1909-11 American Tobacco Company T206 White Border Baseball Forum

Hi all,

I was browsing at a local card shop today and came across this card for what appeared to be a big bargain!  It was in pretty decent shape and available for $15, which is a bit cheaper than what it appears to be going for on ebay.

http://www.tradingcarddb.com/ViewCard.cfm/sid/0/cid/1994/1909-11-The-American-Tobacco-Company-T206-White-Border-NNO-Matty-McIntyre

My question though, concerns the back.  My card has an ad for Piedmont Tobacco, whereas the scannedcard has an ad for Sweet Caporal.  Does this mean I got a fake, or was it common to have different ads on the back?

Dave

Congratulations! Tobacco cards are amazing. For many years I used to think they were totally unavailable to me, but I got my first in 2011 and have continued to add ever since...I have over 100 now. It helps that I collect non-sports, as they are much more affordable than baseball cards :)

For the backs, it was VERY common to have different backs...4 or more is pretty standard for American Tobacco Company issues.
For some reason they are not listed as variations, even though they should be. (Actually, they should be listed as a parallel set). Some backs are rarer than others, but I'm not totally sure which ones are the rarist. I think Sweet Caporal is the most common.

There are 16 different ad backs.

Thanks for the info, guys!  It just neat to be able to hold something so old in my hands.  I have a few 1941 Play Ball cards, but this is now far and away my oldest card.  

I was amazed at the price -- most of the other cards they had for sale were a little more than I would pay, but this was too good to pass up.

Dave

Billy's right the T-206 set needs to be updated with back variations.  It should also be noted that not every card has all the variation backs.  There are some good T-206 sources out there though.  I mean that set does contain the most expensive baseball card in the world in it.

People that collect the T-206 set call it the "monster". I think it's because of all the different back variations.

Go to T206.org - an interesting site.

Congrats on picking up such an old card! Every card fan should own a T206, no matter what condition. I have one too and NEVER thought I would own something that old. My next oldest is a 1952 Topps card. Big gap b/t those two cards.

I'll just add my congrats. I'm a little obsessed with the tobacco cards now. I currently own 12, but am eying more. T205s, Mecca double folders, Hassan triple folders, T206, the T207s are hauntingly cool. And someday, a Turkey Red cabinet. 

So many cards, so little time. And money. 

V3