Cigarette cards are trading cards issued by tobacco manufacturers to stiffen cigarette packaging and advertise cigarette brands.
Johannes Peter "Honus" Wagner, sometimes referred to as Hans Wagner, was an American baseball shortstop who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1897 to 1917, almost entirely for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Wagner won his eighth batting title in 1911, a National League record that remains unbroken to this day, and matched only once, in 1997, by Tony Gwynn. He also led the league in slugging six times and stolen bases five times. Wagner was nicknamed "the Flying Dutchman" due to his superb speed and German heritage. This nickname was a nod to the popular folk-tale made into a famous opera by the German composer Richard Wagner. In 1936, the Baseball Hall of Fame inducted Wagner as one of the first five members. He received the second-highest vote total, behind Ty Cobb's 222 and tied with Babe Ruth at 215.
A trading card is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing and a short description of the picture, along with other text. There is a wide variation of different types of cards.
A baseball card is a type of trading card relating to baseball, usually printed on cardboard, silk, or plastic. In the 1950s, they came with a stick of gum and a limited number of cards. These cards feature one or more baseball players, teams, stadiums, or celebrities.
The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures trading cards and other collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of baseball and other sports and non-sports themed trading cards. Topps also produces cards under the brand names Allen & Ginter and Bowman.
Allen & Ginter was a Richmond, Virginia, tobacco manufacturing company formed by John F. Allen and Lewis Ginter around 1880. The firm created and marketed the first cigarette cards for collecting and trading in the United States. Some of the notable cards in the series include baseball players Charles Comiskey, Cap Anson, and Jack Glasscock, as well as non-athletes like Buffalo Bill Cody.
The Goudey Gum Company was an American chewing gum company started in 1919. The company was founded by Enos Gordon Goudey (1863–1946) of Barrington Passage, Nova Scotia. Formerly an employee of Beemans, he opened a factory in Boston, Massachusetts in 1919 and later in Allston. It operated there from 1924 until it closed in 1962. Goudey sold the business in 1932 but he retained an interest as a consultant. On his retirement in 1933, William Wrigley Jr. dubbed him the "penny gum king of America". Today the Goudey name is mainly associated with its collectible baseball cards which were introduced in 1933. Goudey was the first American company to issue baseball cards with each stick of gum.
The T202 Baseball cards, also known as the Hassan Triple Folder were baseball cards manufactured and distributed by the American Tobacco Company in 1912. The cards were inserted into packs of "Hassan Cork Tip Cigarettes". Several characteristics make this vintage card a standout amongst other forms of tobacco advertising of the time and lend to its value as a highly sought-after collectible.
A rookie card is a trading card that is the first to feature an athlete after that athlete has participated in the highest level of competition within their sport. Collectors may value these first appearances more than subsequent card issues. Athletes are often commemorated on trading cards which are highly collected based on the popularity of the athlete. Prices for rookie cards fluctuate based on consumer interest, supply and demand and other factors, but can surpass thousands of dollars.
The Topps Company has created a number of different baseball card products during its existence. They originally started as a chewing gum company, using the baseball cards as a sales gimmick to make the gum more popular, but today it is primarily a baseball card company.
The T206 Honus Wagner baseball card depicts the Pittsburgh Pirates' Honus Wagner, known as "The Flying Dutchman,” a dead-ball era baseball player who is widely considered to be one of the best players of all time. The card was designed and issued by the American Tobacco Company (ATC) from 1909 to 1911 as part of its T206 series. Wagner refused to allow production of his baseball card to continue, either because he did not want children to buy cigarette packs to get his card, or because he wanted more compensation from the ATC. The ATC ended production of the Wagner card, and a total of only 50 to 200 cards were ever distributed to the public, as compared to the "tens or hundreds of thousands" of T206 cards, over three years in sixteen brands of cigarettes, for any other player. In 1933, the card was first listed at a price value of US$50 in Jefferson Burdick's The American Card Catalog, making it the most expensive baseball card in the world at the time.
The T205 was a baseball card set issued in 1911 by the American Tobacco Company through 11 different cigarette brands owned by it. The collection is considered a landmark set in the history of baseball card collecting.
The Kinney Tobacco Company was an American cigarette manufacturing firm that created the Sweet Caporal cigarette brand and promoted it with collectible trading cards. Being a leading cigarette manufacturer of the 1870-1880s, it merged in 1890 into the American Tobacco Company.
T201s, also known as Mecca Double Folders, were a type of cigarette card issued in 1911 by the Mecca Cigarette Company, then part of the American Tobacco Company. The collection featured color drawings of professional baseball players. The T201 designation comes from the American Card Catalogue, an authoritative guide to trading cards issued prior to 1951..
A basketball card is a type of trading card relating to basketball, usually printed on cardboard, silk, or plastic. These cards feature one or more players of the National Basketball Association, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Olympic basketball, Women's National Basketball Association, Women's Professional Basketball League, or some other basketball related theme.
Prizes are promotional items—small toys, games, trading cards, collectables, and other small items of nominal value—found in packages of brand-name retail products that are included in the price of the product with the intent to boost sales, similar to toys in kid's meals. Collectable prizes produced in series are used extensively—as a loyalty marketing program—in food, drink, and other retail products to increase sales through repeat purchases from collectors. Prizes have been distributed through bread, candy, cereal, cheese, chips, crackers, laundry detergent, margarine, popcorn, and soft drinks. The types of prizes have included comics, fortunes, jokes, key rings, magic tricks, models, pin-back buttons, plastic mini-spoons, puzzles, riddles, stickers, temporary tattoos, tazos, trade cards, trading cards, and small toys. Prizes are sometimes referred to as "in-pack" premiums, although historically the word "premium" has been used to denote an item that is not packaged with the product and requires a proof of purchase and/or a small additional payment to cover shipping and/or handling charges.
T200, also known as Fatima Team Cards, were a type of cigarette card issued in 1913 by the Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company (L&M) through the Fatima cigarette brand. The set featured photos of professional baseball teams. The 'T200' designation comes from the American Card Catalogue, an authoritative guide to trading cards issued prior to 1951.
The T206 Ty Cobb baseball card depicts the Detroit Tigers' Ty Cobb, one of the inaugural inductees in the Baseball Hall of Fame. The card was designed and issued by the American Tobacco Company (ATC) from 1909 to 1911 as part of its T206 series. The card is even more rare than the T206 Honus Wagner which also had a limited production.
Alan "Mr. Mint" Rosen was an American sports collectibles dealer who was especially active in the 1980s and 1990s. He advertised heavily and was a fixture at card conventions. Eventually organizers would give him a table or booth in a prime location for free because they knew he would boost attendance. In a July 4, 1988, Sports Illustrated article, Dan Geringer called him the "King of Cards" in the "high-stakes baseball card game". In 1986, he was offered and purchased the "1952 Topps Find" of baseball cards, considered one of the greatest finds ever in the hobby. He also sold nine T206 Honus Wagner baseball cards over the course of his career.
