Strip cards are notoriously found miscut and otherwise abused and these
are no different - cut small torn off their strips and severely worn
by 1920s kids that were decidedly not condition-conscious many of these
cards did not survive the year they were produced much less the
Depression and a World War. Crudely produced on flimsy stock the
cards were easily damaged to begin with and the treatment of 1920s
youngsters fresh from the candy store was not favorable to the cards.
The result is that large groupings in any condition are not easy to
find.
As prewar collectors continue to look for value in the hobby, 1920s
strip cards are growing considerably in demand. Presented is a pair of two (2) attractive cards from the W516 issue featuring Chicago White Sox pitcher Eddie Cicotte. The colorful cards are
among the more attractive of the strip issues, certainly better designed
than most of the era's issues.
Cicotte was one of the ring leaders of the Black Sox Scandal in the 1919 World
Series and was banned for life from the game for his role. Cards from the W516 issues were among the last cards issued during Cicotte's playing career, along
with his 1920-21 Holsum Bread D327 example and some 1920 issues of the similar W519 sets.
Included:
1920 W516-1 #21 Eddie Cicotte (hand cut), graded SGC Poor 1 (28 total SGC graded examples, only 12 higher)
1920 W516-2-1 #30 Eddie Cicotte (hand cut), graded SGC Poor 1 (7 total SGC graded examples, only 3 higher)
Two cards total.