This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/6/2019
Three strips of seven cards each, of images all used in the 1917 E135 Collins-McCarthy set. These are without the numbers and on thinner stock and are blank-backed. Each strip measures just over 14" x 3 3/8". The stock is cream color and not white or glossy as are the real cards and the known reprint sets, the smaller section taken with the scanner rather than a camera, shows the actual color more closely. Much discussion has been done on these publically and privately over the past year or so and the jury is still out on their authenticity and or period when produced. They are being offered as is. That being said, we have twenty-one cards used in the set, with a couple of small differences, the Milton Stock on the strip has full frame lines(the actual card does not) and the Reb Russell is from the second printing of the set. These strips are professionally printed and not copies. They also appear to be cut from a larger sheet, meaning the entire sheet might have been printed together.
Originally when this piece was consigned over a year ago, the decision was made not to run it as there was not a consensus among advance collectors as to it's provenance or legitimacy. Since that time a couple of these same collectors have indicated an interest if was going to be offered in the future. At this time we have decided to place it up for bid and let the market determine it's worth. Could they have been mock-ups for the cards? Hard to say and we may never know.