I picked this card up a while ago and have been meaning to do a post about it. This is a Menko featuring Hall of Famer Shigeru Mizuhara as a pitcher for Keio University. Its from the 1930 Round Menko set catalogued as JRM 41, which is one of the rarest sets out there.
Another copy of this card appeared in a 2013 auction on Prestige which listed their copy as only the second one ever discovered. No other copies have shown up there since, so I think I can say that my copy is the third copy known to exist.
Unfortunately mine is probably the worst of the three in terms of condition. It actually doesn't have much wear, but somebody has gone and poked a bunch of holes in it for some reason! Damn 1930s kids!
This is actually my second find of a rare pre war Mizuhara menko, so I've got a decent little collection of his going!
Dang, nice grab. Wonder why there were all that pin holes in it?!!
ReplyDeleteThanks. The pin holes are a bit of a mystery, I've never seen cards with so many of them before, they go around in a circle. Might have just been a kid randomly stabbing the card with a thumb tac!
DeleteBeautiful card.
ReplyDeleteThanks, I like it!
DeleteWow, one of three? That's pretty cool. Nice design, too. I like the infielder in the background, covering second base.
ReplyDeleteYes, the infielder is a nice added touch!
DeleteA real rarity like this is always much more interesting than today's artificially created rarities!
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way, I've never gone for the 1 of __ type of modern cards!
DeleteThere's one for sale right now with the similar holes:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.ebay.com/itm/1930-Shigeru-Mizuhara-HOF-Keio-U-Pre-War-Japanese-Baseball-Menko-Card/274390665421?hash=item3fe2f548cd:g:yjMAAOSwLRde3TZ0&autorefresh=true
Oh wow, same card (I suspect he got it from the same source as me)! According to the listing they would put thread through those holes, which I had never heard of before but it makes sense.
DeleteOne kid in 1930 pokes holes in two pieces of cardboard and 90 years later a Canadian in Japan and a Virginian meet online talking about how they each own one. Magic
ReplyDeleteOh wow, did you pick up the other one that was for sale on Ebay (mentioned in LazyMF's comment above)?
DeleteYeah, that is an odd connection to have with some random kid 90 years ago! Cool card though, isn't it?