UNCUT 1921 W551 Strip with Babe Ruth! A gentleman had this card in a frame and didn't quite know what it was. After a Google search brought him to Just Collect, we informed the owner of the card’s identity and value. Just Collect has proudly purchased this rare uncut strip!
If you've never owned a baseball card in your life, you still know that any card featuring Babe Ruth is valuable. A gentleman was in this very situation recently when he believed a Ruth card he had owned for many years was a tobacco/cigarette card. The famous 1909–11 T206 cards were distributed in packs of cigarettes and share similarities with the card nestled in the owner's photo frame. This card is a bit more special, though — an UNCUT 1921 W551!
W551 baseball cards have just TEN cards in the entire set — quite a small set size compared to what you're used to seeing. Not only is the set smaller than modern issues, the dimensions of each card are tiny, too; each card measures 1-3/8" x 3-1/4". Modern cards measure 2.5" x 3.5". The set is PACKED with legendary names, including:
Babe Ruth
Ty Cobb
Walter Johnson
Tris Speaker
The front of each card features a drawing of the player with a colorful background. The player's name and team appear below the image. The back of each card is blank — something you don't see today. Blank backs with no numbers, stats, or even a company logo.
What sets the W551 cards apart from other sets is that they were distributed in a strip.
A complete set — all ten cards — was released in an uncut strip. Most people in 1921 CUT the cards from the strip. Going back to the 1980s, we didn't leave our toys in the package — He-Man had to go inside Castle Grayskull. The W551 cards were meant to be cut.
Today, we show you a rare UNCUT W551 strip!
Photos of the 1921 W551 uncut strip with Babe Ruth and the the frame!
John's grandfather lived in Georgia and was a collector. Grandpa purchased this uncut strip many years ago at a card show for $500. The strip was displayed in a frame along with a pair of other similar strip cards. When the cards were passed down to John, he proudly hung it up and told the story to anyone who asked about the strip cards. However, he had to take the frame off the wall and hide it when his brother visited because he threatened to steal it!
Unsure what the strip was, John checked Google and landed on our site here at Just Collect. After filling out our
Retail stores are focused on selling modern products and simply don't have the time or knowledge to carefully evaluate vintage cards like this. This is where we are happy to help you! We have purchased thousands upon thousands of collections and have bought and sold over 50 MILLION dollars in cards. Just Collect proudly purchased a collection of 1933 and 1934 Goudey cards which included 22 Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig cards that you can see HERE.
Dan and our Vice President, John, gave a potential value to the owner but needed to evaluate the strip card in person. Condition is VERY important when determining the value of your cards. Using a grading scale from 1 to 10 — with 10 being gem mint — a change in just one numerical grade could alter the value of a card by hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. By evaluating the card in person, we could provide John the true value of his strip card.
John opted to ship his strip card to Just Collect here in Summit, NJ, using our fully insured, two-day FedEx Express account. After reviewing the strip panel, Dan and John finalized a strong offer. After speaking with his wife, John decided to sell the panel to Just Collect and accepted our offer. We then paid John how he wanted to be paid! When you sell your collection to Just Collect, we can pay you in cash, company check, or wire transfer.
Thank you for choosing Just Collect, John! It's not every day that an UNCUT W551 panel is discovered — we're proud to have purchased your strip panel.
How many uncut strips do you believe still exist? We don't think very many do! If you have W551 strip cards, Just Collect is buying. Read below to see how you can contact us today.
Check out blogs featuring incredible collections Just Collect proudly purchased such as:
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Just Collect is always buying vintage sports and non-sports cards from 1879 to 2009 as well as select modern cards. If you have a collection that you are considering selling, contact us today to discuss or get our industry-leading purchase offer. If you have a collection that you want appraised, please contact us and we would be happy to discuss your collection and help you understand the real cash value of your collection in the current marketplace. Check out the Just Collect Buy List.
We always offer a FREE APPRAISAL for your collection here at the Just Collect site. Just click here:
We offer many ways to evaluate your cards other than or using our website, too.
If you can make the trip here like the son from my hometown did for this collection- we can make a deal at the office. We once met a father-son duo that drove eight hours from Virginia to meet us to sell a Michael Jordan rookie card stored in Tupperware since 1986 - great read here.
We keep a LIST of card shows we'll be attending. Come stop by the Just Collect table and chat.
If you have a valuable collection and want us to come to you, we'll hop on the next plane out.
If you're near New York City and would like to meet in a public place, our owner, Leighton, would be happy to meet you; read all the information here.
If you choose to mail your cards for an appraisal, we will evaluate your cards for FREE still. If you choose not to sell the cards, we'll ship them back shipping fees paid by us! We can offer our FedEx account with 2-day shipping, fully insured, all covered by us. Simply contact the office to set up this option.
We've run into a wide range of people and collections over the last 25 years. Although Just Collect is known for buying vintage sports cards and especially vintage baseball cards, we are also extremely interested in buying non-sports cards, too!
Every collection and every collector is different and we treat EVERY collection with the respect and attention that we show for our own collections. We understand that many have put their heart and souls into building their collections. So when you're ready to sell, we understand the feelings that you're going through and will work with you to help you reach a decision that is a WIN/WIN, because if you're not happy, we're not happy.
Whether you have vintage cards or modern wax you want to sell, you can reach out to us any time!