1921 W551 Strip Card Set

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Keys For Collectors

• Forty-card multi-sport set that features ten cards of baseball players
• The star-studded set features Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, and Tris Speaker
• Cards in blue text are reprints and likely part of a Fritsch reprint issue that has been aged
• Other reprints of this set exist, with the Ruth and Cobb commonly found as ‘aged reprints.’
• Some uncut strips exist and often feature two players side by side (see PSA checklist for more details)

W551 Summary

This ten-card strip set is one of the most commonly known strip issues due to the star power of the release and the quality of the overall artwork. Like most other strip sets, these cards were either sold or given away in markets or candy stores. The Ruth and Cobb cards offer vintage collectors a more affordable alternative to some of their early gum or exhibit issues.

Beware of W551 Counterfeits!

Back in the 70s and 80s, Fritsch cards produced reprint sets, some of which included strips from the W551 set. The cards were meant to be just a collector’s item, yet the quality was so good that many counterfeiters have artificially aged them to pawn them off as the real deal.  The key is that Fritsch used blue text in the player and team name to distinguish it from the original black text.  The reprint sets later stamped the word ‘Reprint’ to the back of the cards, but the damage had already been done.

Many scammers on eBay are trying to pass off the blue text versions as the real deal.  One collector friend I know owned a Tris Speaker that was graded by PSA, thus even the third-party graders have been fooled.  Even recently, I came across a very reputable eBay seller who sold an assortment of W551 strips.  He purchased the cards from another reputable vintage dealer, but both were completely fooled.  The scammers had even worked the backs to make it seem like the cards were stuck to albums at one point.

Here’s a look at the eBay reprints I came across:

At first glance, they look old, and the untrained eye probably would be willing to accept that they are real.  And even under the blacklight, there was no fluorescence.

Here’s a closer look at an authentic W551 Cobb (on the left) and a newer version of a Fritsch reprint (on the right)

As you can see from the above image, the fake Cobb has a definitive dot pattern and many extra red dots in the white space at the bottom of the card. In addition, the background is a darker blue. As you’ll notice from the first photo above of the aged reprint, the Cobb card has the same patterns and, of course, the blue text.

Here’s a closeup of the red dots on the bat of an authentic W551 Cobb card. As my buddy Frank says, “It should look like a Lichtenstein.” You’ll see blotches of ink and a dot matrix pattern, consistent with the day’s printing methods.

If it’s under microscope and it looks more splotchy (like in the fake example below), well, you have a problem.  Remember the blacklight test on these reprints is normally inconclusive, so watch out for that blue text, and bring your loupe to evaluate close if you can see it in person.

W551 Cards for Sale on eBay