1909-11 American Tobacco Company T206 White Border Baseball Forum

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.

Thanks again -- this has been a fun thread!

Awwww, thanks. Just gotta get the Solly Hofman. 

And, yes, I will own an Old Judge within a year . 

V3

CollectingAfterDeath wrote:

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.

https://www.amazon.com/T206-Collection-Players-Their-Stories/dp/1931807949

I would agree with the others that the set would be best to add the backs as a parallel set. 

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.

Nice card 

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. 

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. 

https://net54baseball.com/