I've held off since the National and really didn't want to comment on this card, but there are a few comments that I would like to post.
The color of the ink on the back of this blue Old Mill is not an issue with me. Piedmont 350-460 Factory 42 cards have a lighter shade of blue ink, but I've seen Piedmont 350s with the lighter blue ink too. I sold an Unglaub on the B/S/T not long ago that had the lighter blue ink. Tim-Abravefan and I have spoken about this in the past and I have seen other Piedmont 350s since then with the lighter shade of blue.
I used to work for a retail chain years ago and part of my job was mixing paint. If you added so much as one drop more of tint to the base white paint, it would throw the color completely off. The same can be said if you didn't add the correct amount of tint the recipe called for.
I have no clue how the inks were mixed to print these cards. Maybe Steve B. can comment on that.
Even if you look at Polar Bear backed cards, the color blue is not always consistent. Maybe this is because they were inserted directly in with the tobacco or maybe its from 100 years of aging & wear. I can't honestly say.
As far as this being the only blue Old Mill example ever surfacing, this is also not an issue with me. How many other unique T206s have we seen in just the past few years?
A Murr'y with a Piedmont back was discovered not long ago and to my knowledge it is still the only one known.
A Murr'y with a Sweet Caporal back also was discovered. It too was unique until two more surfaced.
With all the scraps, proofs, blank backs and other printing anomalies out there, a blue Old Mill is not impossible for me to believe. Especially after seeing the Black Swamp Find.
I had the pleasure of talking to the card owner and going over the card with a loupe. In the end, I have to believe what my eyes tell me and I think the card is legit. If I am wrong, then so be it. I can live with that.
Jantz
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