Near Impossible 1909-11 T206 White Borders Hal Chase (Holding Trophy) with Brown Lenox Advertising Back PSA Good 2 (mk)—Only Graded by PSA or SGC

• Sold For: $10,994
• Year: 1909
• Auction: 2016 May
• Lot #: 1
• Auction Category: Prewar Baseball - T Tobacco Cards

An extraordinary rarity has surfaced with the offered 1909-11 T206 White Borders Hal Chase (Holding Trophy) with a Brown Lenox advertising back! Graded Good 2 by PSA with a (mk) qualifier due to an ownership stamp placed near the upper edge of the reverse. Only a handful of Brown Lenox reverses have surfaced in the collecting hobby and even fewer have been made available for public sale. While SGC makes no distinction between text colors in Lenox brand population reports (PSA has graded a total of 13), we can confidently declare that the offered example is the first graded of the player/pose combination and the only offered on the secondary market. This stunning representation of “Prince Hal” depicts the controversial pre-war star posing with a silver trophy. The illustration of the confident Californian is crease-free with only moderate corner and edge wear. The uniform detailing and stadium backdrop exhibits rich color details and striking contrast. Most importantly, the coveted back’s text is clearly distinguishable from its brand parallel. The black “RS” stamp is faint but does not distract from the overall presentation. According to the authoritative T206Resource.com website, the Brown Lenox reverse is currently ranked third in overall scarcity.