(LOT 190)
Honus Wagner "Batting" 1909 E92 Croft's Candy "Blue Back" (SGC 10/1) - Scarce "Blue Back" Version
In 1909, the Philadelphia based Croft & Allen Co. inserted baseball cards with their candy brand as a promotional tool to enhance sales. Similar to other renowned candy companies (e.g., Dockman & Sons, Nadja Caramels, Croft's Cocoa, and Croft's Candy), lithographic images of popular stars were utilized on the obverse side of the cards with the manufacturer's advertisement listed on the flip side. Croft's Candy issued 50 different players with three different colored advertisement backs including black, blue and red. While red is the rarest and black the most common, blue backed cards are seldom seen, with collectors actively seeking examples carrying this rare back advertisement. Like most early 20th-century "E" card sets, the immortal Honus Wagner remains one of the most valuable and sought-after subjects, and presented here is a super eclectic SGC 1 Croft's Candy Honus Wagner "Batting" specimen including the scant "blue back" advertisement.

Although SGC and PSA don't provide a breakdown of the Wagner Croft's Candy colored backs, what we do know is there are only 11 total Honus Wagner "batting' examples currently listed on SGC's prestigious census report! Although the "Flying Dutchman's" classic batting pose typically seen on other "E" card issues has been compromised by a glaring diagonal crease running directly through his cap, many of the remaining attributes are relatively clean. Extreme corner wear (including a lower right corner chip), soiling along the upper, lower and right borers and some lightly scattered wrinkles all contribute to the accurate assessment. The verso's scarce Crofts Candy "blue" typography remains bold, with additional soiling existing on the surface. Clearly, this is a case where the "right to own a copy" far surpasses the relevance of the technical grade, with this ultra-elusive Wagner offering proudly residing as one of the Flying Dutchman's rarest "type" subjects!

MIN BID $500
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