Any thoughts on the 1911 T-201 Mecca Double Folders set?

NeilDowney

Hi Guys, I have been eye-balling this set for some time now. Anyone with some collecting info to share on this set? I like the size of the set (only 50 cards) along with the great colors. What size are these cards and how big is the PSA holder? Are these considered tall boys? Any info on this set would be great. Neil

rounding3rd

I don't know the exact card size off the top of my head, but I had one graded a while back and it is indeed in a tall boy. That was actually the mistake I made when I submitted it. I included it in with regular cards and then my submission was placed on the "problem shelf" due to mixing the two sizes and my submission was delayed a long, long time.

Mike

Griffins

All the cards were distributed by two factories, with the exception of Dougherty/Lord, which was only distributed by one, and should be considered a short print. According to Lipset, this doesn't mean it's half as common, since the distribution may not have been 50-50. I didn't find it that much tougher though, it just cost more than the other commons. Cobb/Crawford will cost the most, probably followed by Johnson/Street. All in all it's a nice set that is pretty easy to complete, unless you're looking for super high grade slabbed copies.
A swayed cut is pretty common, I'm guessing they were cut after they had been folded over. About 25% of my set has some staining on the back. No variations that I know of.
This is one of those sets you show non collectors that they think is really cool. Helps with the wife factor!

qualitycards

The PSA holder is a tall boy, and does have the frame to secure it so no mylar sleeve is needed...jay

BarkusD

It's really a great set. I have been working on putting it together in PSA 5/6. If you decide to pursue the set send me an email. We might be able to work a trade. I have a large number of doubles which would make a great starter set.

Gatorbait

Hey, Neil. I've completed the set (VG range) and love it (KZ's something or other on the Registry). The cards are somewhat strange/unique with the foldover and are the first issue with stats on the back. There are a large # of HOFers and the set is, in comparison to other sets of that era, affordable. The cards look pretty good in the PSA holders, although sometimes they do not fit in the PSA holder without the mylar (they sometimes have a v-cut, which would cross over the gaskets in the normal holder). The mylar holder looks terrible and the card slides. For the most part, there are no truly difficult cards in low grade.

Take a look at my Registry - many pictures and player write-ups! Good luck.

NeilDowney

Hi Guys, I looked at your website Barkus and your set Gatorbait. Very nice cards! Much higher than I could afford. I was thinking about perhaps a PSA 2-3 set if anything. I was wondering what might be some of the problems that the cards would have in these lower grades. Neil

Gatorbait

I think you can get some nice 2s and 3s. Grading is tough on these things - I'd rather have a clean image and no tears at the fold than "sharp" corners, but the grading seems to focus on the corners. I think the thing you will find with 2s and 3s is corner rounding (no big deal), staining on the back in particular and tears in the middle (avoid the bad ones). I bought some 3s as fillers and have never replaced them.

NeilDowney

Could you post a few scans so I know what to look for? Neil

helionaut

There's a guy who sets up at the local shows most months who has a complete set, and sometimes he brings it. I never really looked hard at the cards because I figured I'd never be able to afford it, but at the last show he said he wants something like $2K for it, which sounds good to me, though I know very little about the set. There's another show at the end of the month, maybe I'll make a serious inquiry about it.

Gatorbait

Neil, take a look at the fold and bottom corners in the Crawford/Cobb above (PSA 2). That's pretty typical in a 2. On a 3, you'd hope to see less of a problem in the fold and slightly squarer corners on the bottom. I have a pretty cool picture of the whole set laid out on the floor, but couldn't upload it b/c of size (don't know how to make it smaller). If you PM your email address to me, I'll send it to you.

CW

Here's a T201 with some photoshop manipulation....