Ranking Major Taylor’s Four Primary Cards

I didn’t learn about legendary cyclist Major Taylor until a 2019 advertisement for Hennessy aired. After that, I was fascinated and had to learn more.

As the ad states, Taylor was a world champion racer and was perhaps the most famous athlete in the world. That’s how big cycling was at the time, at least as an international phenomenon. That’s even seen a little in cards. The first two Felix Potin sets issued from the late 19th century through 1908 featured little sports. Cycling was, by far and away, the most featured sport in those series’ with a few dozen cards.

Among them is the legendary Taylor with two different poses. And while Taylor is found on a few other collectibles and postcards, his other two most common cards are found in Ogden Tabs’ General Interest Series C and F — the two rarest series’ in the entire six-series set.

While all four are desirable, however, some are rarer than others. I’ve pursued and collected all four cards. Here’s my take on the rarity rankings of the quartet.

No. 4 – 1908 Felix Potin (Side)

There might be some disagreement on the rankings of Taylor’s cards. But the thing that cannot be disputed is that Taylor’s side view Felix Potin card is easily the most common.

The positive is that it’s a great looking picture of Taylor, head down, with a few onlookers in the background. The black and white image fits perfectly with the black borders. And if you like cards graded by SGC, it fits even better in their newer slabs with the black and white flips and black mat background.

There are usually several examples seen on eBay at any given time and these are also the most affordable. Some low-grade examples still pasted into the albums designed for them can sell for under $100.

No. 3 – 1902 Ogden’s Tabs Cigarettes Series F

The next most common Taylor card, to me, seems to be his Series F Ogden’s Cigarettes card.

For anyone chasing the General Interest cards in Ogden’s Tabs’ series, you know that Series F cards are pretty difficult to find. But they aren’t impossible and while asking prices might be high, you can usually find several of them available on eBay at any given time.

The pop reports for both PSA and SGC show about 20 of these cards combined.

I’ve really seen prices fluctuate heavily on Taylor cards. At their height, some of the Ogden’s cards were selling for around $1,000. Prices seem to have come back to earth a bit, though. They’re closer to the $250-$500 range these days, depending on condition

No. 2 – 1908 Felix Potin (Front)

Some fans chasing Taylor cards could conceivably declare this his toughest one to find. While I’m not sure I agree, I can see the logic.

Of the four Taylor cards, this was the hardest one for me to find. Often, there were not any on eBay at all. That seems to have changed as I’ve seen a few more there lately. But it was certainly the toughest one to locate for me.

It’s a front facing variation of Taylor’s card from the same Felix Potin set as his side variation. The company replaced some images with others in the set and in Taylor’s case, this one is far rarer than his side view card. For me, too, it’s the best looking of the group, simply because it’s the one that looks the most different.

Still, the reason I think it is a little more plentiful than his Series C Ogden’s card is because many examples are ungraded and reside in the albums used to house these sets. Thus, the population reports are a bit deceiving in this case.

No doubt, though — the front facing variation is a very difficult card to find.

No. 1 – 1902 Ogden’s Tabs Series C

My vote for the toughest of Taylor’s cards is his Series C card from the Ogden Tabs General Interest set.

The card would certainly be more common if it was in the low-number series, as those cards (No. 1-200) were quite common. And while the high numbered series’ (Cards No. 301-350 and the unnumbered 350-470) cards are a bit tougher, those still are much easier to find than the elusive No. 201-300 series, this card is part of.

The distinguishing characteristic of these cards, of course, is the cursive Ogden’s Cigarettes name that stands out from the block lettering used for the other nearly 1,500 cards in the massive General Interest set.

Only a handful of these cards have been graded by PSA and SGC. And while the number is roughly the same as the number of graded front facing Taylor cards, as mentioned, I believe that there are a good number of Felix Potin cards ungraded and residing in albums while that is not the case with these.

If you’re looking for the rarest of Major Taylor’s four primary cards, I believe it’s this one.