Posted By:
robert aDave,
I've thought a lot about that.
The only EVIDENCE we have stems from the fact that E98s with Old Put stamps on the back only come with Red backgrounds (and a couple blue). Many of us of course have different theories on when the stamp was placed on the card, but it still suggests that it's possible that each color background could've been distributed with a different candy (or tobacco) product.
We won't know for sure until we find some documentation, but I believe that it's possible E98s were left anonymous on purpose so that several different smaller companies could use the cards to support their individual products. We know that some of them were packaged with candy because we've seen the stains, but perhaps some were given out by hand in retail shops (like the Old Put stamped cards).
I've attempted to correlate which E94 overprints (if any) correspond with certain color backgrounds on the fronts, but the sample is so small it's hard to find anything concrete.
Rob