What Beauties: The T202 Hassan Triple Folders

Like hundreds of thousands of other vintage baseball card collectors, I’m a Topps man through and through. That was the only company I knew buying cards in the late 1960s at the local delicatessen. And I stuck with buying Topps cards for decades.

         I have to admit I was only vaguely aware of tobacco cards when I was a kid. The same holds true when I was an adult and jumped back into collecting in the mid-1980s. Sure, I would see them at shows. But they just didn’t do anything for me. Why? I couldn’t relate to the noble men pictured. When I started collecting, the players on Topps cards played every day. I saw their names in my local paper’s baseball box scores. I would see them on television and occasionally even saw them play in person at Yankee or Shea Stadium.

         Now that I’ve retired and stopped collecting cards, I’ve been pondering the following: If I had to collect one pre-1952 set today, starting fresh, what would it be? I conducted a bit of research by checking out some ongoing auctions and quickly concluded it would be the 1912 T202 Hassan Triple Folders. I know, I know. I am far from the only admirer of this 132-card set. This number includes all combinations. Many in the hobby consider this set one of the top 10 ever made.

         What struck me in particular about the cards? They’re beautiful. These were produced more than a century ago and yet the blues, greens and reds still jump out at you. Second, the end panels can be folded over to completely cover the center panel, resulting in the nickname triple folders. I think that’s cool. Two color photos are at either end of a black and white action shot. I learned that the folding occurred when they were originally inserted into cigarette packs. So you can forget finding a PSA 10 triple folder. When fully open, the cards measure about 2 ¼ by 5 ¼ inches.

         The stars in this set are heavyweights, including such Hall of Famers as Ty Cobb (appearing multiple times), Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, Nap Lajoie, and Tris Speaker. The biographies on the back of each of these cards are detailed.

         In doing research, I was surprised to learn that collectors would often separate each card. I shudder at the thought. How could they?!? But collecting cards when these first came out was far different from what collecting is today.

         I wondered if I could enjoy this set somehow without having to dish out thousands of dollars to buy all 132 cards. At this point in my life I have no interest in spending the big bucks required. Well, I found on Amazon a paperback book put out by Trading Card Enterprises LLC called, simple enough, T202 1912 Triple Folders Baseball Cards. I bought it immediately. It cost me $35, plus tax. I can’t wait to receive it.

         If I had to buy this set today, how much would I have to pay? Hard to say with any certainty. My due diligence revealed that it would be very difficult to buy a complete set quickly. When these cards do come up for sale, they’re not more than two dozen in a group at most and, more typically, eight, nine or less. When I went onto auction house REA’s archives I saw that back in the fall of 2015 a complete set sold for $36,000. At the time it had been number seven on the PSA registry. What would that set cost me today? I would estimate easily over $100,000.

         Speaking of REA, in its just-concluded spring auction a Ty Cobb autographed Hassan sold for $300,000, a record for any Cobb card. So, my $100,000-plus for that aforementioned complete set is conservative, to put it politely.

         Finally, what else occurred in 1912? That’s easy. In April, Fenway Park in Boston opened. And a few days later the luxury liner Titanic sank. Two major historical events. Now, I’m not saying that the release of the T202 Hassan set is anywhere nearly as significant as these two noteworthy moments. But 1912 has to stand out if you’re a vintage card collector who’s into pure aesthetics, not monetary value.