(LOT 31)
1919 T213 Coupon Cigarettes Type 3 Ty Cobb Portrait - PSA 8 NM-MT – POP 2; Only One Example Graded Higher on the Combined PSA & SGC POP Charts!
PACK-FRESH TYPE 3 COBB!!!... From 1910 through 1919, Coupon Cigarettes released three distinct tobacco card series utilizing similar player images from the classic T206 Tobacco Monster Set. Distinctly known for their various sizes that were typically smaller than a T206 subject as well as the blue ink (as opposed to black) utilized for the player's name and team, the standard 3rd Coupon Series was released in 1919 within the Louisiana Region, revealing a "FACTORY No.3 DIST OF LA." distribution print. One of this issue's most miraculous survivors is this breathtaking PSA 8 portrait representation of the immortal Ty Cobb, one of a mere two examples at this hallowed plateau, with only a single specimen graded higher on the combined PSA and SGC Pop Charts! Its utmost paucity level is justified by PSA's population report only reflecting a total of eight Cobb Portrait copies for ALL GRADES. Furthermore, the monumental disparity between the standard T206 Red Portrait Cobb cards versus its 1919 Type 3 brethren is extraordinary, with the aforementioned eight T213 Ty Cobb PSA examples representing a microscopic 0.3% of the 2,500+ T206 Cobb Red Portrait PSA encapsulated copies.

The incomparable Tyrus Raymond Cobb is still considered by many historians as baseball's best five-tool player ever, and his record-setting .366 lifetime batting average and 12 batting titles in a 13-year span strongly support that notion. Cobb would win his 12th and final batting championship the year this esoteric offering was issued, with his .384 batting average and 191 safeties both pacing the Junior Circuit in 1919. This Red Portrait representation of the fiery Cobb resides as one of the hobby's most distinguished cardboard images, with the iconic Carl Horner portrait Cobb pose proudly standing tall right alongside Wagner's T206, Ruth's 1933 Goudey #144, and Mantle's 1952 Topps illustrations as the arguable four most exalted baseball card images. Pack-fresh to say the least, this museum-worthy marvel reveals crystal-clear clarity, sparkling facial hues, fine centering, a rich red background, pinpoint corners, and near-immaculate surfaces, with the thin borders a typical characteristic of the Type 3 Coupon Cigarette subject (similar to T206 American Beauty subjects). The final exclamation points are the obscure "COBB, Detroit" blue text and super clean Coupon Cigarettes Type 3 ad-back, with this unfathomable PSA 8 Georgia Peach heirloom tantamount to Cobb's unequivocal stature as one of our National Pastime's greatest all-time players!

MIN BID $5,000
_