REA Old Mill unopened pack

[hshrimps]

There is a nice Old Mill unopened pack in REA....

What would u do if you have 10 of these Old Mill unopened packs, would u at least open one and check whether there's any t206/t210 card inside? (I would)

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by hshrimps

There is a nice Old Mill unopened pack in REA....

What would u do if you have 10 of these Old Mill unopened packs, would u at least open one and check whether there's any t206/t210 card inside? (I would)

I would open it even if I only had one pack, would also hope it was a T210.

[rdwyer]

I would open if I only had one pack also. But I would want a T206

[1880nonsports]

factory and stamp are only SUGGESTIVE of a card. The pack may have been produced 3/4 years AFTER any cards were included. Also, for me (NOT an expert) the cellophane/onion skin thing bothers me a little. I have owned 5/6 DIFFERENT early brands with the covering and none have had a cancel date (when available) earlier than 1917.

It's a COOL pack. I am only starting a conversation for them what might be interested. Perhaps I'm completely wrong. I CAN say that owning a few or more of these packs and not opening one is also a bit "mysterious". I have opened a pack from 2 different cartons in my years of doing this. One was a Sweet Caporal of the same vintage. Neither had a card inside and I made that QUITE CLEAR when I went to sell all but the first one. I guess what I'm suggesting is that there are likely a few variables at play - not withstanding WHAT KIND OF CARD might be included if there was one.

I ran thru the listing a bit quickly - carton shown????

OK - have at it - I can take it. Remember - it's only an opinion.

No guarantees whether written or implied.

[hshrimps]

My guess is the owner had already opened one of those ten packs that he had and he knows there's no t206/t210 inside but obviously he wouldn't tell anyone otherwise he wouldn't make any money on those remaining packs that he had.

[1880nonsports]

long time advanced collector. If so he/she would know that CONFIRMING the existence of a card would exponentially increase the value of the packs.

With unopened material - more often than not - it's about selling the sizzle and not the steak......

[Cerberus]

Originally Posted by 1880nonsports

factory and stamp are only SUGGESTIVE of a card. The pack may have been produced 3/4 years AFTER any cards were included. Also, for me (NOT an expert) the cellophane/onion skin thing bothers me a little. I have owned 5/6 DIFFERENT early brands with the covering and none have had a cancel date (when available) earlier than 1917.

It's a COOL pack. I am only starting a conversation for them what might be interested. Perhaps I'm completely wrong. I CAN say that owning a few or more of these packs and not opening one is also a bit "mysterious". I have opened a pack from 2 different cartons in my years of doing this. One was a Sweet Caporal of the same vintage. Neither had a card inside and I made that QUITE CLEAR when I went to sell all but the first one. I guess what I'm suggesting is that there are likely a few variables at play - not withstanding WHAT KIND OF CARD might be included if there was one.

I ran thru the listing a bit quickly - carton shown????

OK - have at it - I can take it. Remember - it's only an opinion.

No guarantees whether written or implied.

No one is going to "come at you" on this post. Everything that you've said is absolutely true.

I'm the board member who acquired one of these unopened packs back in June, and posted same here, in a couple of different threads.

When acquiring an unopened tobacco pack, there is never a guarantee that same includes a card of any kind--much less a baseball card. All collectors like me can ask for, is a properly dated tax stamp and some evidence that the representations being made by the seller/consignor re the pack being unopened and not having been tampered with, are true.

In this case, I have known and done business with the consignor for many years (as the circle of collectors with a focus on these types of packs, is quite small). He told me all about the "find," and sent extensive pictures. I'm sure he would have no problem posting a pic of the partial carton here, or send it to anyone who asks, via pm. We have completed several transactions in the past, and I can state with full confidence that the Old Mills pack(s) in question are unopened, have the properly-dated tax stamp and are almost as fresh as the day they were manufactured.

Yes, there are no guarantees that there's a card inside, but I would never, ever open one of these packs to find out. The mystery is half the fun!

Michael

[rats60]

Can't you feel the pack to tell if there are cards on it? I don't collect these, but another collector I know picked up a pack (SC I believe) and he said that he could feel the cards in the pack.

[hshrimps]

Is the pack sealed on the top/bottom? It looks like there aren't any seal and the "pull out shell" can easily taken out from the case.

Also, can someone post how the carton box look like?

[JollyElm]

Bring the pack to the hospital and see if they will x-ray it (or do an MRI on it, etc.) to see if anything is inside. Or find someone waiting in the radiology department and ask them to hold the pack as they get their scans done.

[rdwyer]

Go to a courthouse and have them X-Ray it. Ask them if there's a weapon inside.

[NYHighlanderFan]

Here are a few pictures of the carton with the remaining four little indians which I am keeping for my collection. The fifth pack is the example which this thread is discussing. And I let the other five go over the last 8-10 months to long-time acquaintances/friends in our hobby, who I must say have given them very comfortable homes within their collections.

The carton is interesting. As you can see, it once held 50 packs of 10, totaling 500. I am not sure this is something an individual smoker would purchase all for themselves. I mentioned in an earlier comment on this thread how the collection had the feel of a NOS remains of an old general store. This 500 count carton looks more like a retail counter box than a personal carton. I wish the lid to the box was still present. But only the bottom portion remained. I am thinking the lid was the same illustration as each pack, showing the mill and creek. The colors are gorgeous. And I found the perfect acrylic case to fit the box!

On a side note, there may be an important clue on these packs regarding their timeline which was not mentioned in the auction catalog. The Liggett & Myers name is not referenced anywhere on the carton or individual packs. I believe L&M acquired the Old Mill brand from the deregulation of the ATC around late 1911 or early 1912, at the same time as the Piedmont brand. Their conditions are absolutely superb. That combined with the Factory 25 Virginia designation makes all this very cool.