Why collect T206?

[T206Collector]

Because they're beautiful; because they have the widest variety of awesome players from the dawn of Major League Baseball; and because they look amazing when signed by the player!

[Howe’s Hunter]

Just because I covet someone elses collection.

[ullmandds]

Because they are common...easy to find...relatively inexpensive...because of the many ways to collect them...and to make you feel like you belong!

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

Because they are common...easy to find...relatively inexpensive...because of the many ways to collect them...and to make you feel like you belong!

I recently had a discussion with a collecting friend that was thinking about collecting the T206 set but thought they would be too rare or expensive for him.

He was amazed(happy) to find out that in lower grade they are fairly cheap and about as rare as a 1990 Donruss.

[Cozumeleno]

I never collected vintage cards growing up. First pack of cards was a 1986 Topps rack pack I received at a birthday party and I collected up until the mid 1990s when I got to college. Jumped back in as an adult and had my first foray into vintage stuff starting to build a 1948 Bowman set - because, you know, that was the first set listed in Tuff Stuff at the time. Became fascinated with more vintage and jumped into 1951 Bowman and 1933 Goudey, and suddenly even hobby mainstays like a Griffey 1989 Upper Deck card seemed like heaping piles of garbage to me.

Began on T-206 this year and am up to about 75 cards. I'm utterly amazed that so many are still in existence to be honest. To last over 100 years, survive two World Wars, etc...it's pretty amazing to me that you can readily find Piedmonts and Sweet Caps of just about anybody on eBay.

Here are my top five reasons (in no particular order) why I'm becoming a T-206 junkie:

1. Back story - The Back story on how/why they were created by the tobacco companies, their demand by kids (who couldn't legally even buy the cigarettes), etc., is all fascinating stuff to me.

2. Back combos - While collecting an entire set (minus the big four) is my goal, I don't know that I'll stop there. To get players with different backs really makes this a project you can work on your entire life. Collecting every back combo isn't a realistic proposition, but the thrill of finding new combos later in life is something that makes it about more than just collecting a set.

3. The HOFs - So many great cards of unbelievable players that we've only ever read about. Cobb, W. Johnson, Mathewson, Keeler, etc. And the sheer number of HOFers that many people haven't even heard of gives you a history lesson if you're willing to dig for info on those guys.

4. The Sox - I didn't get my first real taste of the Black Sox until the incredible movie Eight Men Out. To get cards of guys like Cicotte and Gandil somehow makes that whole thing even more 'real' to me.

5. The artistry - Call me crazy but the players just look so lifelike. Pictures of these guys are out there, obviously, but seeing Christy Mathewson with a glove on this little piece of cardboard just makes him look cool as anything I've ever seen. That's maybe my favorite in the whole set.

(Bonus) The size(s) - Two final things. Just another cool feature that makes them stand out from today's cards and even larger cards like the Goudeys that came later. Again, these things are so tiny and frail that I remain surprised that there are still so many around. Also, the sheer volume of the set at over 500 cards makes it such a challenge, even in a lower grade.

[xplainer]

Originally Posted by Cozumeleno

I never collected vintage cards growing up. First pack of cards was a 1986 Topps rack pack I received at a birthday party and I collected up until the mid 1990s when I got to college. Jumped back in as an adult and had my first foray into vintage stuff starting to build a 1948 Bowman set - because, you know, that was the first set listed in Tuff Stuff at the time. Became fascinated with more vintage and jumped into 1951 Bowman and 1933 Goudey, and suddenly even hobby mainstays like a Griffey 1989 Upper Deck card seemed like heaping piles of garbage to me.

Began on T-206 this year and am up to about 75 cards. I'm utterly amazed that so many are still in existence to be honest. To last over 100 years, survive two World Wars, etc...it's pretty amazing to me that you can readily find Piedmonts and Sweet Caps of just about anybody on eBay.

Here are my top five reasons (in no particular order) why I'm becoming a T-206 junkie:

1. Back story - The Back story on how/why they were created by the tobacco companies, their demand by kids (who couldn't legally even buy the cigarettes), etc., is all fascinating stuff to me.

2. Back combos - While collecting an entire set (minus the big four) is my goal, I don't know that I'll stop there. To get players with different backs really makes this a project you can work on your entire life. Collecting every back combo isn't a realistic proposition, but the thrill of finding new combos later in life is something that makes it about more than just collecting a set.

3. The HOFs - So many great cards of unbelievable players that we've only ever read about. Cobb, W. Johnson, Mathewson, Keeler, etc. And the sheer number of HOFers that many people haven't even heard of gives you a history lesson if you're willing to dig for info on those guys.

