Posted By:
EricHey guys,
Firstly, thanks for the props Leon. : )
Glen has done an excellent job explaining type cards, but there are a couple of other factors to consider. One is, the original ACC cataloged many card issues much differently than the letter/number combo's that we use today. The most obvious of these are "N" designated cards, which Burdick originally assigned to Central/South American Tobacco cards. As most of you know, "N" is the designation used for 19th century cards these days. For instance, a Burdick N561 refers to a 1943 baseball card set produced in Venezuela called Bigott Tobacco.
Many folks throughout the years have also assessed their own ACC designations to uncataloged issues. Some have stuck, some..well..didn't. A classic example of one that stuck was the W9316 strip card set. Not found in the original ACC book, this set was given it's designation from an eccentric collector who tried to modify many ACC designations, several years ago. As I understand it, his efforts were widely unaccepted, but interestingly enough..the W9316 label remained.
It's a little strange that Burdick didn't identify the Voskamps issue in his book, but I'm sure he just never saw the issue. As rare as they are, it's completely understandable. Had he seen them, they could have been placed into one of two different catagories, "F" for food inserted cards, or "K" (as Glen mentioned) for coffee. I like the "K" designation personally..but without a number after it..it's pretty pointless.
One piece of advice that I'd give type cards collectors (which I am not), is to understand which designations are truly correct. The best way to do this is by purchasing a copy of the ACC book (original copy or reprint will do). After studying it, I came up with my own complete ACC listing (according to Burdick, then by modernly accepted designations).