1948-49 Leaf # 39 Ewell Blackwell ROOKIE (Reds)

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In 1969, Ajman & Manama made baseball card collector's happy with their official government issued baseball "Champions of Sports" stamps with 6 of the greatest stars ever: Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Ty Cobb, Stan Musial, Honus Wagner & George Sisler. Manama and Ajman stamps are neqarly the same except for color and country. The pictured notice from the Ajman post office stated stamp sheets & sets were limited with & w/o perforations. For an incredible website on Ajman sports stamps visit golowesstamps.com.

Competition was raging between Topps and Bowman in 1953 and 1954 leading to problems with both companies sets. Bowman caused Topps to missing 6 cards in 1953 with Topps getting revenge by signing Ted Williams to an exclusive contract in 1954. Bowman then had to pull Ted Williams card #66 from their set shortly after they started printing, replacing it with Jimmy Piersall, who also was on card #210 making the 1954 Bowman Ted Williams #6 one of 50's scarcest cards.

1954 Bowman Wax Box Perhaps distracted by it's competition with Topps, the 1954 Bowman set was filled with errors and variations. Nearly 20% (40/224 cards) had some sort of variation, with some having more than 2.

The St. Louis Browns recent move to Baltimore also made things interesting. Bowman's artists had no idea what an Orioles jersey would look like - so they just madeone up.

Man was the 1948-1949 Leaf baseball set PACKED !!! The set was small in numbers and size with only (98) 2-3/8" by 2-7/8" cards. With only 98 cards, the set was "skip-numbered" with card numbers from 1 thru 168. Likely an attempt to force collectors to keep buying packs looking for their missing cards. (49) cards are considered "Short Prints" and there is one variation card #136: Full Sleeve/Short Sleeve (error)

Baseball card collecting terms (part G)

Grade/Condition Centering, corner wear, photo clarity, edges, creases, print flaws ... all combine to determine a card's condition or grade. Along with rarity/scarcity it is the major factor in a card's value.

Graded Card As values increased the condition of cards and the determination of fakes and alterations became increasingly more important. Various companies became "graders" of your cards. For a fee they would grade your card (usually on a 1 to 10 scale) and then placed in a sealed plastic holder with labelling of the vital information.

From past experiences, most people are NOT HAPPY with the grades they receive. To keep values up, graders can be extremely picky. Things you don't see, they do so don't be surprized when the NEAR MINT card you send in ends up with an EX or EX/MINT grade.

There are TOO many grading companies - if you do, do choose carefully. PSA / SGC / GAI / BGS are some of the many companies. It is good to know that getting a card graded by a company that people do not recognize or respect will usually just cost you time and money and not help you in any way.

1948-49 Leaf # 39 Ewell Blackwell ROOKIE (Reds)

1969 Ajman & Manama
Official Postage Stamps

1954 Bowman Baseball
Cards Checklist & Values

1948-1949 Leaf Baseball Cards
Checklist & Values

1948-49 Leaf # 39 Ewell Blackwell ROOKIE (Reds)

1969 Ajman & Manama Official Postage Stamps

1954 Bowman Baseball Cards Checklist & Values

1948-1949 Leaf Baseball Cards Checklist & Values

1969 Ajman & Manama
Official Postage Stamps

1954 Bowman Baseball
Cards Checklist & Values

1948-1949 Leaf Baseball Cards
Checklist & Values