4. The Sox - I didn't get my first real taste of the Black Sox until the incredible movie Eight Men Out. To get cards of guys like Cicotte and Gandil somehow makes that whole thing even more 'real' to me.

5. The artistry - Call me crazy but the players just look so lifelike. Pictures of these guys are out there, obviously, but seeing Christy Mathewson with a glove on this little piece of cardboard just makes him look cool as anything I've ever seen. That's maybe my favorite in the whole set.

(Bonus) The size(s) - Two final things. Just another cool feature that makes them stand out from today's cards and even larger cards like the Goudeys that came later. Again, these things are so tiny and frail that I remain surprised that there are still so many around. Also, the sheer volume of the set at over 500 cards makes it such a challenge, even in a lower grade.

I like this post. Mirrors my own thoughts and feelings. Almost exactlly. Thank you for your input.

[Fred]

1. Back story - The Back story on how/why they were created by the tobacco companies, their demand by kids (who couldn't legally even buy the cigarettes), etc., is all fascinating stuff to me.

Did they have an age limit on purchasing smokes back then? I figure kids probably didn't have enough money to buy smokes back then. There's a cool Old Judge advertising piece with a dad spanking his kid for getting the wrong brand of cigarettes. I guess that means in the 1880s there was no age limit. Not sure about 1910 era.

[Cozumeleno]

Originally Posted by Fred

1. Back story - The Back story on how/why they were created by the tobacco companies, their demand by kids (who couldn't legally even buy the cigarettes), etc., is all fascinating stuff to me.

Did they have an age limit on purchasing smokes back then? I figure kids probably didn't have enough money to buy smokes back then. There's a cool Old Judge advertising piece with a dad spanking his kid for getting the wrong brand of cigarettes. I guess that means in the 1880s there was no age limit. Not sure about 1910 era.

There was an age limit but not sure what it was. This PDF book on T206 cards at the Old Cardboard site talks about store owners that sold the packs to boys being arrested or fined.

http://www.oldcardboard.com/t/t206/I...al-edition.pdf

[Reds Collector]

Great stories and some humor thrown in.

I bought my first T206, Hans Lobert - Piedmont Back for $20.00 in 2004 while visiting Houston, TX. I sent it to SGC and it came back slabbed VG 40/3. I didn't think I could afford a set, so I stuck with the cheaper cards until I reread the article "For Richer or Poorer" in the September 2003 Beckett Sports Collectibles magazine. The article compared the appeal of a Cobb portrait graded PSA 8 and a Cobb portrait graded SGC 40/3. The article also discussed collecting within your budget. A really good article. After some research, I found that with time, I could complete my favorite teams set. Since then, I have been working on a Cincinnati Nationals Team Set and still have the Lobert as part of my set. I need the Clark Griffith SGC 30 or 40 to complete my set.

[bravesfan22]

Ive collected modern cards on and off since i was a kid. Mainly my favorite players from when i was growing up and currently. I have done some "prospecting" as well within the modern cards but there are a few things about modern card collecting I dont like outside of collecting my favorite players. One its become all about prospects on the baseball side of things and I feel like the companies abuse that fact and over produce product and the quality of product is lacking because of this. I also feel like the modern side is much more of a business and for profit then it is for the joy of collecting.

Therefore over the last year or so I started digging into vintage. I started with a few 1955 topps hof's and then I really got more involved on here and started researching the t206 cards. I had always heard about the honus wagner and seen pictures of the ty cobb red portrait and such but never really looked into them. Figured they were way too expensive. Once i researched them I learned theyre pretty affordable cards especially for the lower grade. I seen there was Indianapolis players in the set and being from around the area that caught my interest. Also around this same time I started watching Ken Burns Baseball series and hearing all these names from the t206 time period made me research the players and look them up. I decided to buy my first t206 card which was a Christy Mathewson dark cap here off the b/s/t and I now have 7 t206's. 6 hof's and 1 Indianapolis player. I have decided to collect the hof's and indy players first and then i may tackle the rest of the set.

-adam

[arc2q]

Originally Posted by Cozumeleno

There was an age limit but not sure what it was. This PDF book on T206 cards at the Old Cardboard site talks about store owners that sold the packs to boys being arrested or fined.

http://www.oldcardboard.com/t/t206/I...al-edition.pdf

Most states likely had limits but I dont think all did. I believe Virginia did not have a minimum age to purchase cigarettes until 1986! After 1986 it was 16.

[Cozumeleno]

Originally Posted by arc2q

Most states likely had limits but I dont think all did. I believe Virginia did not have a minimum age to purchase cigarettes until 1986! After 1986 it was 16.

Interesting - thanks for sharing that.