Posted By:
Jon CanfieldLeon,
I believe there were 2 finds of them - albeit both small in number. The first find was from Westfield, NJ were a gentleman discovered 5-6 softpacks (not slide and shell boxes). I don't remember the date the packs were issued (whether before or after 1909-1911). I believe you won one of these when they were auctioned on eBay, correct? They were discovered in the summer of 2005 and all but one were in very nice condition and full/unopened.
The second find of these happened about a year or so ago. An antique dealer discovered 9 slide and shell boxes. All 9 were in pristine condition. I believe 7 of the 9 have been sold. All were full/unopened. They all had 1903 tax stamps on it except one did have a 1908 overprint. I purchased 2 of these as they were the right configuration for the card issues. One of mine is a 1903 and then I also purchased the one with the 1908 overprint (although my 1903 is much much much nicer condition-wise). So, in total, there were only 12-13 packs discovered, still making AB the 5th rarest pack in the T-206 distribution (Drum / Hindu are the rarest with no known packs, Broadleaf #3, Uzit #4 and American Beauty #5).