidence that “scam”, “profits” and “investments” are all on the same cover?”

Another collector then asked what the hobby’s biggest scam was. After some folks made guesses, I shared Steve Ryan’s article about refurbished cards and memorabilia having become the hobby’s biggest scam.

As Junk Wax Heroes replied, the entire article proves, “Time is a flat circle, so many times I see stuff in old Becketts that still goes on today.”

4 Of The 5 PSA Graded T206 Lenox Cigarettes Fred Payne Cards

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Here’s a T206 Lenox Cigarettes Fred Payne card that was offered for sale back in 1993.  

It was a part of Sotheby’s Important Baseball Cards and Sports Memorabilia auction catalog from March 1993. They described it as “one of the scarcest backs in exceptional near mint condition” and gave it an estimated final price of $500-600.

I’ve dabbled in T206 collecting in the past, but never very seriously. PSA says the extremely rare backs in the set belong to Drum, Lenox, and Uzit (the Ty Cobb back is the ultra rarity). Looking in their Pop Report, there are just five copies of Fred Payne’s Lenox-backed card: a PSA 5, a PSA 2, a PSA 1, and two graded PSA Authentic. 

I did some research and came across four of them.

PWCC sold the PSA 5 for $5160 in October 2023. It’s the same example that Sotheby’s sold. 

By the way, REA previously sold the PSA 5 for $3900 in the Spring of 2016. They also sold the PSA 1 copy in September 2021 for $2040.

Heritage has sold the nicer authentic copy twice: first, in June 2021, for $1500, and then, in May 2024, for just $630.

Heritage also sold the authentic altered copy for $666 in May 2023.

1948/49 Leaf Premiums Complete Set, Advertising Cards, Display Box, And Wrapper

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This incredible lot of nine 1948/49 Leaf Premiums, advertising cards, a display box, and wrapper were offered together in December 2004.

The way Mastro kicked off their description, bashing the base set, is pretty funny, “Universally, hobbyists agree that Leaf’s baseball card program of 1948 was an embarrassing debacle. By current standards, the issue is brightly popular due only to all the production’s unfortunate nuances. However, just a few of today’s best-tutored collectors are aware that there was a premium card supplement then available as well.”

Anyway, they explained that Leaf put one of the 5-1/2” x 7-1/4” pictures inside at the bottom of each counter box and that whoever bought the last pack would get the premium. Or, a collector with ten wrappers could also get a premium. 

The premiums in this lot were described as being in pretty great shape: Grover Alexander (EX+), Cochrane (EX), Gehrig (EX+), Walter Johnson (NM), Mathewson (EX+), McGraw (NM), Babe Ruth (NM), and Ed Walsh (NM). The instructions describing how to get premiums was NM, the advertising card was EX, the Ruth Variation was VG/EX, the wrapper NM, and the two-piece box was VG-VG/EX with some corner wear and a puncture.

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