The 30-card Standard Caramel set issued in 1910 remains one of the more popular and highly sought-after of the various caramel issues. With 18 Hall of Famers, the player selection is magnificent, and the selection of player images often differs from some of the more ubiquitous trading card images of the era, making it an interesting and attractive set.
As is the case with most candy issues from the era, the cards were extensively handled by children, resulting in a high percentage of low-grade examples surviving in the hobby today. Attractive mid-grade specimens are few and far between, with higher-grade examples even less so. Additionally, as is the case with many deadball era sets, scarcity is a factor, as despite the small set composition of just 30 subjects, complete sets are not at all common. In fact, just five complete sets exist on the PSA Set Registry, with just two more on the SGC Registry, with just two of those achieving a higher GPA than this. The end result is that this set stands alone at #4 on the PSA Set Registry with an even 5.0 GPA, clearly one of the finest E93 sets in the hobby.
While the overall GPA and state of completion is admirable, it does not, however, tell the entire story. This is a spectacular set, with each card hand-selected by its original collector due to its extraordinary eye appeal, and then upgraded by a subsequent collector. Virtually all the set’s cards exhibit exceptional image quality, centering, brightness and sharpness, often sacrificing technical grade for eye appeal due to a small technical flaw. Additionally, many of the cards in the set are among the highest-grade examples in the hobby, with few graded higher. Surely, assembling a set this attractive would be a difficult project. 30 cards total.
1. Red Ames – PSA 4 (Pop 12, 11 higher)
2. Chief Bender (HOF) – PSA 3 (Pop 12, 28 higher)
3. Mordecai Brown (HOF) – PSA 3 (Pop 8, 15 higher)
4. Frank Chance (HOF) – PSA 4 (Pop 11, 12 higher)
5. Hal Chase – PSA 5 (Pop 7, 5 higher)
6. Fred Clarke (HOF) – PSA 6 (Pop 7, 5 higher)
7. Ty Cobb (HOF) – PSA 5 (Pop 16, 12 higher)
8. Eddie Collins (HOF) – PSA 4 (Pop 12, 18 higher)
9. Harry Covaleskie – PSA 5 (Pop 5, 8 higher)
10. Jim Delehanty – PSA 5 (Pop 7, 9 higher)
11. Wild Bill Donovan – PSA 5 (Pop 5, 5 higher)
12. Red Dooin – PSA 5 (Pop 6, 6 higher)
13. Johnny Evers (HOF) – PSA 5 (Pop 5, 4 higher)
14. George Gibson – PSA 8 (Pop 2, 0 higher)
15. Clark Griffith (HOF) – PSA 6 (Pop 6, 3 higher)
16. Hugh Jennings (HOF) – PSA 6.5 (Pop 1, 3 higher)
17. Davy Jones – PSA 8 (OC) (Pop 4, 2 higher)
18. Addie Joss (HOF) – PSA 6 (Pop 3, 6 higher)
19. Nap Lajoie (HOF) – PSA 5 (Pop 5, 9 higher)
20. Tommy Leach – PSA 5.5 (Pop 1, 5 higher)
21. Christy Mathewson (HOF) – PSA 5 (Pop 11, 9 higher)
22. John McGraw (HOF) – PSA 6 (Pop 5, 5 higher)
23. Jim Pastorious – PSA 6 (Pop 2, 3 higher)
24. Deacon Phillippi – PSA 5 (Pop 4, 6 higher)
25. Eddie Plank (HOF) – PSA 3 (Pop 10, 26 higher)
26. Joe Tinker (HOF) – PSA 4 (Pop 10, 12 higher)
27. Rube Waddell (HOF) – PSA 6 (Pop 3, 5 higher)
28. Honus Wagner (HOF) – PSA 5 (Pop 10, 10 higher)
29. Hooks Wiltse – PSA 4.5 (Pop 2, 15 higher)
30. Cy Young (HOF) – PSA 6 (Pop 6, 3 higher)