1925 W504 Universal Toy Set

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Fast Facts

Year(s) Issued: 1925

Set Designation: W504

Number Cards: 64

Card Size: 1-3/8″ x 2-3/8″

Common Card Value (Good Condition): $125

Scarcity Rating: (1 to 10, 10 scarcest):  9 

Full W504 Checklist

W504 Strip Card Set

Keys For Collectors

• Cards were issued in uncut sheets (5 1/2″ x 13″)  via team sets with a larger team card at the top.
• Issued by the Universal Toy and Novelty Company, with cards from the three NY Teams (Yankees, Dodgers, Giants) along with the Washington Senators.
• Cards are numbered alphabetically, with the player’s name, team name and birth year listed on the front.  Cardboard is thick.
• The American Card Catalog only notes the Brooklyn team cards, and in fact the other three teams are much harder to find, and many didn’t even realize they were issued.  (source)
• Includes HOF cards of Babe Ruth, Zach Wheat, John McGraw, Hugh Jennings among others.
• Notably, Lou Gehrig is NOT included as a card in the set, but he can be found in the Yankees team photo card.
• Very hard to find, especially any of the non Brooklyn cards; PSA has graded a total of only 30 cards

W504 Strip Cards – Hard To Find Set With Some Unknown Cards Still Out There!

I’ve scoured the research of Bob Lemke and Old Cardboard, and amazingly the Washington Senators set is still not completely known.

No Senators uncut sheets have ever been found, thus there are four unknown cards.

From my understanding, no one has ever built a complete W504 set due to the extreme scarcity of the Senators cards.

I think we could make some guesses just based on the Senators team at the time, but not a 100% exact science. Heck they didn’t even produce a Gehrig card even though he was in the team photo.

If you have any input on the missing Senators cards, please let me know at help@allvintagecards.com

Here’s an example of an uncut Yankees W504 full team set, with the team card at the top. You can see Babe Ruth in the back row, two from the right. Lou Gehrig can be spotted in the front row, three from the left. One of the cooler team photo cards in my mind.  Note that Gehrig doesn’t have a card in the set, and it’s a curious omission that would have made for a super cool strip card issue.

image courtesy Goldin Auctions

W504 Cards for Sale on eBay