1922 W501 Strip Card Set

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Front

Back

Fast Facts

Year(s) Issued: 1922
Set Designation: W501
Number Cards: 120
Card Size: 1-7/8" x 3-3/8"
Common Card Value (Good Condition): $40
Scarcity Rating: (1 to 10, 10 scarcest): 9

Full W501 Checklist

W501 Cards on eBay

W501 Strip Card Set

Keys For Collectors

Each card has a 'G-4-22' notation in the top left corner, along with the card number on the top right
Speculated that the 'G-4-22' was used to represent the print date - April 22nd.
Fronts of the cards feature player photos, with white border and blank backs
Set is anchored by the cards of Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Babe Ruth and Tris Speaker among others
Card fronts are identical to the E121 Caramel set - biggest difference being that the E121 set doesn't have 'G-4-22' in the corner and E121's have text on the back.
Note that Rhett Yeakley has also identified two variations in the set, which he refers to as W501-1 and W501-2.
W501-1 has 'G-4-22' in corner and W501-2 does not, while the W501-2 cards don't have a number in top right either.
To make things even more confusing, there is another Strip set (W575-1) which is a direct copy of the W501 set. Graders often confuse the two - the W501-2 cards are on a much thinner stock with a grainier photo than the W575-1 card
Super scarce; PSA has graded a total of only ~150 cards

The Confusion - W501, W575-1 and E121 --Which Is Which?

One thing that was really confusing to me as I was researching this set, is that there are three identical variations, including the W501-2, W501-2, W575-1 Strip Card and E121 American Caramel issues.

How do we tell the difference? (Again, hat tip to Rhett Yeakley for all his hard work on this set).

First, the E121 American Caramel card is an easy tell--it has an advertising back, like this:

Back of an E121 American Caramel Card

In comparing the the other three variations, we also can easily distinguish the W501-1 card, due to the G-4-22 and the card number on the top of the card. Occasionally, you might have a card that is trimmed on the top in which it would be impossible to distinguish.

However in regards to the W501-2 and the W575-1 cards, if you examine closely, the W501-2 card has a much grainier print, and if held in hand, you can observe that the W501-2 has a much thinner stock in comparison to the W575-1 cards.

W501-1 Roush

W501-2-roush

W575-1 Roush

Fast Facts

W501 Strip Card Set

Keys For Collectors

The Confusion - W501, W575-1 and E121 --Which Is Which?

W501 Cards for Sale on eBay

1922 W501 68 Ross Youngs PSA 6 670938

1922 W501 43 Ray Schalk PSA 6 670936

1922 W501 7 Ira Flagstead PSA 6 670934

1922 W501 6 Harry Heilmann PSA 6 670933

1922 W501 12 E.P. Gharrity PSA 4 670935

1922 W501 17 Walter Johnson SGC A 659293

1922 W501 48 Urban Faber PSA A 659290

1922 W501 14 Sam Rice SGC 4 659286

1922 W501 54 Eppa J. Rixey SGC 5 659291

1922 W501 89 Southworth PSA 4 678452

1922 W501 103 McGraw PSA 4 678453

1922 W501 #91 Walter Holke VGEX X2436998

1922 W501 #63 Pat Shea VGEX X2436996

1922 W501 #93 P.J. Kilduff VG X2436883

1922 W501 #58 Zeb Terry EX X2436528

1922 W501 #103 John McGraw HOF SGC 4.5 VGEX+ C76725

1922 W501 #73 John McGraw HOF SGC 4 VGEX C76724

1922 W501 #22 Frank Frisch Baseball HOF Hand Cut - PSA 4

1922 W501 FRANKIE FRISCH 62 POOR SGC 1 BASEBALL NEW YORK GIANTS

1922 W501 TONY GWYNN CLARK BX2=E137 #87