During the mid-1880 period, when sponsoring tobacco companies’ first inserted baseball cards into their products, trade cards were the most progressive means of consumer product advertising. One of the most effective types of trade cards was the eye-catching baseball currency. The dimensions and thinness are the same as the currency of the day.
Vendors would overprint their ad on the preprinted cards, generally that included a discount for their product. Clothing, shoes/boots and jewelry are products ads mostly found but many other products and services appear on these give-away cards. The earliest cards are dated 1887, latest 1893, all feature portraits of baseball players on the back. Beside baseball, there were other subjects produced on this type format, such as Indians, Boxers, Actors, etc.
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