T206 backs: what do they mean?

[freakhappy]

I'm fairly new to collecting T206's and I'm not totally informed as to the meanings on some of the backs. For example, I know that everything outside of the normal Piedmont and Sweet Caporal backs carry a little to higher premium. This is where it gets fuzzy for me...what's the deal with Piedmont 150 25, 350 25, 350-460 25/42? Why the different numbers? Is this like a series or something? I understand that 350-460 42 are worth more than regular Piedmont backs, but why is this?...and same with Sweet Caporal's 42...and what's the overprint about?

Sorry for all of the questions, but I'm tired of not knowing and thought I would ask you guys. Thanks!


Mike

[aelefson]

Hi-
While I do not collect T206s myself, here are some brief answers to your questions. I am sure others will provide more detail, but here is a quick response:
Piedmont 150 or 350 etc, are the number of images that were supposed to be in that series (it is the number printed on the back of the card such as 150 Subjects on the back of a Piedmont 150 series card in the top right corner). Scott Reader has an excellent book that can tell you a lot more about these series. They correspond to different printing dates within the 1909-1912 time frame.
Factory 25, 30, etc, are the factory numbers printed on the bottom of back of the card that shows which factory it was printed at. Some factories (like Piedmont 42) are harder to find than others).
Overprints (or overstrikes) are when the factory number is overprinted by an ornate red bar (normally) and a new factory number is added.
This is a very quick response. I do recommend you try searching this forum as their is a great deal of information on here about T206s. I also recommend checking the Archive section up top as well.
Good Luck,
Alan

[ChiSoxFan]

I would recommend reading Scot's Inside T206. This should help answer your questions and even give additional information about the set.

Here is a link: http://www.oldcardboard.com/t/t206/InsideT206-Centennial-edition.pdf

ChiSoxFan

[freakhappy]

Thanks for the replies, it definitely helps! Thanks Sox for the book...I will be reading it soon. Is there anyway to get a hardcopy? Just didn't see any on Ebay through a quick search.

Mike

[FrankWakefield]

What do they mean? Not a d_ _ _ thing.

A guest preacher visited a small country Church. When time came for the sermon, the guest minister stood at the pulpit, smiled and introduced himself, then took off his wristwatch, placing it beside his papers. He then looked up and saw a little girl sitting on the front row, and he asked, "Little girl, do you know what that means when I place my watch there so I can see it?" She answered as I did, above.

The backs were advertisements for the brands of cigarettes. (Polar Bear was loose tobacco.) We assume that the card back brand would always match with the tobacco package, but I wonder if Sovereign cards ever ended up in a Piedmont package... With all of the other mistakes occurring with these cards back in the day, that conceivably could have happened, too.

[Steve D]

Mike,

Scot Reader's "Inside T206" is only available, I believe, via download. It is in my opinion, the leading source for information on the set. Also, board member Ted Z has made numerous very informative posts on this board regarding the breakdown of the set. His research has been invaluable to those of us collecting T206 cards.

Regarding the backs, here's my quick explanation:

First, you have each of the different brands - Piedmont, Sweet Caporal, Polar Bear, Tolstoi, etc...

Then among each brand, you have the different "series" - 150, 350, 350-460, and/or 460. Some brands, such as Polar Bear, did not identify each series. Remember, T206 was a three-year issue.....1909-1911; Series 150s were made in 1909, whereas Series 460 came along in late 1910-early 1911.

Then, among each series, you have different "factories" - 6, 17, 25, 30, 42 and 649. Again, not all brands used all the factories, i.e., Hindus came only from Factory 649, and all Polar Bears were made at Factory 6.

The "overprints" are simply cards where the original factory number was obscured, and a new factory number was printed, normally below the original one, on the back of the card.

Steve

[gnaz01]

Bill Heitman's book "The Monster" is an awesome book on the T206 set and available in print form.