Thanks again to all who replied. It is so neat to have a little piece of cardboard history. I also enjoyed looking through all of the suggested links.
This was more of an opportunity buy. I didn't go out looking for a T-206, but when I saw one I figured I may as well jump on it. I have a number of T-206 reprints, but there's somethind special about the real thing. There are a few more historic sets for which I would like to own a card: 1915 Cracker Jack, 1933 Goudey, and maybe even an Old Judge. I'm also interested in looking up some of the other tobacco sets that V3 mentioned.
That's a nice find. I highly recommend you check out Vvvergeer's list "The Merkle's Boner Gallery". V3 did a really cool retelling of a classic baseball story with the use of tobacco cards. I was inspired to start accumulating tobacco cards, after I opened up my first hobby box of 2009 Topps 206 cards, which is a tribute set to the T206 cards.
If my memory serves me right, I read that Sweet Caporal was the most common brand on back of the T206 cards.
It's a very fun set to chase and getting an example of the backs is also a way to collect them. I have 14 total cards with Piedmont being the most common back I have. I do have Sweet Caporal, Sovereign, and Polar Bear (my favorite one so far). I'm looking to get some other cigarette cards but this is the classic one. I would also reccommend this book about the set. Your local library or book store may have it if you just want to look at it.
I would agree with the others that the set would be best to add the backs as a parallel set.
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I collect Ken Griffey Jr., Ichiro, Felix Hernandez, and Leroy Herrmann, and Ty France RCs. I ship in bubble mailers (with DC#), cards in sleeves, cases and team bags unless otherwise worked out with trade partner.
Okay. Back Collecting. Now you opened the door. There are a number of advertising backs, often with different series and factory numbers. Piedmont, the most common, has series 15, 350, 350-460, and factories 25, 30, and 42. Sweet Caporal is similar, and also offers overstrikes on the back for factories 42 and 649. Why overstrike? Tobacco factory data was required to comply with federal ciggy sales tax. So, the printer would adapt existing cards by striking the original factory and comply with law, thus an overstrike. I personally think these cards, which will cost you very little more than a more common back, are cool as ****.
A common card with a much scarcer back, like Uzit or Lennox, will take a $20 card into the realm of a four figure cost to you. If you can find one. T206.org lists 41 back combinations for the 524 cards in the set. And, yeah, a master set, of which there is a working functional apreadsheet you can use, does contain several thousand potential combinations. I have not heard of anybody coming close to such an accomplishment. This set is truly a monster. Put that into this checklist. Heh, good luck. You could do it with another column and a drop down box. Kinda.
Some collectors key in on a certain player and collect each back combo for that pose. Others target the 41 backs, and a few tortured souls collect the main set, then collect an entire set of a particular back, such as the 300+ cards with a Polar Bear back. To each their own.
ways you can spot a reprint is that most of them have a copyright date usually 1988
ways you can spit a Fake
the first letter of the name and the team should be slightly bigger than the rest
should not be glossy or have a gloss tint to it
invest in a black light if the card glows it is a fake
get a magnifying glass there should no be any circles or lines (pixels) the card should be like a solid color like a painting
yes there are 16 backs with Ty Cobb back the rarest factory 42 is the rate factory back I tried looking at yours and it looks like factory 24 which is common
I only need 46 more to complete the set myself minus the big 8
if you were to collect every card with every denomination back this set is over 6000 cards this is the reason they call it the beast
I would love to own one of them some day especially a White Sox player.
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Always looking for Blackhawk hockey, Notre Dame Football, White Sox and Bears Stuff. I have a plaque in my card room that says, "I could have been a millionaire but my mom threw out my baseball cards". How apropos!!! Collecting Chicago Blackhawks Hockey, Doug Wilson Hockey, Chicago Bears Older, Notre Dame Football in their college jerseys and Chicago White Sox. ***ADDING LOTS OF PRE 85 BASEBALL AND FOOTBALL CARDS TO FS/FT. DID MY BEST TO REMOVE DAMAGED OR OFF CENTER CARDS. IF YOU'RE CONCERNED ABOUT CONDITION PLEASE ASK BEFORE PROPOSING. NONE OF THESE CARDS ARE MINT BUT MOST I'D HAVE IN MY COLLECTION.
There are a lot of people on this site that are very knowledgeable about vintage sports cards. I would recommend that you read all you can about vintage cards that you can. Here's two books on Amazon that you really should buy
Judging the Authenticity of Early Baseball Cards
by David Cycleback
The other book is
The Encyclopedia of Baseball Cards
by Lew Lipset
This one can be found on Ebay as a three volume reprint book. And sometimes as three different volumes
There's also another forum just for vintage sports card collectors.
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