Hi Barry
Yes, we've had this conversation several times before. And yes this card is very unique in the vast population of white-bordered tobacco cards printed and issued from 1909 - 1919.
Newspaper clippings tell us ATC introduced the Ty Cobb tobacco Tin in late 1909. The graphic on this Tin pictures the Ty Cobb (bat on shoulder) pose.....from the 150 Series T206's.
The card, however, is that of the red portrait pose of Cobb. This is consistent with my research that indicates that this pose of Cobb was printed by American Lithographic when they
first started issuing their 350 Series cards (circa....early 1910). Anyhow, this Ty Cobb card was a promotional premium. While some were handed out to customers, other cards were
most likely inserted in the Tin. In any event, my guess is that very few of them were printed (perhaps a single sheet of approx. 100 cards).
So, should this Ty Cobb card be included in the T206 set...I tend to think so. But, I do understand why other collectors would disagree. If I could afford this card, I would put it in my
T206 all - SOVEREIGN set, since it has a green colored back
TED Z
T206 Reference
.