Jon Canfield's Baseball Related Cigarette and Tobacco Packs

From 1909 to 1911, the most popular of all tobacco sets, commonly referred to in the standard catalog as T206s, or more affectionately, "The Monster", were issued by the American Tobacco Company. The cards were produced and organized into three series, the 150 series, the 350 series, and the 460 series. A total of sixteen different brands inserted the cards into their packages. (While there is great conjecture as to whether a "Ty Cobb Tobacco" brand cards should be considered part of the T206 set, for the purposes of this website, I have assumed it is part of the set.) Each card featured a varying advertisement backside, depending on the brand of cigarettes or tobacco the card was packaged with. The brands which included cards in their packaging were American Beauty, Broadleaf, Carolina Brights, Cycle, Drum, El Principe de Gales, Hindu, Lenox, Old Mill, Piedmont, Polar Bear, Sovereign, Sweet Caporal, Tolstoi, Ty Cobb Tobacco, and Uzit. Because of the multitude of brands used in the distribution of the T206 set, the types of packaging used in the distribution, as well as their rarity and value, varies greatly. As such, I have detailed each brand used in the distribution below.

American Beauty: T206's bearing an American Beauty back advertisement were packaged in 10-count slide & shell boxes of American Beauty Cigarettes. The cigarette boxes depict a beautiful graphic of the Battleship Maine on the front. Once thought of as one of the most difficult cigarette boxes to obtain, a recent find of 20 or so unopened American Beauty boxes dating between 1903 and 1907 has put the estimated population of this cigarette box at around 30 (however I have yet to see an American Beauty cigarette box dated to the years of T206 distribution). Estimated value of an American Beauty cigarette box is $350.00.

Broadleaf: T206's bearing a Broadleaf back advertisement were packaged in 10-count slide & shell boxes of Broadleaf Cigarettes. Broadleaf cigarette boxes are one of the big four in terms of rarity (along with Drum, Hindu and Uzit). Since 1995, I have only been able to document the existence of six Broadleaf cigarette boxes. Of those six, one is a 20-count, two are 15-count, and two date to 1917 and 1918 respectively. Only one of the six is a 10-count box dating to 1910. In Short, a Broadleaf cigarette box would be the cornerstone of any collection. Estimated value of a Broadleaf cigarette box is $1250.00+.

Carolina Brights: T206's bearing a Carolina Brights back advertisement were packaged in 10-count slide & shell boxes of Carolina Brights Cigarettes. Carolina Brights remain one of the more difficult boxes to obtain. Estimated value of a Carolina Brights cigarette box is $350.00.

Cycle: T206's bearing a Cycle back advertisement were packaged in 10-count slide & shell boxes of Cycle Cigarettes. Cycle cigarette boxes remain one of the more difficult boxes to obtain although are occasionally offered for sale. Estimated value of a Cycle cigarette box is $150.00+.

Drum: T206's bearing a Drum back advertisement were packaged in 10-count slide & shell boxes of Drum Cigarettes. To date, only 2 Drum cigarette boxes from what is believed to be the correct era are known to exist. The one pictured above belongs to long-time collector Leon Luckey. It should be noted that Drum-backed T206's were not packaged with Drum tobacco pouches which are occasionally for sale. While the tobacco pouch was made by the American Tobacco Company as a companion piece to Drum Cigarettes, the tobacco pouches were not utilized in the distribution of cards. Drum cigarette boxes are extremely rare. Estimated value of a Drum cigarette box is $1650.00.

El Principe de Gales: T206's bearing an El Principe de Gales back advertisement were packaged in 10-count clam shell boxes of El Principe de Gales Cigarettes. Meaning â€œThe Prince of Wales", El Principe de Gales cigarette boxes can usually be found for sale periodically and are not too challenging to obtain. Estimated value of an El Principe de Gales cigarette box is $150.00.

