There are some incredibly unique collectibles out there, like this 1940/41 O-Pee-Chee double-sided “uncut sheet” I found in a 2005 Mastro auction catalog.
Here’s the lots full description:
In 1940, O-Pee-Chee continued the production of their oversized 5″ x 7″ cards from the year before. The offered uncut sheet contains images of all 50 cards in the 1940 set. Card #’s 101-125 are printed on one side of the sheet while cards #’s 126-150 appear on the other side. Card #’s 101-125 are printed in black and white while the remaining cards are in sepia. A plethora of stars are present, including #’s 102 Sands, 108 Broda, 116 Reardon, 118 Apps, 125 Lach, 130 Broda, 131 Bentley, 132 Schmidt, 136 Patrick and 146 Apps. The sheet measures an imposing 25-1/2″ × 36″. Due to its size, it is host to a plethora of condition problems, including multiple creases, edge tears, surface scrapes, etc. Despite these flaws, we cannot overstate its importance, and the piece may well be the only one of its type in the hobby. With proper framing and matting, this rarity would make a spectacular display piece and nicely complement the finest advanced hockey collection.
However, I think Heritage Auctions got it right when they sold an incredibly similar item in October 2021 for $810 and described it as an advertising poster.
They wrote, “This is a two-sided poster printed on thin paper. Was it meant to hang in retail stores? Did O-Pee-Chee consider making dual-sided cards on paper to accommodate the war effort like ’41 Play Ball baseball cards on paper in the states? Either way, it is very rare. There is some obvious edge damage, surface damage and creasing. Every card is affected by creasing. Overall size is approx 25” x 35″ on paper.”
When this 1969/70 Topps basketball uncut sheet was auctioned off in April/May 2008, it was one of only two known examples to the hobby.
The sheet is approximately 28” x 42” and features the entire 99-card set in a 9 x 11 arrangement. The sheet’s overall quality was described as ~Ex because of wrinkles affecting many of the single subjects (like Alcindor), creases, tears, and other faults. This consignor originally acquired the sheet from the Topps Vault.
From his archives, I know that Christopher Sanchirico once, or still, owns this example of a 1969 Topps basketball uncut sheet.
And then, just a few months ago, in February 2024, Heritage auctioned off this example of a 1969 Topps basketball uncut sheet, which sold for $216k despite a few pinholes and wrinkles from being rolled up for most of its existence.
This 1910 T212 Obak uncut sheet has 76 of 175 different subjects in the year’s release of Pacific Coast League Northwestern League players.
Mastro auctioned off this example in November 2000 and wrote that it features players from five of the PCL teams (no reps for Vernon) and Spokane only from the NWL. There are 46 different players depicted, with 30 of those appearing twice. Also, the format, with borders on the left and right, demonstrates that a single line from Obak’s production sheet was 19 cards. They went on to say that because the issue has 175 cards, they couldn’t rationalize any configuration with duplicate images, where 19 cards horizontally are compatible with 175 different ones in the set. They concluded this was bad news for Obak collectors since it suggests imbalances in production quantities within the issue.
Overall, the piece measured 10 1/2” x 28” and was production-ready. All the cards stated “175 subjects” on the back. The front of the sheet has a few creases, and about a dozen cards toward the right have mild spot toning, making the overall condition Gd to Vg.
Since that sale, a few more Obak uncut sheets have surfaced. In the Spring of 2010, REA sold the following 1909 T212 Obak Complete Set Uncut Sheet for $5875.
They wrote that the 76-card 1909 set is the first of the three annual T212 baseball cards from Obak Cigarettes and are by far the rarest. They mentioned having seen the 1910 Obak sheet and said it was interesting that the one-year-later sheet also had 76 cards, which, in addition to the 1909 Obak issue having precisely that number of cards in the set, suggests that this is a complete sheet exactly as printed. This was also a final process sheet with backs fully printed, but it also had a few imperfections. They advertised the sheet’s dimensions as 11 1/8” x 27 3/4”.
Next, in September 2021, Huggins & Scott sold this 1911 T212 Obak Full Uncut Sheet of 179 cards for $18,800.
