Help with really old baseball card???

Question

I have a Topps 206 card from 1919. The guy's name is freeman and he played on the team from toledo in those days. Anybody know how much it is worth?

It is from the back of a tobacco box (all cards were in those days) and it isn't in beckets

It's an original all right.
Sweet Corporal Cigarettes is what it says on the back.

I got it in a pack of reprinted T-206 cards, i got really lucky is assume.

It has a bend on the back and the edges and corners are pretty good.

It is sweer Caporal, sorry

That is really disapointing. An original tobacco card, and it was rated at 18 bucks. I thought it would be at least 1,000

Answer 1

The card is of Jerry Freeman, who played in the majors for Washington in 1908-09. After that he played for the Toledo Mudhens of the American Association, considered a minor league at the time.

I assume this is what the card looks like;
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?bbcards:302:./temp/~ammem_wIk6::

This is a card from the T-206 set. The T stands for tobacco, not Topps. Topps didn't begin producing cards until 1951. The T-206 set is the most common and popular amongst the old tobacco sets. It is the same set that the highest valued Honus Wagner card is from, worth millions. The set was issued over a three-year period from 1909-11

If your card is indeed original, and not a reprint, and in good condition, then it has some value, but being of a lesser player, not very much. You will first need to determine if yours is an original or a reprint. Generally, the reprints are thinner stock, smoother, and have 'whiter' borders.

Here is a link to a site that will value the card, based on the player, the back and the condition. This card with a Sweet Caporal back in Good condition, for example is valued at $20.
http://www.mlbvintage.com/t206/

There is one up for bid on eBay in VG-EX condition right now. (Item number: 220160746677) As of this answer it was up to $8.00

There are a couple for sale online for $35 - $40.
http://www.t206.com/Freeman_Jerry.cfm
http://www.myvintagebaseball.com/for-sale-pg3_American_Beauty.htm

Hope yours is an original. Good luck!

Answer 2

Topps didn't make cards until 1951 & what you have maybe a new card from either 2005 or 2006. Topps has been making cards of today's players with the cards looking like the style of old cards. They have made sets that look like the styles of the 1957, 1956, 1955 Topps sets & Bowman is doing the same thing. Topps is doing that with other sets too like the old Cracker Jack's cards. If your card is from 1919 it is made by a tobacco company & could be worth some $$$, so check out a Beckett or a Sport Collector's Digest Baseball Card Price Guide. Beckett monthly doesn't list old cards like 1919.

Answer 3

Where did you get the card from?? Passed down from grandfather/great grandfather?
The cigarette cards, if athentic, even in poor condition are worth $100's, going into $1000's.

However, I don't think they were from Topps. They did reprint.
If the condition is amazing, it's likely a reprint. There should be some sort of copyright year on it though.

You could look on ebay to see if there's anything there that you can match a picture too.

Answer 4

Since there is no organization to the cards, my guess is that they have been picked through by someone looking for promising ROOKIE cards. Should you accidently find a USA Olympic card of Mark McGwire or some other cinch Hall-of-Famer, then you could invest in BECKETT'S GUIDE to card values. The value in Beckett's is merely a guideline, however, and cards are likely to fetch far less than listed due to corner damage, bad die-cutting, or a myriad of other flaws. Good luck.

Answer 5

Topps didn't produce a baseball card set until 1951. Maybe the card you have is a more recent reprint of an old card. Does it actually say Topps on it?

Answer 6

It is worth pocket change. Topps didn't produce card sets until 1951, but in recent years has decided that creativity is overrated and begun recycling old designs from long-gone companies where there are no IP issues. One such design is the "206" set, and that's what you've got.

Answer 7

Nope

Answer 8

I don't know but send it to me in the mail and I will find out.

Answer 9

look it up in beckett's magazine

Answer 10

couple thousand if its in good shape