Hindu: T206's bearing a Hindu back advertisement were packaged in 10-count slide & shell boxes of Hindu Cigarettes. Until June 2011, I had not been able to confirm the existence of a Hindu cigarette box although the styling and graphics of the box had been previously known due to advertisements placed in Louisiana newspapers in 1909 depicting T206 cards being pulled from a Hindu cigarette box. However, after years of searching, a flattened cigarette box front turned up in a turn-of-the-century cigarette pack collection. The image above is the first "true" T206 Hindu cigarette box I have encountered. Estimated value of a Hindu cigarette box is $1300.00.

Lenox: T206's bearing a Lenox back advertisement were packaged in 10-count clam shell boxes of Lenox Cigarettes. Lenox cigarette boxes are very difficult to locate and are rarely offered for sale. Estimated value of a Lenox cigarette box is $450.00+.

Old Mill: T206's bearing an Old Mill back advertisement were packaged in 10-count slide & shell boxes of Old Mill Cigarettes. Old Mill cigarette boxes are highly desired, due both to its rarity as well as its graphics. There is little argument that Old Mill cigarettes is one of the most aesthetically pleasing of all baseball related cigarette boxes or packs, Estimated value of an Old Mill cigarette box is $275.00.

Piedmont: T206's bearing a Piedmont back advertisement were packaged in 10-count slide & shell boxes of Piedmont Cigarettes. Piedmont cigarette boxes are one of the easiest of all T206 brands to locate and are relatively inexpensive. Estimated value of a Piedmont cigarette box is $100.00.

Polar Bear: T206's bearing a Polar Bear back advertisement were packaged in paper pouches of Polar Bear scrap tobacco. Along with Ty Cobb, Polar Bear was the only non-cigarette distributor of T206 cards. Polar Bear scrap tobacco pouches are periodically offered for sale and I would estimate their rarity as being mediocre. Estimated value of a Polar Bear tobacco pouch is $350.00.

Sovereign: T206's bearing a Sovereign back advertisement were packaged in 10-count slide & shell boxes of Sovereign Cigarettes. Sovereign cigarette boxes are one of the easier brands to locate and are relatively inexpensive. Estimated value of a Sovereign cigarette box is $110.00.

Sweet Caporal: T206's bearing a Sweet Caporal back advertisement were packaged in 10-count slide amp; shell boxes of Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. Along with Piedmont, Sweet Caporal cigarette boxes are one of the easiest of all T206 brands to locate and are relatively inexpensive. Estimated value of a Sweet Caporal cigarette box is $100.00.

Tolstoi: T206's bearing a Tolstoi back advertisement were packaged in 20-count slide amp; shell boxes of Tolstoi Cigarettes. These boxes, while still a slide & design, are flat and wider than the other slide & shells. Tolstoi cigarette boxes are increasingly difficult to locate and are commanding higher prices as of late. Estimated value of a Tolstoi cigarette box is $250.00+.

Ty Cobb: T206's bearing a Ty Cobb back advertisement are the rarest of all the T206 back issues. There are approximately only twelve known Ty Cobb backed cards in existence. The Ty Cobb backed cards are only seen on the Ty Cobb portrait with a red background. These cards show an obvious relation to the ultra-rare Ty Cobb Tobacco tin issued during the same time period. However, since only twelve of these cards are known to exist, many believe the card was never issued or packed inside the tobacco tin. According to the T206 Museum, Ty Cobb backed cards were issued for promotional purposes. Ty Cobb tins are extremely rare. In the last decade, only a handful have been offered for sale publicly. One of the last to be sold was auctioned off by Robert Edwards Auctions for $12,222. A photograph of that tin has been graciously provided by Rob Lifson and is pictured above. Approximate value of a Ty Cobb Tobacco tin would be $15,000+.

Uzit: T206's bearing a Uzit back advertisement were packaged in 10-count slide & shell boxes of Uzit Cigarettes. Uzit cigarette boxes are one of the big four in terms of rarity (along with Broadleaf, Drum and Hindu). Since 1995, I have only been able to document the existence of two Uzit cigarette boxes. Estimated value of a Uzit cigarette box is $1400.00+.

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