2014 will mark the 100th anniversary of the landmark E145 Cracker Jack set. One of the most beautiful card issues ever released the Cracker Jack cards - and the product - have captured the imagination of the hobby for a century. Likely the most popular and highly desirable of all the caramel issues - and one of the most popular prewar sets in general the cards feature 144 of the game"s biggest stars presented on bold red cards printed on lightweight cream-colored stock.Of late demand for cards from the 1914 and 1915 Cracker Jack issues has increased considerably with higher-grade examples setting regular sales records and Hall of Famers continuing to rise. The newly issued book The Cracker Jack Collection: Baseball"s Prized Players by Tom Zappala & Ellen Zappala is being released in conjunction with PSA at the 2013 National. This is likely to to raise the profile of the book even further as Zappala"s book on the T206 issue did several years ago. The book which will focus on the players included in the set is an invaluable research tool with tremendous information on the players included in the set.Cards from the 1914 issue are difficult to find and incredibly condition-sensitive due to the flimsy paper on which they were printed as well as the fact that the cards were inserted into boxes of Cracker Jacks. Obviously this put the cards in close proximity to the product leaving them susceptible to caramel staining - a fact of life with Cracker Jacks. The issue is absolutely loaded with stars and Hall of Famers which combined with the condition-sensitivity of the set has made it an extremely challenging issue to collect for even the most advanced of collectors. For this reason only four current complete graded sets exist on the PSA and SGC registries combined.Of all the remaining sets on both registries this one is closest to completion at 81%. Ranked an incredible #4 on the PSA Current Finest list and #10 on the All-Time Finest list the set features 117 cards including many of the issue"s keys. Most of the cards regardless of numerical grade present incredibly well - and many are also among the highest-graded copies known. Cards included in the set are as follows: PSA EX-MT 6 (5 cards): #16 56 59 67 and 102; PSA EX+ 5.5 (1 card): #42; PSA EX 5 (14 cards):