Tag Archives: 1910s

BASEBALL CARDS PRICE GUIDE 1910s

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Baseball cards exploded in popularity in the late 19th century and were produced for over 100 years now. The decade of the 1910s was an especially iconic time for early baseball cards as manufacturing techniques improved. Understanding baseball card values and prices from this era can provide useful context about the growing hobby and early legends of the game.

During the 1910s, tobacco companies like American Tobacco Company and Continental Tobacco Company dominated baseball card production and distribution. These companies included baseball cards in cigarette and other tobacco products hoping to encourage sales. The most widely produced and collected sets from this decade include 1910 to 1919 Tobacco Card sets highlighting superstars like Walter Johnson, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner and more.

Due to strong demand, card production reached new heights in the 1910s with tobacco companies pumping out millions of baseball cards featuring players across the major and minor leagues. Card quality was still relatively low during this decade compared to later years. Many 1910s baseball cards were printed using crude lithographic and gravure techniques on low quality, non-glossy stock paper resulting in cards that were more susceptible to wear and damage over time.

Despite early production issues, high population reports and the iconic players featured make 1910s baseball cards very desirable for collectors today, especially in top grades. Here is a brief overview of some key 1910s sets and estimated price ranges for sought-after specimen in different conditions:

1910 to 1911 American Caramel cards – Featuring early rookie cards of future all-time greats like Ty Cobb and Walter Johnson. High grade examples in top NM-MT 8 condition can fetch $2,000-$5,000 each.

1912 and 1913 T206 tobacco portfolio cards – Key early “portrait” style issues. Nicely centered T206s in average VG-EX 5 condition are $300-700. A pristine example could grade PSA 8 and sell for $2,000+.

1914 and 1915 Cracker Jack cards – Early card inserts featuring players across major leagues. Popular vertical format cards remain affordable for most collectors. Standard VG-EX graded examples are $50-$150.

1916 and 1917 Sporting News tobacco cards – Scarce early issues with only a few dozen graded PSA 8 or above due to fragile high relief designs. Even lower graded specimens in AG-VG 3-5 condition deserve $200-$500.

1911-1915 Gray Backs and White BorderIssue – Scarce regional issues with major stars. Complete near-complete sets regularly surpass $1,000 even in lower grades due to rarity.

1918 and 1919 M101-6 Hershberger/Judge/Home Run Baker cards – Iconic and early superstar rookie issues from these tobacco sets in PSA 8 grade would likely sell for $2,000-3,000 each. Typical VG condition is $300-700.

Honus Wagner and American Tobacco Company – The elusive T206 Honus Wagner rookie from 1909-1911 is one of the most sought-after collectibles in the world. The single highest graded PSA NM-MT 8+ specimen sold for over $6.6 million in 2016, showing no signs of weakening demand for this prized card.

When collecting early 1910s cards today, condition is important but often challenging due to the fragile paper stock used at that time. even mid-range VG-EX examples especially of stars like Wagner, Cobb and Mathewson can provide a satisfying connection to history and the dawn of the baseball card era for collectors. Completing high quality original 1910s card sets is a major achievement and investment due to the mix of iconic players, early production challenges in that decade and over 100 collecting since. With care and proper holding, condition on finer 1910s specimens should only improve with time further solidifying their enduring value to the hobby.

As illustrated by the price examples and storylines above, 1910s baseball cards provide a fascinating view into the roots of the sport, emergence of legends on the diamond and growth of the sports collecting industry itself. While the early decade is one of the formative in baseball cards’ history, 1910 issues remain both available and affordable for specialized collectors today seeking to appreciate the origins of America’s favorite pastime preserved in cardboard. Comparing 1910s card values to later decades helps emphasize baseball’s staying power as one of our culture’s most collectible sports over more than a century.

BASEBALL CARDS WORTH MONEY FROM 1910s

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Baseball cards from the 1910s can be extremely valuable collectors items, with some cards fetching hundreds of thousands of dollars at auction. This decade saw the rise of tobacco cards as the dominant form of baseball cards, with companies like T206 and E90 issuing some of the most iconic and valuable sets from the early 20th century. While it may be over 100 years old, 1910s-era baseball memorabilia remains highly sought after by collectors.

One of the most famous and valuable baseball cards from the 1910s is the 1909-11 T206 Honus Wagner card. Widely considered the rarest and most coveted card of all time, the Wagner card was part of the massive T206 set issued between 1909-1911 by the American Tobacco Company. What makes the Wagner so rare is that the legendary Pittsburgh Pirate shortstop demanded American Tobacco stop producing his card, likely due to his opposition to promoting tobacco. As a result, it’s estimated fewer than 50 graded Wagner cards exist today in all conditions. In recent years, PSA-graded examples have sold at auction for over $3 million, with one mint condition specimen fetching $6.6 million in 2016.

Another hugely valuable 1910s card is the 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth rookie card. Issued while Ruth was still playing for the Red Sox, it captures “The Bambino” in his early minor league days before his legendary Yankees career. Only a small number of the News cards are known to exist, and in high grades they can sell for well over $100,000. In 2016, a PSA NM-MT 8 grade 1914 News Ruth card set a new record when it sold for an astounding $368,500. Other ultra-rare 1910s Ruth rookie cards include issues from the 1914 Cracker Jack set as well as Baltimore cards from 1915 and 1916, with high graded examples of any Ruth rookie frequently topping $50,000.

While the Wagner and Ruth cards command the highest prices, there are dozens of notable 1910s players whose rare early issue cards can still net five and six figures. Hall of Famers like Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Grover Cleveland Alexander, and Eddie Collins all have scarce tobacco-era cards that attract intense bidding. A key subset is the 1910 Old Mill Tobacco cards, which featured 25 future Hall of Famers but are exceptionally rare in high grades. Just a few years later, the 1914 Cracker Jack set similarly featured legends like Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, and Nap Lajoie. Even in low grades, these early 20th century cards can sell for tens of thousands.

Beyond the star players of the time, error cards and oddball issues from the 1910s can also hold tremendous value. One example is the ultra-rare 1912 Naples Fireman tobacco card, which was accidentally printed with a photo of a local firefighter instead of a ballplayer. Only a handful are known to exist, with a PSA-graded example selling at auction in 2014 for $36,000. Other anomalies like a 1914 Baltimore News Hal Chase card missing statistics, or a miscut 1911 Turkey Red Cabinets card can excite collectors. Even common players portrayed in scarce early sets have found new appreciation, such as 1911 W514 cards of Bill Carrigan or Wally Schang.

When it comes to grading and preservation, mint condition examples from over a century ago are understandably few and far between. Cards in high grades often command the biggest prices. The leading third-party authentication company PSA has graded fewer than 10 examples of the legendary 1909-11 T206 Wagner above a PSA 5. Meanwhile, the population reports for pre-WWI stars like Mathewson, Walter Johnson or Nap Lajoie in high PSA grades are often numbered in the single digits. This scarcity is a big factor in the valuations of top 1910s cards – the better the state of preservation, the more collectors are willing to pay for a direct connection to the early days of the game.

While the golden era of baseball cards may have started 100 years ago, the collectibles and memorabilia from the 1910s continue to enthrall fans and command impressive sums. Iconic issues like the T206s and early tobacco sets remind us of baseball’s history and the first superstars of the game who were captured in card form. With such a small surviving population after decades of wear and tear, mint condition examples from this decade will likely remain among the most valuable in the hobby. Serious vintage card collectors know that when it comes to the 1910s, time has only increased demand for reliving that early period through the cards that were produced.