1909-11 Obak (T212)

Total Cards: 426

Size: 1 1/2" x 2 5/8"

Rating: 6.3 (7 votes)
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1909-11 Obak (T212)

Notes

The T212 tobacco baseball card series consists of three distinct regional releases. The cards were produced as promotion for Obak Cigarettes and were distributed between 1909 - 1911. All three releases, which feature members of West Coast minor league teams, are classified as T212 in the American Card Catalog and measure 1 1/2” x 2 5/8”. 

The T212 series is often split into three subsets identified as T212-1, T212-2, and T212-3. Some collectors also refer to them as Type 1, Type 2, and Type 3. 

The T212-1 (Type 1) subset, released in 1909, consists of 76 cards. Type 1 card fronts depict a color image of a player surrounded by a white border with the player’s name and team printed in different fonts and colors at card’s bottom. The card backs advertise Obak Cigarettes in Old English font with dark blue ink. Teams in this series are from the Pacific Coast League. 

The T212-2 (Type 2) subset, released in 1910, contains 175 cards and feature teams from the Pacific Coast and Northwestern Leagues. The fronts have a similar design as Type 1 cards, though the text on each card’s front is in the same font and color. Card backs advertise Obak Cigarettes in a block font with dark blue ink. The Type 2 series is found with 35 back variations, each with a different slogan to advertise the tobacco. All variations but one mention there are 175 subjects in the series; only the ‘Mais Paper Wrapper’ back mentions 150 subjects. 

The T212-3 (Type 3) subset, released in 1911, consists of 175 cards and feature teams from the Pacific Coast and Northwestern Leagues. The front designs are similar to Type 2 examples. The upper half of card backs feature a small writeup and basic stats about the player depicted on front. The bottom half advertises Obak Cigarettes in block letters. Card backs in this series are printed in red ink.