My collecting habits have gotten more eclectic as time has gone on.

I first decided to focus on pre-war cards about a decade ago. At the time, that was limited purely to baseball cards — specifically, the T205, T206, and T207 baseball card sets. But I soon started buying other major American sports cards from the era. Then other sports. Then non-sports. And now? I’ll collect virtually any type of card from before 1940 if it interests me enough. I’ve even expanded that focus a smidge this year with the purchase of some (oh, the humanity) post-war cards.

But even with all of that in mind, I think even I would have been surprised if someone had suggested to me at the start of the year that one of my bigger pickups of 2025 would be a card depicting a roller skater.

Quick — name a pre-war roller skater. Almost every reader, I imagine, would be hard-pressed to do so. But a few that are familiar with obscure cards from the era might be able to come up with the name Harley Davidson.

No, Not That Harley-Davidson

The name itself is so unique that, expecting there to be a second notable person or entity with that name would be a stretch.

The most recognizable Harley-Davidson is, of course, the motorcycle manufacturer. While not everyone will realize the company got its name from the last names of two different founders, few will not recognize the name at all. It is arguably the most popular motorcycle company in the U.S., even if it is not the favored one of all enthusiasts. Few would be unfamiliar with the name.

But the fact is, there is another famous Harley Davidson — a roller skating speed demon that has absolutely no real affiliation with the company, despite his famous name.

Davidson, who once visited the company’s headquarters, confirmed that himself in a 1912 article:

“Everywhere I go,” said Harley Davidson, “people ask me about the Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Often I have great difficulty in convincing them that I have no connection with the company other than friendship for Arthur Davidson and a wish for the continued success of the company.”

About the Rare T224/T229 Pet/Kopec Cigarettes Cards

The T224 and T229 cards are parallel sets. Both are extremely rare and while they can be confused with each other, they are indeed two different sets. The checklist and subjects are the same, but the backs are found with both Pet Cigarettes and Kopec Cigarettes advertisements. And unlike the T206 set where Jefferson Burdick lumped all of the T206 cards and their assorted backs under one alphanumeric designation, for these cards, he identified them as two different sets — T224 for Pet Cigarettes and T229 for Kopec Cigarettes.

One interesting thing about the designations is that, while Burdick did initially assign two different numbers to these sets in his earlier American Card Catalogs, his 1960 edition lumped them all as T229 cards and he simply removed the T224 designation. However, most sources have simply maintained both designations when identifying the sets today.

These are technically multi-sport sets but more than half of each one is dedicated to boxing. Other cards include wrestling, aviation, track and field, and swimming. Two of the most valuable cards are for boxer Jack Johnson and wrestler Frank Gotch, which might be expected. But a third is for a roller skater and, well, we just don’t have a lot of cards of roller skaters, let me tell you.

If you’re curious about the set, here’s a wonderful resource with pictures of almost every card.

Harley Davidson and His Card

I’ve always been intrigued with the card of Davidson for as long as I’ve known about the set. No, I didn’t know much about Davidson or his career, but the sight of the card picturing him wearing a pair of skates and adorned in medals is just too cool to ignore.

I believe the only cards of Davidson are his parallel T229 and, for the American Card Catalog purists referring to Burdick’s initial classifications, his T224. Despite being a champion and a once highly-recognizable subject, Davidson didn’t appear to make it into other sets.

Interestingly enough, the popular 1910-12 T218 Champions set did include a roller skater — a guy by the name of Joseph Jordan. But it didn’t include Davidson, even though his father was a renowned ice skater and Davidson was apparently winning titles as early as 1909 and competing as early as the 19th century. This article is one of the few that really hails his achievements, and he is regarded in it as the greatest the sport has ever seen.

Jordan is hailed on the back of his T218 card as holding more championships and records than any other skater. But Davidson appears to be the more regarded by a considerable margin.

And while Jordan’s T218 can be bought for around $5-$10, Davidson’s card even in low-grade condition will start around $300-$500. Why is his card so valuable? Well, with all due respect to Davidson’s excellent career, it’s largely the name. We’ve seen this before with the likes of Ten Million’s T212 Obak baseball card, which can sell for $1,000 or more because of his quirky name. Davidson’s card is undoubtedly rare and it helps that he really has no other early cards that I am aware of. But I’m convinced that a large part of the value is tied into his famous name.

Recently, I not only had a chance to buy a Davidson, but perhaps the best-conditioned one in existence.

This Davidson is a PSA 5.5, graded an Excellent+ by PSA. And it is stunning in person. As mentioned, the front of it pictures Davidson covered in medals seemingly on an outdoor track with trees in the background. It is the Pet Cigarettes variation and has no equal in PSA with the only other graded example a PSA 3. PSA has also graded two examples of the card with a Kopec Cigarettes back and this card tops those, with the next highest being a close PSA 5.

Expanding the reach to SGC, that company has graded four Pet Cigarette examples of Davidson’s card with the highest being a 5, and no Kopec examples. I have also not seen any graded by Beckett or CGC. I believe mine is the highest graded example of Davidson’s card across any major company.

Of note is that the 5.5 grade is nearly the highest for any PSA T224/T229 card in the entire set. No T229 Kopec cards have graded higher than a 5 and my 5.5 is bested by only a single PSA 6.5 of boxer Jim Flynn.

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