T206 American Beauty backs, and trim

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by Ericc22

Greetings,

I've been exploring some of the unusual backs. I've noticed on some American Beauty T206s I've seen, that the cards are tightly trimmed on the sides. I understand that the cards were put into thinner packs so the cards had to be made thinner.

Is that the case? Is it typical to get tightly trimmed AB cards? I have also seen some that look balanced. Just wondering how much of a discount the tightly trimmed ABs go for if at all.

Any and all clarification would be most appreciated!

Eric

Completely normal - they were cut thinner because the AB cig packs were thinner.

If you ever see a fat one, please post a scan - I've only seen skinny ones.

[fkw]

like Scott said, sharp ones always look trimmed.

if someone were to trim one, it probably wouldnt have any borders left on sides... though Ive actually never seen a trimmed AB card.

here is one that became an SGC50 (after I scanned it)



edited to fix scan and add another one

[Ericc22]

Thanks!

Frank, I did not see an attachment?

Here is one I found on ebay that suggests what I am wondering about. The fact that it is OC doesn't help. It is an SGC 50 so that's pretty good. Just curious as to whether this is unusual or typical for an American Beauty.

Thanks!

Eric

http://www.ebay.com/itm/130608388772...84.m1438.l2649

[FrankWakefield]

For almost 40 years I 'knew' that the AB cards were not as wide as the other cards, because the AB cigarette packages were narrower, and that the cards served an extra purpose of maintaining package shape and protecting the contents. A few years ago some folks suggested that the AB packs were not narrower, and that a normal size card would have fit in the packs. Scans were posted that convinced me of this. Ted Z has posted a scan of an AB pack with an AB card half out of it, and it is easy to see that the card seems unduly narrow for that package; it is in the "Please Show Your Backs & Packs" thread.

So I still know that most AB cards are narrower. This was an intentional cut. At this point I'm unsure why that is, but the narrower packaging doesn't seem credible to me anymore. I do know that if you spread a bunch of white border cards out on a table, and study them, a discerning eye can pick out the AB cards just by looking at the fronts.

[atx840]

Originally Posted by Ericc22

http://www.ebay.com/itm/130608388772...84.m1438.l2649

I put in a very low snipe and won, not sure if it is a true 50 but ill take it.

[Ericc22]

Hey Chris, nice snag. That was the one I noticed. Congrats on the card. Glad you got a good price on it. I'd be curious to know if that is a typical AB card. I assume it is, but just a bit off center.

Thanks and enjoy the card!

Eric

[atx840]

Thanks,

I am no expert on these, the 5 I own are all short side to side like this one. Most I see are slightly OC, possibly due to the original cut being off then the second cut even more so. No clue why they were double cut as the packaging does not look narrower.

[frohme]

There was a Net54 thread on this not so long ago, but search is not my friend tonight. The gist of it, IIRC, was that there are a number of cards in the AB realm that have relatively normal borders. I have no clue whether this was a general statement or if it only applied to certain instances of those cards.

My exposure was only to Pirates - the Leifield (350NF) and Miller (350F) seem about normal - the others were all much narrower.





--
Mike