Lot # 1: 1908-09 Rose Company Postcard Cy Young No Team HOF PSA 3 VG One of One!

Starting Bid: $25.00

Bids: 187 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "Pre-War Sports Cards & Memorabilia V",
which ran from 11/10/2021 10:00 PM to
11/28/2021 10:00 PM



Easily the most important card we've ever handled. Start with the fact that before the find of six postally unused Rose Co. Cards in the basement of a family owned department store this Spring there were only two known examples of A Cy Young and neither of those had come up for sale since 2004. Then add to that the fact that this is the first known 1909 version of Cy Young. Then add the fact that this adds a 5th known "sticker variation."

There are lots of "No Team" variations. When Rose Co. ran out of cards the new versions were printed without team names. In four instances there were players who were traded between 1908 and 1909 who still had stock available with the wrong team name. Instead of throwing those out and reprinting them they created a sticker and covered the team name. The four previously known sticker variations were all commons. While it made sense that a Cy Young Sticker variation was a possibility (though it is somewhat surprising they still had 1908 stock left over of someone like Young!) the two other versions were Boston AL team versions.

That leads to a lot of interesting questions. Why had only two Youngs been discovered? Wouldn't the more popular players have more cards survive? Wouldn't they also possibly even have more printed? Obviously Young had enough cards printed that after he was traded there were Boston leftovers that needed to have a sticker created. Was Cy a poor seller for some strange reason?

Anyway, here's a chance to truly own part of Baseball Card history. A very solid PSA 3 VG with no creases a decent chip to the upper right corner and light corner and edge wear otherwise. Also phenomenally clean and free from soiling/toning as you would expect from a card that sat in a box for over 100 years!

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