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1930 W554 Strip Card Set

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w554ruth

Front

w554-back

Back

Fast Facts

Year(s) Issued: 1930
Set Designation: W554
Number Cards: 18
Card Size: 5" x 7"
Common Card Value (Good Condition): $100
Scarcity Rating: (1 to 10, 10 scarcest):  8

Full W554 Checklist


W554 Strip Card Set

Keys For Collectors

  • Oversized issue (5"x7") which features a variation of sepia or black & white (harder to find) player photos.
  • The images used are identical to the W553 Strip Card Set and the Kashin Publications (R316) cards
  • Cards feature a facsimile player auto on the front of the card.  
  • Some variations of the card have the player name, position and team printed on the bottom of the card, while others have no text on the bottom.  
  • Rarer cards have advertising backs, but the majority of backs are blank.
  • While initially thought to be hand cut, border edges on the existing population shows that these cards were sheet cut, although no uncut sheets have been discovered to date. 
  • Of the eighteen cards in the set, thirteen are Hall Of Famers, including Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Jimmie Foxx
  • The cards are hard to find; PSA has graded only ~70 cards from the set. 

W554 - A Closer Look At The Print And Back Variations

The W554 is a beautiful, hard to find set, with many different variations that collectors should be aware of. 

First, the cards were issued in two different colors - a black and white variation and one with more of a sepia tone. 

In addition, the majority of sepia colored cards were issued with text at the bottom of the card, whereas the black and white version has no text on the bottom of the card. 

See the W554 Ruth card below for an example of this:

w554ruth

W554 Ruth Sepia variation

w554-ruth-bw

W554 Ruth black and white version

In addition to the print variation, some cards were issued with advertising backs, some of which make this set more of a head scratcher. 

The one that has me wondering more about this set is the 'Lucky Yo-Yo' advertising back, which means one of two things: Was this set issued in a wrapper? Or is that ad referring to the 1929 W553 Movie Stars set which we know was issued in pack form?

I'd say the latter is likely as it is quite possible those packs would be sitting on the shelves and we know that the cards share the same images as the W553 baseball set. 

I don't know what to make of the A. Bonemery Ice Cream Confectionary stamp however. As Pre War Cards notes, given the Springfield MA address, this was likely to be a northeast issue. 

It might also explain the W553 Movie Star pack/gum issue.  Thus, there is a high likelihood that A. Bonemery was the issuer of the W553 and W554 cards. 

w554-big-prize
w554-stamp

Still many unknowns about the issue of this set, so if you have any clues, let me know at help@allvintagecards.com

W554 Cards for Sale on eBay

1930 W554 Hack Wilson PSA 3 651609

$609.00  

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1930 W554 Lewis Fonseca (Hand Cut) SGC 35 Good+2.5

$1,530.00  

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1930 W554 Douglas Mcweeny SGC 45 VG+ 3.5

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1930 W554 Lou Gehrig - SGC 70

$11,880.00  

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1930 W554 Burleigh Grimes Pittsburgh Pirates

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1930 W554 Joe Judge

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1930 W554 Charles (Chuck) Klein

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1930 W554 WAITE HOYT (NEW YORK YANKEES) HOF

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