They wrote, “With a challenging slate of games often approaching two hundred per season, the combatants of the early twentieth century Pacific Coast and Northwestern Leagues were some of the most colorful and hardworking personalities in the game. Capturing twelve teams and dozens of future major leaguers, the 1911 T212 Obak series featured western minor leaguers in what is often considered the most attractive baseball series issued during the tobacco card era. In April 2010, our Northern California-based consignor uncovered an incredible keepsake in his personal belongings. Three decades prior, a business associate gave our consignor several items from his father’s collection. A former employee of the Schmidt Lithography Company of San Francisco, these personal effects included advertising images, illustrations and a neatly folded sheet of baseball cards inserted into a manila 15×10 envelope. Measuring 31 x 23-1/2”, the offered 1911 T212 Obak full uncut sheet of (179) cards is likely unique and the largest baseball cigarette uncut sheet known in the hobby. While similar sheets (likely partial) of the 1909 series (76 cards) and 1910 edition (76 cards) have sold through competing auction houses, this (179) card galley overwhelms all others known. The interesting configuration includes (8) 21-card vertical rows and a single 11-card horizontal arrangement at the bottom of the sheet. Among the (88) different players, (85) players have two cards each, while a trio of players are displayed three times.”
Hopefully, sharing these three sheets can help some smarter folks about pre-war cards piece together a bit more of the T212 story.
For more about Obak cards, check out this summary from prewarcards.
The following engravers’ uncut proof sheet of a 1933 R333 Delong Gum complete set was described as “one of the finest and most magnificent uncut sheets of baseball cards in our entire hobby.”
The 12” x 13” sheet has great colors, a blank back (I can’t recall ever seeing a production sheet around the hobby), and includes all 24 images in the set. The consignor was said to have been tasked to create the color template for the issue and kept this one as a memento.
The April 2003 auction lot’s description described the arrangement of the cards on the sheet, commenting that the positioning of cards appears unrelated to the set’s numbering. So, the sheet dispelled previously held notions of relative scarcities with the production. However, you can see that Gehrig, Gehringer, William (Bill) Terry, and Pepper Martin occupy the sheet’s four corner positions, which would make them more susceptible to production line damage.
This original, uncut sheet of 132 different cards from the 1962 Topps football set was auctioned off in April 2004.
The 27-3/4” x 42-1/2” Ex-conditioned panel presents many of the set’s high-profile stars and short-prints, including Ditka, Groza, Davis, Meredith, Starr, Hornung, Gregg, Jordan, Tarkenton, McElhenny, Tittle, Gifford, Layne, Kilmer, and Brodie.
These black-bordered sheets are incredibly scarce. The only reference I can find online to them is from The Vintage Football Card Gallery, which has a page dedicated to virtual uncut sheets but includes a photo of the other second-half sheet a collector sent him.
Here’s a cool one from my hobby library auction catalog archives: a 1952 Bowman Uncut Production Sheet with Mickey Mantle (cards 73 through 108).
Mastro offered this one in their “Fine Sports Auctions” November 2000 catalog. It was described as a complete 36-card final production sheet. The sheet’s corners all showed wear consistent with a Very Good card, and a fairly heavy crease runs across the second row from the bottom, along with a few shorter creases and some wrinkling.
I don’t know what it sold for, but the minimum bid was $5k.
REA re-sold the sheet (you can tell from the crease on the Billy Hitchcock card – 2nd from the right on the bottom row) in their 2020 Spring catalog for $45,600.
An item you won’t see often, this one from Mastro’s December 2002 catalog, “a very scarce 6-1/2’’ x 7-3/4’’ final process uncut sheet that contains six 1935 Goudey cards on the front and a complete puzzle-back photo of Chuck Klein on the reverse.”
They wrote that the sheet was in VG condition with a tear near the upper left corner and a stain in the lower right.
The sheet features Dickey, Lazzeri, Ruffing, Vance, Traynor, and Ott.
The major auction houses have moved a few other R321 sheets over the years; Heritage sold this one with Foxx, Dean, and six other HoFers in November 2014 for $2868.
Heritage also sold a panel with Babe Ruth and nine other HoFers in November 2014 for $4063.
And REA sold this twelve-card sheet (with the Detroit Tigers team on the back) for $8,812 in the spring of 2008.
