1954 Red Man Willie Mays Sample Card

mac1961

Just picked this up today. Looks to be a salesman sample from 1954. Have you ever seen one before? Value?

canjond

I could be wrong here so I'm hoping someone may be able to correct me, but I had thought these might be fake with a stamp placed on the back to make them look original. The colors seem off to me. Do you have it in hand to verify the print process vs an original?

cwazzy

My first thought was that it looks fake. Hope I'm wrong.

mlbfan2

I found this:

http://m.redding.com/news/2011/jun/05/babe-waxpak-us-boycott-turns-1980-olympics-memorab/


<< <i>Dear Babe: I have a 1954 Redman Yogi Berra with a tab that has “Salesman Sample Toldeo” stamped in red ink on the back. R.N., Clarkston, Wash. The longtime hobby experts I checked with had never heard of Red Man samples. “I've never heard of a salesman's sample of a Red Man. Because of a lack of hobby ‘history,’ I’d guess it to be worth less than a normal card,” said Bob Lemke, editor of The Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards from the editors of Sports Collectors Digest. “My instinct tells me that these salesmen samples for Red Man Cards do not have extra value,” said Rich Klein, a columnist for www.cardinformant.com and the new card reviewer for www.sportscollectorsdaily.com. “I don't think this is the same situation as the Topps or Bowman Salesman samples. I could be wrong; but that is just my instinct on the subject.” “With a hand stamp, could be many different reasons. I have not heard of this being anything ‘official’ from Red Man (or the printer), which would be the best case scenario,” said Mike Mosier of www.columbiacitycollectibles.com. Of course, the other possibility is that it is a fake, but I don’t see why someone would have done that, since it probably detracts from the value. >>

yankeeno7

I would also say fake. Picture appears pixel to me. Anyone could make a stamp. Also, a sample would not have a trimming job, would it? I would assume it to be perfectly square or on a larger sheet. Someone may say the salesman cut it from the sheet making it easier to carry and then stamped it but I dont think I would buy that story.

fkw

the image quality is bad compared to the authentic piece, with the solid lines and print full of dots and wavy (ie the registration color bars at bottom) and the staining looks to be printed on ???

looks like a bad handcut rescreened reproduction of some type IMO

best case... cut from an ad poster then doctored
worst case... modern fake



1954 T234

KbKards

It's a fake cut from a large book called Classic Baseball Cards The Golden Years 1886-1956, glued onto thicker paper stock, and then stamped with a bogus sample card message. Gus Bell is on the page behind Mays so if you view it through a strong light or soak it you'll see Gus Bell.