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Posted By: 1880nonsports

but I never said succinct - when the tobacco companies came up with packaging for tobacco products - the weight or number of cigars or cigarettes determined the tax to be paid. It was paid when the stamp was BOUGHT and stamps purchased at earlier dates could be put on packages at later dates @ the original cost paid (you know the government - the tax due NEVER went down so I imagine the companies purchased them like futures). I actually have seen a pack with a 1910 stamp affixed to a package sold in 1955 but I digress. Whenever a different count/ configuration came about they would issue a new stamp for that amount. The newly issued stamp would therefore give an origination date. The "Newly Issued" 1893 stamp with "20" in the corners clearly shows the date at which 20 count packages went into circulation. When available - the CANCELLATION date of the stamp is the BEST indicator as to when a pack actually went to market.
As an aside - Cycle cigarettes were among the company's most popular brands - due mostly to their inexpensive cost to the consumer. I am surprised at what appears to be a lower population of the slide and shells for the brand when compared to their counterparts. Perhaps it is a reflection of our somewhat miopic or ego-centric view as card collectors - where populations in our reach are skewed because we are not "tobacco pack" collectors. It just seems strange that with perhaps one of the most produced and widely distributed packs by the only real major manufacturer/distributor - the ATC - that more aren't known. I can say that the larger Cycle packs are more frequently encountered than the 10 pack which held our precious pieces or cardboard - these smaller slides had a much shorter lifespan in general and the window of actual card distribution was quite small - and the larger packs were more popular in general than their counterparts - becoming the standard utilzed today........