The
1959 - 1960 Gulf Oil Corporation baseball cards were
fraudulently produced and surfaced in the hobby around
1999. Two types of cards were produced. one series of 8
featuring artwork and the other re-screened photos taken
from team picture pack photos and other sets.
These
unnumbered, black
and white cards measure 2 1/2" x 3 1/2". The cards do not have a
"Book Value" because they were illegally produced in
violation of player rights, and team copyrights along with
the unauthorized use of pictures from other sets and the
1959 -1960 Gulf Oil credit line which also includes a zip
code. The US Postal service did not introduce the zip code
system until 1963, yet these cards that were supposedly
issued in 1959-1960, feature a zip code.
By mistake
or by design, I did find auctions where cards were being sold
as original to 1959-1960 with no mention of the card being
fraudulent. I'm
sure this card is being sold by people not knowing that
the cards are fake, as are the collectors buying them.
Because the card has no "Real" collectors value I would
stay away from buying it or only pay an inexpensive
novelty price.
